School vouchers in Ohio a big waste of taxpayer dollars
Letter to the Editor,
Both the Ohio House and Senate have proposed their biennial budgets, neither of which fully fund the Fair School Funding Plan, a bipartisan plan formed in 2018 to fairly and responsibly fund our public schools.
These proposed budgets also include an increase of public spending on vouchers. The Ohio House proposed spending $432 million on private school tuition over the next two years. Why is this a bad idea? Consider the facts: In 2023-24 Ohio gave out nearly 69,000 new EdChoice Expansion vouchers; however, private school enrollment grew by just 3,700 students. Thus, most vouchers went to families already sending their children to private schools.
Wooster City public schools receive $3,036 per student from the state while private schools can receive up to $8,407 per student. And remember these private school vouchers are universally available regardless of income. In fact, in the Wooster City School District, over 85% of families who use vouchers do not qualify as low income.
Imagine if Wooster City was offering scholarships for country club memberships to families who are already members and can afford the fees. Would that be a good use of our tax dollars? Likewise, why should public funds go to private education institutions? Institutions that have no regulations, no accountability to the taxpayers and no requirement to accept all students?
Close to 90% of students in Ohio attend a public school. Perhaps the voucher system waste is felt most by families in the 10 counties where students have no access to private schools that accept vouchers.
Private school vouchers hurt public schools and the students who attend them. Please join me in advocating for fair funding for public schools.
Barb Friedhoff
Wooster