ANDERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The Forest Hills School District is joining a statewide lawsuit over school funding. The school board is meeting Wednesday night to consider joining more than 300 other public school districts in suing the State of Ohio.
If you ask Forest Hills parents like Kimberly Olthoff and Sara Sudkamp, they believe Ohio's EdChoice Expansion vouchers are hurting their district.
"It's in the process of decimating public schools," said Olthoff.
They especially feel that way after state lawmakers essentially removed income caps for families to use taxpayer money to help pay for their children's private school tuition.
"Just because someone is taking EdChoice money doesn't mean they couldn't send their kids to private school otherwise, so a lot of those families were already sending their kids to private school," Sudkamp said.
Hear from concerned parents and board members in the video below:
Dr. Jason Simmons with the Forest Hills Board of Education said money is coming at the expense of public funds, which are getting cut at the state level.
"Public tax dollars shouldn't be going to fund those private entities that get to choose who enrolls in their schools and don't have to report their financial records or meet state standards for education the same way that public education and public schools do," said Simmons.
That's why the district adopted a resolution to join an ongoing lawsuit against the state and the Ohio Department of Education. Also named in the lawsuit are Stephanie Siddens, former acting superintendent of public instruction, and Steve Dackin, director of the Ohio Department of Education. The lawsuit was filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in January 2022.
Earlier this year, statehouse reporter Morgan Trau interviewed the Buckeye Institute's Greg Lawson, who argued that school vouchers are essential in Ohio because they empower parents to make the best choices for their children and their education.
"I spend a lot of tax money, I want a little bit of that back so that I am able to put my student where I think is the right thing," said Lawson.
Some Ohio Republicans have argued that poor-performing school districts may not be spending money wisely. But Forest Hills and other districts say they can't spend money wisely if there is no money to spend.
"I think the majority of the board does recognize the position we're in, a fight to not only preserve the finances in our district, but there's a concerted attack against public education in general," Simmons said.
He added that whether or not you have a child attending public school in your district, this legal battle impacts everyone.
"If you don't want the levies, you should be arguing for more state funding coming, so it doesn't impact your property taxes, but the vouchers are taking away from state funding, and we're going to be getting less from there," said Simmons.
