In 2008, Ohio spent $70 million on school vouchers. By 2019, that increased to $361 million. And the number is likely to grow as the Ohio legislature weighs three private school scholarship expansion proposals, including one by Gov. Mike DeWine to increase eligibility to families who earn 400% of the federal poverty level. The “backpack bill” in the legislature would do much more, making vouchers universal and allowing students to carry public funding with them to whatever school families choose, even for home schooling or schools that don’t follow state rules about the number of school days, curriculum, teacher credentialing and standardized testing. Why the push? An amalgam of reasons, including frustrations with public schools at the beginning of the pandemic, a consumer culture that expects customization, recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions permitting vouchers, culture wars that have parents raging over curriculum, and the influence of free-enterprise think tanks promoting vouchers. - Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
Guardians at Washington Nationals: Guardians denied sweep as Nationals rally for 7-6 victory in the eighth inning Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Cold, wind and rain |
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Voucher supporters say the public school system traps many children who don’t thrive under it, but voucher critics say they take state money from already underfunded public school systems. |
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Vouchers: Ohio is not alone in looking to expand the flow of taxpayer dollars to private schools as the pandemic wanes. Legislatures in Florida, Iowa, Utah, Arkansas and North Dakota passed bills this year creating voucher programs or expanding existing programs, reports Laura Hancock. Traffic cameras: Thousands of drivers caught by traffic cameras have been ticketed from the few suburbs across Greater Cleveland that dole out fines: Parma, Walton Hills and Mayfield Village, Newburgh Heights and Linndale use the cameras. Zachary Smith and Molly Walsh report many cities dropped the devices after the Ohio Supreme Court upheld a 2019 law that reduced the amount of state dollars communities using cameras could receive, but that acted as little deterrent to Linndale because the village took in less than $5,000 in prior years from the state’s Local Government Fund. Police OT: A Cleveland police sergeant earns more than most of the city’s top bosses, including Mayor Justin Bibb, with $145,881 of it in overtime. He joined several other officers who doubled their salaries. And Olivia Mitchell reports that as more officers flee to suburban departments and fewer recruits arrive to replace them, the overtime is expected to surge. The city spent more than $22 million on extra pay for the department last year. Today in Ohio: FirstEnergy and the Browns have finally ended their 17-year naming agreement for the stadium, leaving naming rights up for grabs for the time being. We asked cleveland.com readers what name they would like to see emblazoned on the stadium. Many responses were downright hilarious, while others gave a nod to the Browns’ scandal involving quarterback Deshaun Watson. We’re vetting those suggestions on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
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Combat ship: The U.S. Navy will christen and launch its newest combat ship, the USS Cleveland, on Saturday at a shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, reports Sabrina Eaton. It is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the city’s name. Constitutional amendments: A state House committee scheduled a vote next week on a Republican-led initiative to change a more than 110-year-old rule and raise the popular vote share required to amend Ohio’s constitution, reports Jake Zuckerman. |
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LSD: The Cleveland Clinic is the only Ohio site participating in a national study looking at whether LSD, administered in a controlled setting, can help people with severe anxiety. If the results of the Clinic’s trial and others like it across the country are positive, LSD could be approved as a psychiatric treatment within the next five years, reports Julie Washington. COVID-19 spread: Cuyahoga County and every other county in the state, save for two, were classified green for low COVID-19 spread on the latest U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention map, reports Gretchen Cuda Kroen. FirstEnergy:The severe thunderstorms in late March and early April did a number on Northeast Ohio’s electric grid, leaving many without power and giving FirstEnergy 313,400 feet of power lines (about 60 miles) to replace, along with 955 utility poles and 450 transformers, reports Sean McDonnell. |
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Unjust jailing: A man who has spent nearly 35 years in prison for a murder he says he didn’t commit was granted a new trial after a judge found that police reports and witness statements were withheld from defense attorneys, reports Cory Shaffer. Sexual assault: St. Edward High School settled a lawsuit out of court with a former student who accused his cross country teammates of sexually assaulting him, reports Adam Ferrise. The attorney for the student, Peter Pattakos, filed a notice with U.S. District Judge Dan Polster that a settlement was reached. School threat: Students at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School were dismissed Friday because of a threat of violence, reports Olivia Mitchell. AR-15 arrest: An Akron man who spent two years in prison for a fatal shooting in 2017 is now accused of illegally possessing guns, including a privately made AR-15-style gun, reports Adam Ferrise. |
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Machine Gun Kelly: Rapper, singer-songwriter and Clevelander Machine Gun Kelly, known as MGK to fans, will bring his concert film recorded at FirstEnergy Stadium during his 2022 “Mainstream Sellout Tour” to theaters for one night only, reports Malcolm X Abram. Midwest etiquette: Is it OK to yell at other people’s kids? Or what about using speakerphone in public? Jane Morice compiles answers from our Midwest etiquette guide. House of the week: Amid the rolling hills of Richfield at the end of a private road on the edge of a pond, you’ll find a country estate and some much-needed peace. Joey Marona reports about this house of the week. Wright Company Factory: The planned restoration of the world’s first airplane factory in Dayton might be in jeopardy because of widespread damage to the buildings in a fire last month, reports Susan Glaser. |
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SUV leaves scene after hitting, killing pedestrian in Akron Read more Car crashes into Lake County church offices after driver passes out Read more Senders Pediatrics, Beachwood High School present Second Annual Family Kindness Festival April 30 Read more Mayfield Heights seeking $2 million in total sponsorships for new aquatic/community center Read more Brook Park land sale imminent for $235 million Blue Abyss complex Read more Motley 7 Brew presses pause on Middleburg Heights coffee shop Read more Berea prepares to sell two city-owned century homes Read more |
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