Heights coalition hosts Feb. 23 online forum discussing ‘Vouchers Hurt Ohio’ lawsuit

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — On the heels of a lawsuit filed last month by 100 Ohio school districts, the Heights Coalition for Public Education will host an online forum on Feb. 23 dealing with the ongoing issue of EdChoice private tuition scholarship vouchers.

Registration is required for the 7 p.m. forum, which will focus on the argument of the “Vouchers Hurt Ohio” contingent that the state is failing to fulfill one of its primary responsibilities — “funding a system of public schools” — by diverting those intended funds to private schools.

In challenging the legality of the state essentially operating two educational systems, the lawsuit claims that “the growth of vouchers has hastened segregation and depleted the pool of public funds available to finance a high-quality public education as required by the Ohio Constitution,” a press release noted.

Speakers will be members of plaintiff districts, including:

— Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School Board member Dan Heintz

— Richmond Heights Local School Board President Nneka Slade-Jackson

— Former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice and current Columbus City School Board member Eric Brown

— Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding Director William Phillis, another plaintiff in the case.

Five school districts are named as lead plaintiffs: CH-UH, Richmond Heights, Columbus, Barberton, and Lima.

Vouchers began in Ohio with the Cleveland Scholarship Program in 1995, and the Ohio legislature has since added four more voucher options that expand who can use public funds to pay for their private school education, the coalition press release states.

“Ohio Department of Education data shows that in 2020 more than $394 million of state funds were spent on the five programs that paid for more than 59,000 vouchers that year, without providing for adequate public school funding as mandated by an earlier lawsuit,” the press release added.

The forum is sponsored by the Heights Coalition for Public Education, an all-volunteer group of parents, teachers and concerned citizens “dedicated to a system of public schools that provides all children an education that gives them the opportunity to succeed.”

In addition to the participating boards of education, co-sponsors include the Cleveland Heights Teachers Union, the Northeast Ohio American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO Retirees; Ohio PTA and CH-UH PTA Council; Reaching Heights; League of Women Voters of Ohio and its Greater Cleveland and CH-UH chapters; Public Education Partners; Ohio Public School Advocacy Network; and Northeast Ohio Friends of Public Education.

“This is an opportunity for the public to learn more about the impact of vouchers on public school funding, the details of the suit, and next steps for concerned citizens,” organizers noted.

Visit the Heights Coalition for Public Education website at https://chuh.net/coalition/lawsuit to register, for more information about the forum, and for a complete list of sponsors.

For the full text of the lawsuit and a link to the Vouchers Hurt Ohio website, visit https://chuh.net/coalition/lawsuit

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