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Thank you to everyone who commented on the first school post, where I laid out my thoughts on school vouchers and why I believe a voucher-like system within public schools is a step in the right direction. My argument was centered on competition between public schools and giving students more freedom to choose schools that are better positioned in specific academic areas and allowing them to specialize.
One thing is very clear after reading through all of the responses: everyone here is deeply passionate about their schools and about education.
That is a good thing!
I genuinely enjoyed the conversation and spent a lot of time reading through the comments.
So for School Choice Part 2, I wanted to post everyone’s comments together in one place.
Putting these comments into context was not easy. I did my best to add short headlines to help frame what each person was responding to, but some comments may still feel a bit out of context. Please read them with an open mind and understand that these were responses to my original article, and in some cases replies to other commenters as well.
My goal here is not to argue or rebut yet. I simply wanted to gather the conversation in one place because it was thoughtful, substantive, and full of overlapping concerns. There are many different ideas represented here, but also a lot of shared values and agreement on what people believe should change.
Please note that Dr. Christina Collins is someone who works directly on these issues and brings professional experience to this discussion. Please fill out her survey here. [ [link removed] ]
In Part 3, which I plan to publish in a couple of weeks, I will respond to the comments and address some of the criticisms raised in this thread. For now, this post is about getting everyone on the same page and clearly seeing the range of responses to the original article.
p.s. there is a little chart at the end showing most common themes
Funding Equity Must Come Before Any Structural Reform
Deb C-v
We need more reliance on state funding that is equal and fair and that goes to PUBLIC schools, not private, not charter. Charter schools don’t have to meet state report card standards and don’t have to follow the same rules as public schools for admissions or expulsions. Fair funding takes into account students who are in poverty or have special needs and therefore have higher-cost educational needs. I think that a statewide property tax might be the most fair, rather than forcing local communities to raise levies regularly. But it definitely needs to be state based and not locally based as the Ohio Supreme Court ruled decades ago. It was in mid 1990s that the funding scheme was ruled unconstitutional, and we haven’t fixed it yet. That’s unconscionable. I appreciate that you’re listening to people about it. I’m an educator, and I know that some students have different needs than others and that “equal” isn’t always “fair” or “equitable”. We need fair and equitable, taking students’ needs into account.
Equal Resources, Professional Respect, and Trust in Teachers
Tom Yeager
We need to fully fund all public schools regardless of zipcode, so that the school in the poorest district gets the same level of resources as the school in the richest district. We need to recognize that teachers are professionals and treat them accordingly, giving them the same respect as we give others professionals such as lawyers and doctors. That means paying them as professionals, too. We need to allow them to use their education in education in their classrooms instead of limiting them to teaching the children how to pass the required tests. They should be allowed to be flexible in class. They shouldn’t have to dig into their own pockets to outfit their classrooms, nor should parents be required to stock the classroom shelves. We can have great schools. We just have to be willing to fund them and change the way we think about teachers and schools.
The “Failing Schools” Narrative Is the Real Problem
Scott Quade
We need to stop accepting the narrative that schools are failing. Given the public and political bashing of education (elitist) and educators (groomers), the intentional defunding of public education, and the ridiculous policies created by people who haven’t been in a classroom since they were students, it’s a testament to educators’ fortitude that public schools still exist at all. We must reframe the narrative around the ROI, both socially and economically. Public education has been evolving since its inception. So has the scapegoating. So, too, must the narrative.
Headline: Equity Costs More Where Opportunity Is Scarcer
Merisa Bowers
Equal isn’t necessarily equitable. The cost to support and educate kids who come from lower opportunity, lower resourced areas is higher than what it costs to educate privileged kids.
We need experts who actually put kids first, care about all our kids meeting their potential, and ensuring equal opportunity (not outcomes!) with minimum benchmarks making decisions, with public dollars going to public systems.
Headline: What Ohioans Say They Actually Want From Public Schools
Dr. Christina Collins
I agree with so many of the points that have been made, and I fundamentally agree with you, Matt, that we need to be talking about what we are FOR. (I believe in it so much that my team and I at Honesty for Ohio Education [ [link removed] ]are doing the work to find out what Ohioans want through our Strong Ohio Schools research. It’s a yearlong project where we are collecting data through surveys, feedback, focus groups, town halls, and more with a report from our partnership with Kent State to come this summer.)
What we are seeing so far is Ohioans want to have local, community control of their public schools. They want buildings that are open and useful to the community. They want safety for their kids. They want children to have ample opportunities regardless of where they go to school. They want mental health supports. They want their children to learn real-world skills that are going to benefit their present and their future. People, generally, want public schools to be an equally strong and equally supported “choice option” in a culture dominated by choices.
I won’t go down the funding rabbit hole because so many others have addressed it. We have a state that treats public schools as the worst choice option, a sentiment perpetuated by the narratives they build through standardized test systems they rig and accountability regulations that aren’t applied equally across choices. The system is doing exactly what it intends to do: failing our public schools.
So, back to the question of what we are FOR…research and data will give us some understanding of what a general consensus might be, but the missing component is viable models for education that could work if the system gave them a chance.
Community schools, for example, are models of promise. (Ohio has even bastardized this model by screwing with the language and calling charter schools “community schools”, while calling what the REST OF THE NATION calls “community schools” community learning centers. There’s a necessary policy change to align Ohio with the country to even discuss community schools!) There are lots of types of community schools, but at their core, these schools ARE their community and their community’s.
They are led by local leaders, parents, and students through leadership committees that outlast principals and superintendents. They are centered around supporting the whole child through what the community has to offer. They address the needs and barriers to learning by engaging outside organizations. There are SO MANY benefits to community schools.
In my humble opinion, we need to recenter education reform on the needs of communities through this model. We need the statehouse to stop trying to “solve problems” in schools and address the problems AROUND schools: daycare, housing, food insecurity, early learning opportunities, etc. Instead of taking on real problems, they keep trying to bandaid the bleeds through policy and regulation - while neglecting to even provide the bandaids!
Education and learning don’t happen in a vacuum; they are influenced by everything happening around schools almost as much (if not more) than what happens in schools. When we can talk about that, then we can make progress.
Transportation and Access Are the Missing Constraints
Mike Oliver
First, we must fix our public school funding model. The largest issue I see with your proposal is that poor districts with poor schools often come with folks who do not have options for moving their students to “better schools”. If you are poor, single parent, or both parents working, the option to send your kid to a better school comes with the burden of transportation to and from that school as well as school activities. We need a school funding model in Ohio that is constitutional (the current model has been ruled unconstitutional, but politicians refuse to fix it) and provides equitable funding on a per student basis across the state.
Open Enrollment Exists, But It Is Incomplete and Uneven
Rebecca Gorski
This option already exists through open enrollment — “public schools compete with other public schools”, “tax dollars follow students” (open enrollment districts receive money from the state, though the amount per student has been cut significantly), “students apply” (open enrollment districts set their parameters for accepting students from outside of the district). Outside of Cuyahoga County, including in neighboring counties, many school districts offer open enrollment to students from other districts.
My district (West G) offers open enrollment to students from any district — I know kids from Richmond Hts (South Euclid SD), Willoughby, Painesville (Riverside SD), and Mentor. Kenston SD, Avon Lake SD, districts in Summit and Medina Counties, and across Ohio offer open enrollment.
But this doesn’t solve the problem we’re facing. As with private school vouchers, options don’t exist for all Ohio students. Some areas of Ohio have one or two districts in their county, and no private schools. Students can’t opt-in to another school — public or private — if a different option doesn’t exist.
The Fair School Funding Formula was the closest we’ve come to breaking zip code destiny with the state adjusting funding for the cost of educating students in each district. Of course, change isn’t immediate and the FSFP was never fully implemented by the legislature.
As Cathy Covarrubias says in her comment, there is so much more to ZIP codes determining outcomes. Yes, there’s property taxes and school funding. There’s also non-academic barriers that can and should be addressed through wrap-around care — nutrition/free meals for all students, accessible transportation, social and mental health care on-site.
There is so much more we can and SHOULD do.
What Funding Data Actually Shows Inside Public Schools
Vince Musa
Talk to the EMIS coordinators at all the public schools. I think you can get a better feel of what’s going on with funding and how it affects public schools, is. They also have to provide transportation to these other schools and the other schools. Schools the charter private schools get to pick their students from public schools have to take what they get. There’s a lot going on and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I really strongly advise talking.ro EMIS department in the public schools
Merit, Mobility, and the Defense of Inequality
Rafi Glantz
Is your goal to have all schools be equally good? Respectfully, that’s communism...in America we are blessed to be able to aspire to earn more and move to a BETTER neighborhood with better schools and services and community. This isn’t inequity, it’s simply how the world works.
All public schools do not have the same demographics, average income, or almost anything else at the exact same level. Why should we expect outcomes to be the same? That seems illogical.
Vouchers as a Symptom of Adult Failure
Peter Gooch
I am a democrat who has been supportive of some voucher programs in the past, but that is only because the larger issues have no remedy in sight and I don’t think that underprivileged kids should have to pay the price for our failings as adults.
If we embrace vouchers on a broader scale like this, we are throwing in the towel on solving the bigger issues.
We need good public schools everywhere and we need them to be localized. These schools are more than just where our kids learn. Neighbors get to know and help each other, children are fed, and they become a rallying point for excellence.
That doesn’t happen if all the kids from the poor side of town just bus 30 minutes to the rich side of town.
The problems we need to solve are getting neighbors to care for one another and to strive for more instead of settling for less.
Personal Sacrifice as Proof of Educational Merit
Zima Pani
With all due respect, I call BS. People make a choice to sacrifice, to invest and pay for private school and be an active part of their child’s education and religious curriculum, if applicable. Not all voucher parents care, its just a good free school closer to home.
I grew up poor in Cleveland and went to Catholic schools. There was busing in Cleveland. I had to work to pay my tuition.
Can Competition Actually Fix Failing Schools?
Daniel Luria
… is nonsense. How does School A losing STEM kids to School B cause School A to improve?
Segregation Didn’t End, It Just Got Smarter
Laura Kennelly
Holy cow! Do you mean despite Brown vs Board of Education we still have segregation? Only now even more nuanced? I do think things are better now, but yes: people.
Will AI Make This Entire Debate Obsolete?
Doug
Matt, you do know your friend AI that you wrote about earlier is going to change all of this. I would be interested in your thoughts about how AI can revolutionize education and obsolete all of your concerns.
Funding Is the Root, and Race Still Shapes Outcomes
Cathy Covarrubias
Most of what I saw people saying was that if we fund our public schools the way the Ohio constitution says, it would fix the vast majority of issues. More money means smaller class size, free breakfast and lunch, providing teachers a livable wage and benefits, more school councilors, more busses, keeping the arts, new textbooks and/or laptops, etc. Plus, we know the state house CAN fund our schools properly, but they clearly value giving tax cuts to their wealthy friends over providing children an honest, well-rounded education. For folks reading this, I highly recommend following Honesty for Ohio Education and Parents United for Public Schools.
No, I don’t like this either. It still puts districts like mine in a bad spot since so many of the white families will do anything to not send their kids to school with kids who are Black. If we focus on fixing the actual issues (funding, proper support, free school meals, etc) it will have a better outcome. The fair school funding plan is the best plan so far. Plus, this doesn’t solve the why behind how ZIP codes determine outcomes. Instead of taking on real problems, they keep trying to bandaid the bleeds through policy and regulation - while neglecting to even provide the bandaids!” THIS! The new law regarding Narcan in schools is a perfect example. If a school wants to have Narcan at the ready they have to provide training to their staff, proper storage, etc with no additional funds from the state to cover the cost.
Theme tally (commenters, mentions) (AI Derived)
Fair or equitable school funding, fully funding public schools, fixing the unconstitutional funding model
Commenters: 9
Mentions: 26
Raised by: Deb, Tom, Scott, Merisa, Dr. Christina Collins, Mike, Rebecca, Vince, Cathy
Zip code outcomes, geography-based inequality, segregation via districts or boundaries
Commenters: 6
Mentions: 7
Raised by: Tom, Merisa, Mike, Rebecca, Laura, Cathy
(Plus Peter indirectly through the “bus to rich side of town” framing)
Equity vs equality (explicit “equal isn’t equitable” logic, equitable per-student funding language)
Commenters: 3
Mentions: 6
Raised by: Deb, Merisa, Mike
Transportation and access as a constraint (busing, ability to get to another school, logistics for working families)
Commenters: 6
Mentions: 6
Raised by: Mike, Rebecca, Vince, Peter, Zima, Cathy
Wraparound supports beyond academics (free meals, mental health, counselors, daycare, housing, food insecurity, community services)
Commenters: 4
Mentions: 16
Raised by: Dr. Christina Collins, Rebecca, Cathy, Peter
Public dollars should stay in public systems (anti-private, anti-charter, voucher skepticism tied to privatization)
Commenters: 5
Mentions: 5
Raised by: Deb, Merisa, Rebecca, Vince, Zima
Teachers as professionals (pay, respect, autonomy, stop scapegoating, stop teaching to tests)
Commenters: 3
Mentions: 5
Raised by: Tom, Scott, Cathy
Narrative and accountability critique (stop “failing schools” framing, rigged testing, political scapegoating)
Commenters: 3
Mentions: 7
Raised by: Scott, Dr. Christina Collins, Tom
Community control and localized schools (community ownership, community schools model, neighborhood cohesion)
Commenters: 2
Mentions: 6
Raised by: Dr. Christina Collins, Peter
Open enrollment already exists but is uneven and incomplete
Commenters: 1
Mentions: 3
Raised by: Rebecca
Competition skepticism (how does School A losing kids improve School A, does choice actually fix root issues)
Commenters: 3
Mentions: 3
Raised by: Daniel, Rebecca, Peter
Race and white flight explicitly
Commenters: 2
Mentions: 2
Raised by: Laura, Cathy
AI will disrupt education enough to change the debate
Commenters: 1
Mentions: 1
Raised by: Doug
Merit and inequality defense framing (anti-equalization, “communism,” move to better neighborhoods)
Commenters: 1
Mentions: 1
Raised by: Rafi

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