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Local parents sing praises of EdChoice scholarships
TweetBy Denise Dick
Youngstown
Through the EdChoice scholarship program, Cindi Hilson is able to send her three children to Youngstown Christian School.
“Without [the EdChoice scholarship], even though my husband works, we wouldn’t be able to afford to send all three of them,” she said. “Maybe one of them could come here.”
EdChoice allows children whose residential school is considered low-performing to attend a private school using a voucher. The Hilson family lives within the city school district.
Before coming to Youngstown Christian last year, the children attended Hubbard schools through open enrollment and a charter school.
She and her husband decided to send their children to Youngstown Christian through EdChoice because they wanted their children to get a quality education in a safe environment and exposure to Christian education beyond just home and church.
School Choice Ohio conducted a news conference Thursday at Youngstown Christian School on Southern Boulevard to talk about the changes to the EdChoice program that allow more students to participate. National School Choice Week runs through Saturday.
Of Youngstown Christian’s 475 students, 270 attend the school through EdChoice, said Mike Pecchia, the school’s president.
The school has the most EdChoice students in Mahoning County and the fourth-most in Ohio.
The application period for the scholarship program begins next month.
Tuition for next year is $4,200 for kindergarten through eighth grade and $5,100 for high-school students. Youngstown Christian opened in 1975, and Pecchia said this year saw record enrollment.
EdChoice scholarships also are available for students with autism, and this year marks the first for the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship.
Last year, the number of available EdChoice vouchers increased from 14,000 to 60,000.
Many public-school officials decry EdChoice, saying it takes money away from public schools.
Matt Cox, School Choice Ohio executive director, disputes that.
He says the public schools retain their local property taxes and lose only state funding.
Religious organizations, including schools, are important to the fabric of a community too, Cox said.
“We’ve been told that vouchers have saved some Catholic schools from closing,” he said.
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Comments
Now a true republican and tea baggers would say "let these catholic schools close" survival of the fittest! Waste of taxpayer money.
Tax Me Once again you prove what an A_ _ Hole you are. Youngstown Christian is not a Catholic school its a Christain school. You are such a religious bigot.
Last line in the article sir! Wasn't refering to Yo. Christ. school.
Tax Me you are a religious bigot, how sad.
As a parent of a Catholic school student, I can honestly say that tuition-paying parents such as myself aren't very enthusiastic about EdChoice. I have paid tens of thousands of dollars in the last nine years only to have the students from EdChoice attend for free and sit in the same classroom as my child. One of the reasons I sent my son to a Catholic school was to decrease the negative influences he would be certain to encounter in the city schools. I know what goes on in the city schools as I am a teacher. The attendance of many EdChoice students at my son's school is poor. They stay home simply because they missed the bus and their parents don't bother bringing them. This is the truth as I witness it daily. The parents who are paying tuition need help offsetting their tuition expenses if EdChoice continues paying $4200 for each EdChoice student. As a matter of fact, I would like a rebate from the government for the tuition I have paid.
This is something positive; stop with the negative comments...
Positive for whom? If they wanted their children to go to "better" schools, then they can pony up the cash like I have. Lord, God, they have opportunities to educate themselves at colleges and trade schools if they are low income, more opportunity than I have, because, once again, I would have to dole out cash. Nobody ever said life is "fair." Each person's life is what they make it and if these people CHOOSE to live in an area where the school is failing (don't even get me going on my property taxes) then they have made the choice as to where their offspring will attend school. We all have choices. Perhaps they should have thought about the school system before they settled in.