My School My Choice Blog

You may recall our post a few weeks back, where MSMC reported on U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s warning that states that fail to embrace education innovations like public charter schools “would not be helping their chances” when it comes to competing for the billions of federal stimulus funds allocated to education over the next two years.

If you weren’t already concerned that Gov. Strickland and House Democrats’ biennial budget-which cuts public charter school funding by 20 percent and eSchool funding by nearly 70 percent-could take us out of the running for federal stimulus funds, you should be now. As reported Monday by the Columbus Dispatch, the U.S. Department of Education has put Ohio on the short list of states to watch.

“Department spokesman Justin Hamilton said last week that federal regulators are watching to see how Ohio resolves its battle over charter-school funding. ‘We’ve been closely monitoring the debate across the country and in states like Ohio where the legislature still has the chance to do the right thing by the kids,’ he said.”

National Democrat leaders, like Secretary Duncan and President Obama, seem to understand that there is a need and a place for public charter schools within our country’s school systems. 80,000 Ohio students agree. Lawmakers have until June 30^th to set a budget; it’s not too late to “do the right thing by the kids.”