Ohio Governor Seeks to Reduce Funding to Charters

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1176453540134110.xml&coll=2

Charter schools in Ohio already receive at least $3,000 to $4,000 less per student than the school districts in which they are located and now Governor Ted Strickland has proposed to halt charters' access to the state's $470 million parity aid fund. Charter supporters say the plan looks like a blueprint for charter school annihilation. "It's already really taxing our ability to provide a high-quality education to our children," said Perry White, director of Citizens' Academy in Cleveland. "With the proposed cut in parity aid, we'd have to make extensive cuts in our instructional staff. We're already as lean as we know how to be administratively." Because charter schools cannot tax local constituents, they should not collect parity aid, said the Governor's spokesman Keith Dailey. Strickland is also seeking to place a moratorium on new charter schools and banning for-profit management firms from operating charters.

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer
Date: 04/13/2007