January 24, 2020
Dear Friend of the Shaker Heights Schools,
We are asking you again to take urgent action against the EdChoice voucher program.
Lawmakers have one week remaining to take action on changes to the program. February 1 marks the beginning of the application period for the 2020-21 school year, and legislative leaders have indicated their intent to make changes ahead of that deadline.
State Senator Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls) has submitted a proposal that would provide relief to many districts in the short term and would benefit the Shaker Heights City School District.
It is important to note that Superintendent Glasner has consulted with Senator Dolan on this effort. This proposal appears to be the most viable solution.
The Dolan amendment would make the following changes:
- Remove any building from the list of eligible buildings if it has an overall grade of A, B, C or D on its most recent report card, with a few exceptions.
- For high school students, only those students entering the ninth grade—instead of all high school students—would qualify for a voucher.
- Increase the income threshold for the state-funded income-based EdChoice program from 200% to 250% of the federal poverty guidelines.
This amendment does not address everything we are advocating for, but it is a step in the right direction. It would remove approximately 899 of 1,227 buildings currently on the 2020-2021 eligibility list and would also allow time to develop longer-term solutions to the EdChoice voucher program and the state school report card.
Even if you have previously contacted your legislators, we urge you to contact them again to support the Dolan amendment. A decision is expected to be made before Tuesday, Jan. 28. If you wish, you can cut and paste the following message:
Dear (Insert Name),
As you are aware, three Shaker Heights schools are now among the more than 1,200 public schools across Ohio that were placed on the EdChoice voucher eligible list this year. Shaker’s schools and many of these other newly eligible schools are among the best schools in their regions and are in some of the top-performing districts in our state. That’s unfair to students, teachers and families. Senator Dolan has proposed a reasonable, common-sense amendment to the law. We strongly urge you to support this amendment. If left unchanged, EdChoice will have dire financial consequences for school districts, leading to cuts in programs and curriculum. Thank you for your urgent attention to this issue.
Insert Community Member Name
The list below inclues important links for your convenience.
Sincerely,
Ms. Heather Weingart
President,
Shaker Heights
Board of Education
| Ms. Ayesha Bell Hardaway
Vice President
Shaker Heights
Board of Education
| Dr. David Glasner
Superintendent
Shaker Heights
City School District
| Dr. John Morris
President
Shaker Heights
Teachers’ Association
| Ms. Kimberly Harris
Ms. Nicol Coxon
Co-Presidents
Shaker Heights PTO Council |
Contact Your Elected Officials: