Education in Ohio is a mess. It's got a broken funding mechanism that - on three occasions in the last 11 years - was ruled unconstitutional by the state supreme court.
It was one of the first states to begin tinkering with lesson plans involving Darwin's empirically based theory of evolution.
It was the first state to experiment with publicly funded vouchers to support students in private schools. It has one of the more extensive systems of charter schools - supported directly by a corrupt governor (Bob Taft) who once made a campaign speech proclaiming (paraphrased from memory), "I'm tired of Ohio school children being held captive by a system by bad schools."
But here are three signs that the balance may be shifting.
1) Governor Taft is on his way out. He will be replaced by either Democratic Rep. Ted Strickland, or Republican Ken Blackwell - Ohio's current Secretary of State who is so extreme that even George W. Bush has called him "a nut" (according to Bob Woodward's "State of Denial.") The good news is that Blackwell is, in all polls, down by double-digits at a time when education is identified statewide as a key campaign issue.
2) The state Board of Education has put to rest any further discussion of Darwin vs. Intelligent Design. Ohio's actions around this were never as up-front or public as Kansas. But over the past 3 years, the Board has see-sawed on whether to require discussion of "alternative theories" when teaching evolution. Early this year, the Board removed the requirement from teaching guidelines - mainly because it didn't want to invite a judicial test. This week, the school board voted to officially end discussion of the matter. So the teaching guidelines DON'T require discussion of the made-up theories. One board member said it was time to simply put the issue to rest, as 5 seats (out of 11) are up for reelection in November. But just to emphasize that the shifting tide is tenuous at best, another board member - Michael Cochran of a strangely named community called Blacklick - was quoted in The Plain Dealer as saying "I will guarantee you that as long as I am chair of the committee [discussing the lesson plan], it's gonna be on the agenda next month."
3) A new report sponsored by three groups that support Charter Schools has conceded that a good number of Ohio's 305 charter schools are under-performing and should be closed.
It's an amazing admission, coming from a movement that allows as much introspection about its agenda as Bush does about Iraq. To have the best friends of Charter Schools simply admit that they have some failing schools is a statement that can, and should, be used against them in the future. But don't get too excited; in the next breath, according to The Plain Dealer, the report also says the reason such schools aren't doing well is - get ready for this - that they are underfunded. The report points out that Charter Schools spend $2,500 less per pupil than public schools.
So they're really angling for more money. Which makes me ask the question: Wasn't that the original point that these same people made when they were fighting to fund charter schools in the first place? Wasn't their sales pitch based on being able to deliver a better education for less money?