tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4289345346387194350.post7940182437390322560..comments2023-06-24T10:52:34.846-04:00Comments on EducateHilliard.com: Getting it Wrong for Ohio's FuturePaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05960574627644930183noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4289345346387194350.post-38103791695920367212008-04-26T16:07:00.000-04:002008-04-26T16:07:00.000-04:00The judgment of the Ohio Supreme Court does not ma...The judgment of the Ohio Supreme Court does not mandate that all inequity between districts be eliminated. Their requirement is that the state government deal with the Have-Not districts, but only to the extent that they "Have-Enough." Their opinion specifically states that districts are free to tax themselves above state-mandated levels.<BR/><BR/>The <A HREF="http://www.edexcellence.net/institute/publication/publication.cfm?id=381" REL="nofollow">Fund the Child</A> effort, here in Ohio at least, does not try to address inter-district inequities, but rather <EM>intra</EM>-district inequities.<BR/><BR/>The key concept is that funding will follow the kids, so that if there is a significant migration of kids from one school to another within a district, the funding will automatically follow.<BR/><BR/>In a <EM>Dispatch</EM> editorial on March 21, 2008, it was suggested that since seniority plays a big role in the assignment of teachers, the most experienced teachers tend to migrate to the schools with the least difficult kids - the very kids who could most benefit from the skills of an experienced teacher. With Fund the Child, the parents could shift their kid from a poorly performing school to a better one, and cause the funding associated with their kid to follow.<BR/><BR/>This has some of the same concepts as a voucher system, in that the best schools attract both kids and funding, while the underperforming schools get starved out.<BR/><BR/>Opponents to Fund the Child say it's a disguised method for sending more funding to charter schools. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing, but Ohio's approach to charter school has problems, the first among them that they are allowed to be operated as for-profit entities.<BR/><BR/>I very much like the idea of a <A HREF="http://savethehilliardschools.blogspot.com/2008/03/what-i-mean-by-charter-school.html" REL="nofollow">voucher system</A> as proposed by Milton Friedman. This isn't it.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05960574627644930183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4289345346387194350.post-24080399536231530562008-04-25T18:54:00.000-04:002008-04-25T18:54:00.000-04:00Thanks for the explanation. It's a complex issue....Thanks for the explanation. It's a complex issue. Hopefully this amendment will not get on the ballot before there is full detailing of where the money will come from. A tax is a tax, even if it comes from a different pocket. It seems like with the option for districts to raise additional money for their schools by passing extra levies, there would be the potential over time to end up with the same disparity between the "have" and "have not" districts in the state. I am not sure if Fund the Child addresses this in a better way. I will try to go to the Ted Celeste meeting and ask about Fund the Child versus the proposed amendment. Thanks again Paul.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com