Akron Does the Right Thing, Signs on to Voucher Lawsuit

After 10th Period and others call on the District to do this, former State Rep. Barbara Sykes steps up and leads

Well that was fast.

As I wrote last week, I thought Akron Public Schools were missing an extraordinary opportunity to unify the community around the idea of fighting against EdChoice vouchers and for the full implementation of the state’s new school funding system (largely developed by Akron’s former Treasurer, of all people).

But thanks to the leadership of former State Rep. Barbara Sykes, who saw the voucher program’s genesis firsthand, the Akron Public School Board voted 5-1 to join the lawsuit last night.

The next step will be for the district to fight for the full implementation of the state’s new Fair School Funding Plan, which would provide Akron students an additional $22 million in state aid — largely closing the district’s current $24 million funding shortfall, which the district is currently proposing to close by cutting 285 jobs and raising more local revenue.

We’ll see if they change their rhetoric around the second part. But the district is halfway there, and a big step has been taken.

Remember that because of EdChoice vouchers, Ohio’s 1.57 million public school children are receiving $740 million fewer from the state than its own funding formula says they need. Meanwhile, the state is paying an estimated $742 million to subsidize tuitions at private, mostly religious schools for adults whose kids have never stepped foot in the public schools.

And all this money is coming out of the same funding pot. So a dollar to subsidize a private school tuition for a family making $250,000 or more is a dollar that won’t be able to fund more wraparound services for students in Akron and other Ohio school districts who desperately need them.

So good for Akron.

Other districts also need to join. And we all need to say in one voice that subsidizing private school tuitions for wealthy adults shouldn’t mean that less fortunate children are denied the services they need in order to thrive.