NEW STUDY: Local Taxes Being Used To Subsidize Charter Schools When State Aid Is Insufficient To Cover The Costs

COLUMBUS – December 16, 2014 – Local taxpayers are being forced to subsidize charter schools, many of them with poor academic records, according to a new study by the Ohio Charter School Accountability Project. Education Policy experts and school superintendents came together today to explain how an underfunded state mandate can force school districts to use local tax revenues to subsidize the cost of sending students to charter schools.

“In many cases, far more money follows the student to the charter school than the state would have sent to the local school district for the same student,” said Innovation Ohio Policy Fellow Stephen Dyer. “When that happens, local tax revenue, in many cases, ends up subsidizing these larger state payments to charter schools.”

Instead of money raised through school levies going to the local public schools, some of it is being used to subsidize the cost of paying for students to attend charter schools – many of which are performing poorly.   The report identifies the districts that are forced to pay the most, in a further erosion of local control.

“This study is a good example of why we launched the Know Your Charter website and the importance of having a greater understanding of how Ohio charter schools are operating and being funding,” said Ohio Education Association President Becky Higgins. “In this case, we are shedding light on part of the state mandate for funding charter schools that has received too little attention – namely, the unfair burden it places on local communities. It’s time to re-examine the state law, particularly given the sorry performance of so many charter schools in Ohio.”

The report shows that the average school district last year received $4,149 per pupil, which is $1,596 less than the $5,745 base amount paid to charter schools. This means that local school districts have to make up that $1,596 state funding shortfall by using local revenue or reduce educational opportunities for children.

“When the taxpayers vote for a local levy they expect the dollars generated to stay with their local traditional public school,” said Greg Ring, Superintendent of the Lorain County Educational Service Center. “Six of the county’s 14 districts actually pay more in local dollars to charters than is deducted from the district’s state foundation on a per pupil funding basis. In one of those districts, three times more local dollars leave the district when compared to its state deductions to charters.”

Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation

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The Ohio Charter School Accountability Project is a joint venture of the Ohio Education Association and Innovation Ohio. The Ohio Education Association represents more than 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities. Innovation Ohio is a progressive think tank headquartered in Columbus. For more information, please visit: www.KnowYourCharter.com.

CONTACT: Keary McCarthy, 614-425-9163

COLUMBUS – December 10, 2014 – The following statement is attributed to Becky Higgins, president of the Ohio Education Association:

“The OEA is disappointed that the State Board of Education removed ratios from Rule 5 of the Operating Standards that would have maintained a specific minimum staffing level for “educational service personnel.”

“OEA members made their voices heard loudly and clearly in advocating for the retention of the “5 of 8” rule.   In alliance with parents and supportive community members all over the state, we offered testimony, wrote letters, and made phone calls to members of the State Board, and we generated well over 70,000 email contacts with board members.  This advocacy certainly made a difference, but it will require continued vigilance at the local level to ensure school districts consider the needs of the whole child when making staffing decisions for their schools.”

“We do, however, acknowledge that the Board made substantial improvements over the previous proposed rule change.  In particular, the Board took an important step forward in its decision to direct the Accountability Committee to develop a method for reporting the number of school nurses, counselors, librarians, social workers, and teachers of fine arts, music and physical education on local school district report cards. It moves the Board closer to living up to its responsibility to establish standards that ensure a well-rounded high-quality public education for all of Ohio’s students.  We expect the State Board to do even more to make certain schools meet the expectations it lays out in its rules.”

“We hope local districts will get the message that licensed professionals in all of these areas are essential to support the needs of the whole child and that the state legislature will follow suit by ensuring all districts have the resources necessary to meet those needs.”

Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation

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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org

COLUMBUS – November 11, 2014 – Ohio Education Association (OEA) Vice President Scott DiMauro testified today at the State Board of Education hearing on the 5 of 8 rule in the Ohio Operating Standards.

OEA is gravely concerned with the Board’s proposal to eliminate the requirement of services outlined in Section 5 of Ohio Operating Standards, specifically that “Educational service personnel shall be assigned to at least five of the eight following areas: counselor, library media specialist, school nurse, visiting teacher, social worker and elementary art, music and physical education.”

Following are highlights from DiMauro’s testimony:

When the Board votes on the recommendations of the Operating Standards Committee, we ask that you keep this language in Rule 5 for the following reasons:

• Removing the Current Rule 5 language would have the immediate effect of further reducing the educational opportunities that are available to boys and girls in Ohio’s schools.
• Current Rule 5 language already provides significant flexibility to local school districts; there is no compelling reason to change it.
• Without rules requiring Ohio’s schools to provide specific services that meet the needs of the whole child (including school counseling, nursing, library media support, social work, and elementary art, music and physical education instruction), school districts will have the incentive to focus personnel and other resources only on tested subjects.
• Maintaining the 5 of 8 rule demonstrates that the State Board of Education is committed to equal educational opportunity for all of Ohio’s students. If the 5 of 8 rule were eliminated from the Operating Standards, children from low-wealth communities—those who need these services the most —would be the most likely to be deprived of the support they need for a well-rounded education.

The State of Ohio has a constitutional responsibility to provide quality educational opportunities to every student regardless of where they live and go to school in the state. The State Board’s role is essential to underpin the assurance of adequate opportunities by establishing minimum program and personnel specifications.

The 5 of 8 rule was established to make sure that ALL students had minimum access to essential educational programs and services that ALL students need. The original rule was written to allow a certain degree of local flexibility because the local school district had to provide at least five of the programs and services to its students. Ideally, every school student in Ohio would have access to all eight programs and services but previous State Boards wanted to allow for some flexibility.  The current rule also provides safeguards tied to student enrollment to acknowledge that smaller districts may not have the same ability as larger districts to hire personnel in all of these specialized service areas.

OEA believes the proposed change to Rule 5 goes far beyond the scope of the committee’s charge.  Eliminating the 5 of 8 rule will have a direct and negative impact on tens of thousands of Ohio schoolchildren, including many in low-wealth districts where the need for a broad-range of school-based support for children is most acute.  A substantive change such as this one must be driven by evidence, and there simply is no evidence that the current rule is broken.

Join the conversation @OhioEAand Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation

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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469

COLUMBUS — October 21, 2014 — The Ohio Education Association (OEA) today applauded the introduction of House Bill 642 by Representative Teresa Fedor, D-Toledo. The bill calls for a 3-year suspension of high-stakes decisions based on student test scores in measuring student growth and evaluating teacher performance.

“As Senator Peggy Lehner, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, has noted – ‘we are over-testing our kids’,” said OEA President Becky Higgins. “We urge state lawmakers to hit the pause button and determine which tests are actually needed and which are also appropriate for the grade level at which they’re being administered.”

OEA believes that with the use of the new Common Core standards in Ohio schools and the prospect of even more tests being conducted, it is important to take more time to make sure the implementation of these standards goes well.

“We’ve seen what has happened in other states where the hasty implementation of Common Core and the related testing has led to a backlash among parents, students and educators,” continued OEA President Higgins. “We support Ohio’s New Learning Standards, but we want to make sure Ohio gets it right. That’s why we think taking the time to ‘test the tests’ would be a prudent course to follow.”

Last spring, OEA members voted unanimously at their Representative Assembly to support the 3-year delay in the use of high-stakes decisions based on student test results. OEA is pleased that 18 co-sponsors have already signed on in support of Representative Fedor‘s bill.

“We recognize the need for a comprehensive assessment of student growth. But student assessments should not be overly-dependent on the results of standardized tests, “said Higgins. “Students are spending too much time preparing for and taking tests. There needs to be a more balanced approach to identifying the strengths and needs of students.”

Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation

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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org

Report Of Questionable Lease Deal Prompts Performance Review Of For-Profit Charter

COLUMBUS— October 15, 2014 — Prompted by reports of questionable leasing practices, a new analysis shows that the Imagine Schools have a below-average performance index score for charter schools, and a significantly lower average score than traditional public schools. The analysis was conducted by the Ohio Charter School Accountability Project which recently launched KnowYourCharter.com, a new website that provides important comparative performance data for parents, educators and taxpayers.

The 3rd largest for-profit charter school operator in Ohio, Imagine Schools, was the subject of a recent Columbus Dispatch report showing that millions of dollars in public money are being diverted from the classroom to pay for questionable leasing arrangements. The overall performance of the Imagine Schools is near the bottom of the struggling Ohio charter school sector, and nearly 70 percent of the grades for all Imagine Schools are D or F on the 2013-2014 state report card. Read the full analysis here: http://knowyourcharter.com/news/.

“The lagging performance of the Imagine Schools is a disservice to the students and calls into question the capacity of the schools’ operators to provide a quality education,” said Ohio Education Association President Becky Higgins. “The priority should be to make sure that adequate resources are devoted to the classrooms, not into the pockets of those collecting exorbitant rent for the buildings in which these schools operate.”

“Policymakers on both sides of this debate should be outraged that these questionable leases are diverting public money away from classrooms while student performance suffers,” said Innovation Ohio President Keary McCarthy. “This should be a wake-up call for lawmakers to get serious about imposing greater accountability and oversight of Ohio’s for-profit charter school operators.”

Visit and Like Us at: KnowYourCharter.com and facebook.com/KnowYourCharter

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The Ohio Charter School Accountability Project is a joint venture of the Ohio Education Association and Innovation Ohio. The Ohio Education Association represents more than 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities. Innovation Ohio is a progressive think tank headquartered in Columbus.

Contacts: Keary McCarthy (Innovation Ohio), 614-425-9163
Michele Prater (Ohio Education Association), 614-378-0469

OEA, Innovation Ohio Unveil New, Easy To Use Online Tool For Parents, Educators, Policymakers And Taxpayers

COLUMBUS — September 30, 2014 — The Ohio Education Association and Innovation Ohio today announced the launch of a new website for parents, taxpayers and educators that will allow detailed comparisons between charter schools and traditional public school districts. The new on-line tool — KnowYourCharter.com — not only provides access to the state’s most recent Report Card information, but improves transparency by aggregating this and other relevant data at a single, easy-to-use website. Previously, locating this data required visiting multiple sites and extracting the information from numerous and often confusing spreadsheets.

At KnowYourCharter.com, visitors will be able to compare schools in a particular geographical area across a wide variety of indices, including State Report Card grades, the amount of state money the schools receive, the percentage spent on classroom instruction, and the average number of years of teacher experience.

“With nearly 400 charter schools operating in Ohio, with fewer accountability standards than exist for traditional public schools, we believe it is important that parents, educators, taxpayers and policymakers have the tools they need to see the comparative performance of charters, as well as the costs they impose on local school districts,” said Becky Higgins, President of the Ohio Education Association.

Greg Ring, Superintendent of the Lorain County Educational Service Center, agreed: “In my experience, there is far too little public understanding of how charter schools actually work, how they perform, or how they are funded. But without this knowledge, ‘school choice’ is a hollow and largely meaningless concept. By pulling back the curtain and presenting relevant information in an easy to use format, KnowYourCharter.com is providing an incredibly valuable public service.”

At KnowYourCharter.com, for the first time:

• Interested parties and the public at large can go to a single website to access data from 18 different spreadsheets for comparison and analysis;
• Parents can directly compare their school district’s academic performance with that of area charter schools in order to help them make an informed choice about where to send their children;
• Parents with children in traditional schools can learn how much money is being deducted from state aid to their school district because of the way Ohio currently funds charters;
• Policymakers can easily see the financial impact charters are having on particular school districts;
• Taxpayers can judge for themselves how well their money is being spent by comparing State Report Card grades for charter and traditional schools;
• Reporters can quickly analyze the comparative performance and costs of charter and traditional schools in their respective media markets.

Said Innovation Ohio President Keary McCarthy:

“In addition to providing important comparative data on school performance, this new website provides an increased level of financial transparency and accountability that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle should welcome.”

Users can receive website updates by Liking the Know Your Charter Facebook page.

Join the conversation on Twitter @OhioEA and Like Us at facebook.com/OhioEducationAssociation

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The Ohio Charter School Accountability Project is a joint venture of the Ohio Education Association and Innovation Ohio.

Contacts: Michele Prater (Ohio Education Association), 614-378-0469
Dale Butland (Innovation Ohio), 614-783-5833

COLUMBUS – September 23, 2014 – The Ohio Education Association (OEA) today officially launched the mobile applications for its members and the public to stay up-to-date on the latest news, events and advocacy campaigns affecting educators and students in Ohio. Purple Forge, a leader in providing mobile applications for associations and advocacy organizations across North America, developed the application with the OEA.

The Ohio Education Association (OEA) today announced the release of its iPhone and Android applications. The applications were developed to engage OEA members, the public and policy makers on the most popular mobile app platforms in today’s marketplace. The app includes a tool that will allow members to find meetings or offices anywhere in the state. It also contains an innovative advocacy module that allows members to contact and petition their elected representatives on critical issues.

An innovative postcard feature allows members to create postcards that can be shared via social media to spread a message in support of education across the state. The applications also include access to the association’s social media feeds, videos and other useful information for members.

The mobile apps were also equipped to allow the OEA to send push notifications to their members and the public with their latest news and updates. Push notifications are a useful way of getting up-to-date information on-the-fly. Public service announcements, calls to action and media updates are a few of the possible uses of the push notification feature.

“With this app, we are giving our members state-of-the art tools to help us advocate for our students and advance the goals of the OEA,” said Becky Higgins, OEA President. “These mobile apps will allow us to react swiftly to engage our members for the betterment of education in the state of Ohio.”

The OEA’s mobile applications are developed and maintained by Purple Forge. Purple Forge is the world’s leading provider of mobile applications to associations and advocacy organizations, and have deployed apps for other state affiliates of the NEA, including Missouri, New Mexico, and New Hampshire, and has also deployed the mobile application for the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation in Canada.

“The OEA has put advocacy and member empowerment at the forefront of its campaign for better education,” shared John Craig, VP Sales and Marketing of Purple Forge. “Having the right mobile tools at their disposal will allow OEA members to quickly align their resources to meet that challenge.”

About Purple Forge

Purple Forge (www.purpleforge.com) sells subscription based services to organizations looking to engage their stakeholders using the latest mobile application technology and leveraging community engagement and social networking best practices. Purple Forge is an award-winning firm led by seasoned mobile communications and Internet technology veterans. Our mobile applications allow organizations to broadcast, share, and receive feedback from their target audience real-time, allowing them to foster long-term, engaged relationships.

Contact: John Craig, john.craig@purpleforge.com

Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation

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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org

COLUMBUS – August 27, 2014  – The Ohio Education Association (OEA) today provided testimony in opposition to House Bill 597, which would repeal Ohio’s voluntary adoption of the Common Core education standards. At the same time, Vice-President Scott DiMauro urged Ohio lawmakers to give schools and educators more time to make sure the new standards are effectively implemented.

“While the OEA supports the Common Core standards,” said DiMauro, “we recognize that there are a range of practical challenges that need to be consistently addressed in order to ensure a smart and successful implementation.  For example, schools and teachers need sufficient planning time, resources, professional development and technological capacity to support student learning under the new standards and assessments. Students need up-to-date instructional materials that are aligned with the standards.  Further, parents and local communities should be provided access to needed information so that they can fully participate in local decision making surrounding implementation.  Laws protecting personal student data should be strictly enforced.”

DiMauro told members of the House Rules Committee that smart implementation means providing Ohio’s schools and educators the time to get it right.

“To this end, the OEA proposes a three-year suspension of high-stakes decisions and sanctions for schools and teachers, beginning this school year (2014-15),” said DiMauro in his testimony.  “The OEA supports the steps taken by a number of states, including Kentucky, Maryland, Colorado and Louisiana, which have provided additional time for teachers to create their own lessons and curriculum, get new professional support, and become familiar with the assessments before they’re used as a measure of teacher performance.”

Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation

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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org