School Choice in Cincinnati (Columbus, Cleveland: low income, homes, best school)

[flash3780]

Often, I hear people recommend that families move to the suburbs around the City of Cincinnati, rather than live in the city due to the school system.

It also turns out that more social services are concentrated in the City of Cincinnati than in the surrounding suburbs, essentially trapping poor families in a school system that often performs poorly, with no real option to get out.

I'm an avid supporter of school vouchers, which would allow families to send their children to private schools, rather than public schools, if they feel desire to do so. A school voucher system would compensate a student for a portion of the money given to the public school system if they choose to attend a private school in the form of a voucher. It would promote competition in the school system.

In such a system, public school costs should go down proportionally to the number of students that attend private schools, so no additional tax should be required (less students, fewer costs).

Cleveland has such a system focused on low income families. Personally, I think it would be best to open such a system to everyone.

I'm curious what people on this forum feel about the issue of school vouchers in the City of Cincinnati. Me? I think that it would be a huge draw into the city for families. Please discuss...

[Wilson513]

I think that a review of the EdChoice program at the Ohio Department of Education is a good starting point to understand school vouchers:

ODE - EdChoice Scholarship Program

Problem is that government schools are so wrapped up with the stranglehold that the unions have on the public school systems that there is no hope of ever solving the horrible school problem with vouchers. The unions simply will not allow it to succeed. Classroom teacher salaries are one but not the major component of school costs. And, most school costs are fixed costs that do not decrease with reduced enrollment. You still have to have a bus go down Vine St. even if it has 48 kids in it instead of 60, and the building has to be heated no matter the number of students. And, you would not believe the number of 6 figure salary administrators at the boards of education deciding for you whether to let your kids study Christopher Columbus as a hero or a villain and the like.

So, they have set it up so that the Charter schools are not all that much better than the public schools and limited how many and who can use a voucher and where they can use it. Remember, the national Democratic Party is firmly against school vouchers and school choice. Its in their national party platform. Since they control our country for the foreseeable future, there is no chance of a vibrant and growing voucher system providing meaningful school choice.

All I can say is try to make enough money so that you can afford to pay your taxes for the union/government schools and send your kids to private schools on your own dime. Sorry.

[flash3780]

Originally Posted by wilson1010

...most school costs are fixed costs that do not decrease with reduced enrollment...

True to a point, but buses and classrooms can be consolidated. And I seem to remember that the average bill for a public school student is substantially higher than that of a private school student. The portion of the funding allocated to a student which is not included in the voucher would go to the fixed costs of the public school system.

[Hartwell Girl]

Holy cow the sky is falling, I am agreeing with Wilson on this one.
$3500 a year for my son k-8
$9700 a year 9-11 one more year to go,
you do the math.
Many of my sons friends have pulled out of school this year due to parents loosing jobs or cut backs. Tell me why someone should get something for free when others have to pay for it. You still have the same uninvolved parents who dont come to school events, dont get their kids to school on time and never set foot in a parent teacher conference. You can send your kid to the best school in the City but if the parents dont make education a priority for that child, what difference does the school make???

I was raised by a single mother who worked her butt off to provide for 3 girls with a father who didnt pay anything. She ALWAYS tried to find us a safe & clean place to live and got us to school on time everyday. She did what she could for her children because it was her #1 responsibility....too many parents want things for free these days because there are so many agencies out there passing stuff out.

[flash3780]

Originally Posted by Hartwell Girl

Tell me why someone should get something for free when others have to pay for it.

The thing is, we're all already paying for it. We're forced to pay for a school system whether or not we wish to take part in it.

Originally Posted by Hartwell Girl

You still have the same uninvolved parents who dont come to school events, dont get their kids to school on time and never set foot in a parent teacher conference.

Certainly, you'll always have that. However, it's a seperate issue entirely. It is immoral to force people to go to failing schools. If the goal is to educate children, why does it have to be done at a government school?

[Wilson513]

I think that this discussion should not take place without some reference to the extreme hatred that "professional" educators have for home schooling. They have blocked home schooling at every turn, even to the point of criminalizing the parameters around which home schooling is allowed. Ask any parent who is in the know about this and you will hear a flood of horror stories. If one percent of the failings of a government school were so criminalized, there wouldn't be a single one of them in operation. And, home schooling stems from the desire of well meaning parents to avoid the otherwise useless political and anti-religious indoctrination that is the mainstay of government schools. All this in the face of an utter failure of well funded government schools to properly educate the children they are supposed to be responsible for educating.

[stevensonjames88]

Our family will migrate this second quarter of the year and as early as now I feel a bit scared on how we would be able to send our three kids to private schools. I heard that it costs 20x more here and based on our computation we have no choice but to avail of the voucher.

[flash3780]

Originally Posted by wilson1010

I think that this discussion should not take place without some reference to the extreme hatred that "professional" educators have for home schooling. They have blocked home schooling at every turn, even to the point of criminalizing the parameters around which home schooling is allowed. Ask any parent who is in the know about this and you will hear a flood of horror stories. If one percent of the failings of a government school were so criminalized, there wouldn't be a single one of them in operation. And, home schooling stems from the desire of well meaning parents to avoid the otherwise useless political and anti-religious indoctrination that is the mainstay of government schools. All this in the face of an utter failure of well funded government schools to properly educate the children they are supposed to be responsible for educating.

Quite a few contenders and several winners of the National Spelling Bee have been homeschooled. It's not for everyone, for sure, but of course it should be an option for any parent who wishes to take on the responsibility.

[jlawrence01]

I have one question about homeschooling.

If the parents have a strong educational background, I think that homeschooling may be the best way to go.

However, all of the people that I know who are educating their children (in rural Ohio), are people with 8-10th grade educations. When I talk to the children, I wonder if they are spending ANY time hitting the books when they are at home.

Assuming that homeschooling is legal, how do you make sure that the children are truly being educated adequately for the modern society?

[flash3780]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Assuming that homeschooling is legal, how do you make sure that the children are truly being educated adequately for the modern society?

The family and children have a bigger incentive than anyone to assure that they get a top quality education. If the parents didn't feel like they could educate their kids, why would they take on the responsibility? It's quite a lot of work.