Greedy Government schools Fear Parental Choice

In Ohio, the statewide average is well over $15,500 per pupil to educate a student. Vouchers cost taxpayers approximately half of that amount.  Yet school districts in Ohio and the teachers' unions are suing because they want even more?

Upper Arlington, suburban district bordering Columbus, Ohio,  have over 6,400 students.  300 of these students currently use vouchers to opt into different schools outside of the district's control.  The average teacher salary is fifth highest in Ohio at $91,306 allocate $17,677 per pupil.  

Using Upper Arlington as an example, if you are one of the 300 students that take advantage of a school voucher, the school loses the state money because that state money is now going to be used at his or her new school.  However, the school still has the property tax money, which in Upper Arlington is a very significant amount. Per people this is a net gain, financially since they are required to fund the instruction of one of the students. 

Comparing Upper Arlington, do the average Christian School, the most popular choice for vouchers, you can see the striking difference. The average salary of an Ohio Christian School teacher, according to ZipRecruiter is $45,000 per year, barely enough to survive as a single person let alone if this teacher is providing for a family. 

Are vouchers the Cause or Effect?

According to Wikipedia, "Columbus City Schools, formerly known as Columbus Public Schools, is the official school district for the city of Columbus, Ohio, and serves most of the city (portions of the city are served by suburban school districts). The district has 46,686 students enrolled, making it the largest school district in the state of Ohio as of June 2021. At its peak during the 1971 school year the district served 110,725 students."

In 1971 the population of Columbus Ohio was less than 800,000.  In 2024, population of Columbus is over 900,000. School vouchers didn't begin to be implemented until 1996, and just recently have been expanded to include a significant number of students. 

Clearly the mass exodus of Columbus City schools came long before vouchers were implemented.  School district has been on a consistent path of consolidating buildings because not enough students occupy them to justify keeping them open. 

The Barna Group published a research paper 

The top 5 educational goals of parents attending Christian Schools were:

1. Strong principles and values (align with the principles and values taught at home).

2. Love for God and people.

3. Wisdom (ability to apply knowledge).

4. Faithfulness and obedience to God.

5. Leadership skills and abilities.

Notice what is not on the list....

Passing standardized tests.  

Attempt to weaken voucher schools

The Teachers' unions are pushing the legislature in Ohio to force schools using vouchers to have the same government regulations.  Effectively this would make private schools proxy government schools.  As noted, private schools, disproportionately Christian,  are not working with the same dollar amounts to teach to tests, are in the business of teaching more than just government standards that change so often it's hard to keep up with.

On average Christian schools, specially those affiliated with the association of Christian schools (ASCI), perform far better and the government schools. . The evidence is even stronger that choice programs increase the chances of a student graduating from high school, attending college, and receiving a college degree.

Oftentimes government schools are dangerous, pushing extreme values that many don't agree with, have low standards, or just dysfunctional, getting many parents to desire to escape for a better fit for their children. 

The bottom line is, money is not the problem with schools.  Vouchers are not the problem, but they are a solution for countless parents.