School Voucher use Surges Among Suburban Northeast Ohio Districts, State Data Show

July 9, 2024

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Ohio’s recent expansion of private school vouchers has led to a notable increase in their use, particularly in affluent communities and suburbs like Bay Village, Rocky River, Chardon, and Twinsburg in Northeast Ohio. Despite the surge in voucher usage and substantial financial support for private schools, there has not been a significant decrease in student enrollment within these districts, according to an analysis by Ideastream based on Ohio Department of Education data from June.

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According to Scot Prebles, Superintendent of Bay Village Schools, it experienced nearly 3,000% rise in EdChoice Expansion voucher usage from the 2022-2023 to the 2023-2024 school year, reflecting the program’s expanded eligibility and the state’s substantial investment of nearly $1 billion into the voucher initiative.
Despite this, resources originally allocated to public schools are now directed to private schools where voucher-receiving students are enrolled. Statewide enrollment in public schools decreased by approximately 5,500 students from October 2022 to October 2023, while enrollment in nonpublic schools increased by around 3,000 students during the same period.
Northeast Ohio received 46,056 of these vouchers, with approximately 22,000 allocated to suburban or wealthy suburban school districts. Stephen Dyer, an education policy analyst, criticizes this trend, noting that most voucher recipients were already attending private schools, contrary to the original purpose of rescuing students from failing schools. He argues that this shift represents a departure from the program’s initial intent and instead subsidizes tuition costs for affluent families, funded by taxpayers.
In Northeast Ohio, most of the school districts experiencing a significant increase in voucher use this year are highly rated, with 4.5 or 5-star ratings on Ohio’s annual report-card rating. Despite concerns about expanded voucher access, Aaron Churchill of the Fordham Foundation argues that vouchers were always intended to broaden educational opportunities for all students, not just low-income ones.
Aaron Churchill argues that providing scholarships to wealthier students through vouchers is justified because it broadens educational options beyond public schools. He emphasizes that while low-income families are the primary beneficiaries of state assistance to access private schools, middle-income and affluent families shouldn’t be restricted to a single educational choice. Churchill points out that even highly-rated public schools may not meet every student’s needs, and private schools can offer specialized programs like music or arts that public schools may lack. He defends the voucher system’s fairness by noting that voucher amounts are reduced for wealthier families, ensuring they contribute financially to their child’s education while alleviating the burden of paying taxes for public schools.
The Parma City School District experienced a significant rise in the number of families using EdChoice Expansion vouchers this year, with about 2,100 families within the district utilizing them, ranking third highest in Ohio. Superintendent Charles Smialek expressed concern that choosing private schools over public ones could weaken community support for their district, which he believes should remain the primary educational option fostering community pride and identity. He highlighted the upcoming ballot for operating funds, suggesting that losing support from families opting for vouchers could impact their financial backing.
The use of traditional EdChoice vouchers and the Cleveland Scholarship program, available to parents in Cleveland and designated low-performing districts in Ohio, has been steadily increasing. In Akron alone, the number of these vouchers rose from 2,231 to 2,525 over the past two school years, indicating a growing trend in parents opting for these educational alternatives.