Northeast Ohio Advocates for Catholic Schools

The year  2021 saw many positive developments for Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Cleveland thanks to your support . Despite many and ongoing challenges, we saw great advocacy for school choice, including expansion of who can access school choice scholarships and how much support they receive. Truly, we’ve never seen a legislative budget session quite like the one that took place in 2021. It is arguably the most beneficial for nonpublic schools ever in Ohio (and beneficial to public schools, which enabled these successes). Changes include… Increases the maximum Cleveland and Traditional EdChoice scholarship amounts to $5,500 (grades K-8) and $7,500 (grades 9-12). Also increases the Jon Peterson and Autism scholarship amounts. EdChoice eligibility for students entering Kindergarten and allows private school students entering ninth grade in 21-22 to be eligible for EdChoice. Phases out public school attendance requirement. Alters funding mechanism for scholarships to no longer be ...

Heading into the Conference Committee, the House and Senate budget plans differ significantly for nonpublic schools. At the heart of the difference is a philosophy around equity, and how to achieve it. The House budget advanced the plan created by a School Funding Workgroup consisting of public district leaders that provides for equity of inputs, guaranteeing amounts of funding based on inputs to each public district. It included no changes to existing state scholarship programs and funds, and no nonpublic leaders (schools that educate about 10% of Ohio students) were invited to participate in its creation. By comparison, the Senate plan similarly advances inputs to public districts based on actual enrollment, meeting the goals of the School Funding Workgroup, namely increased support for public schools that is sustainable, stable, and predictable. The Senate plan does so efficiently, while also strengthening the existing school choice provisions, including state scholarships (and char...

  In H.B. 110, the Ohio House includes the long-studied plan for public education funding, a laudable, historic step. As with any budget, it presents a challenge: how to balance it by prioritizing areas of importance efficiently for all stakeholders. The designers of the formula have done thorough, thoughtful work – for public districts. The proposed model based on inputs, when fully implemented, would add $2.0 billion to the district’s education expenditures that are now over $21 billion per year, $11 billion of which is provided by the state.    For all of the proposed investment in education, not one penny is added for the state’s school choice scholarships which this year enabled more than 67,000 students to attend nonpublic schools efficiently, and with outstanding results.  This is perhaps not surprising from a School Funding Workgroup consisting entirely of public district leaders, without representation of nonpublic schools, which educate approximately 10% ...

School choice is not the enemy of public schools; rather, it is a component of “public education,” the ideal in the State Board of Education’s  vision   that all Ohioans “graduate from the PK-12 education system with the knowledge, skills and behaviors necessary” for continued education or the workforce. This position,   long held by the Catholic Church , is also the basis for Ohio’s scholarship programs that provide vouchers to students disadvantaged by low income, assignment to underperforming public schools, or diagnosed special needs. Every student who attends on a voucher -- all children of taxpaying Ohioans -- represents a savings to the state due to the efficiency of nonpublic schools. Some opponents have been grasping for reasons to protest, like a recent example in the  Cincinnati Enquirer , reprinted around the state, that employed some crude comparisons to conclude that state voucher programs were not performing better than public schools on state tests an...

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...

Northeast Ohio Catholic School Supporters, It is an exciting time for Catholic schools -- among advocacy, healthy activity, and celebrations, great things are happening. Catholic Schools Week begins January 31 and will be punctuated by  numerous school events  as well as a diocesan-wide celebration of Mass by Bishop Malesic from the Cathedral  (with virtual viewing) at 10 a.m. Tuesday . The Governor’s executive budget will be unveiled as soon as next week, the first formal step in the state's budget process. Advocates for schools and other causes will then be most active through June 30.  From now through then, we will update you regularly on the issues most important to Catholic schools.  If you wish to learn more about the intricacies of the process, see the wonderful resource from the  Center for Community Solutions  called  Follow The Money  (4th Edition), available at the links or download free  online here . As promised, here is a ...