Just a few highlights:
- Children in Medina County schools will have $13.7 million fewer for their educations since Gov. Kasich took office
- Children in Medina City Schools have $4.4 million less
- Meanwhile, payments to Charter Schools have increased by about one-third ($3.4 million to $4.3 million). And in the 2011-2012 school, every dollar that went to a Charter School from a Medina County district went to a poorer performing Charter School.
- And even more alarming, payments to private schools through Vouchers has gone from zero dollars the year before Kasich took office to $937,000 this school year.
- All that money going to Charters and Vouchers means that children who continue attending Medina County schools have 5.2% less state revenue than the state's funding formula says they need.
- Is it any surprise, then, that Medina County schools have been to the ballot requesting more than $70 million in local property and income taxes to replace the cuts since May 2011?
The children of Medina County have significantly fewer educational opportunities now. In their world, the State of the State is not that great. Perhaps Gov. Kasich (or Speaker Batchelder) has an explanation for all this. If he does, I'm sure the children in Medina would love to hear it.
