Northeast Ohio Advocates for Catholic Schools

Recently, Governor DeWine’s administration has unveiled the executive budget, which is the starting point for the process that will result in Ohio’s next operating budget. It includes a 3.2% increase in education funding for district and charter public schools, including student wellness and success funds. However, it was   otherwise quiet on school funding , leaving the current formula “frozen” as it has been the last two years. In his comments, Governor DeWine deferred to the legislature’s ongoing activity on school funding, including the “Fair School Funding Plan,” developed since 2019 by the new Speaker of the House Bob Cupp (R - Lima) and former representative John Patterson (D - Jefferson).   This is where Catholic schools will call upon your voices to be heard! The  plan  bills itself as “a comprehensive & transparent school funding plan for Ohio developed collaboratively by educators and leaders from every corner of the state,” And it is, for public schoo...

  Last week the Ohio Department of Education provided an update that included some unusual   public school enrollment   statistics, including a 3% decline overall, 8% decline in Kindergarten and 27% decline in Preschool. This week the NCEA released a   data brief  on national declines in Catholic schools, showing national declines and some emerging patterns. An initial look at Diocese of Cleveland Catholic schools provides some interesting insights, including: Strong Primary Grades:  In our Catholic schools, primary grades saw the strongest performance. Grades 1 and 2 both enrolled more students across our system this year than last year, and our system saw only a 1.9% decline in Kindergarten compared to the 8% statewide in public schools. Preschool:  Like the state of Ohio’s public numbers, preschool was most affected, with Catholic schools in the Diocese of Cleveland experiencing a 24% decline. High School Narrow Decrease:  High schools were rel...