The truth about EdChoice will likely surprise you.
A quick perusal of the news lately, not to mention the comments at some recent public school board meetings, finds plenty of people convinced that the state has reduced its investment in public education. And they all somehow similarly point to Ohio's relatively small investment in school choice as the source of their ills.
There is no mention that for the most recent fiscal year, “the state of Ohio spent more on primary and secondary education than at any other time in state history. And state education spending will continue to increase” per the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. Nary a word can be heard about the 24.9% increase in state appropriations over the six years of phasing in the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding plan, from $12.2 billion in fiscal year 2021 to $15.3 billion in fiscal year 2027 according to LSC Greenbooks. Mind you, that is merely the state portion, on top of the soaring property tax revenues funding traditional public schools, which combined amounted to $32.8 billion in total K-12 spending in fiscal year 2024, the most recent year for which combined data is available.
There is a much more reliable source for information about the health of Ohio’s public school districts – a source that has been around for the last 20 years, as any objective education reporter ought to know. Ohio’s District Profile Report, a.k.a. “The Cupp Report” is a comprehensive compilation of several major statewide data systems and official sources designed to complete, transparent, and comparable profile of each district. Every district in Ohio is available here.
The reports are named for Bob Cupp, who championed their creation during his first service in the legislature to promote transparency for public school districts. He later co-led the “Cupp‑Patterson” Fair School Funding Plan, which began implementation while he served as speaker of the House (2020–2022). Since their introduction in 2006, the reports have become the gold standard for unbiased information on public school districts.
Clearly delineating revenue from local, state, federal and other sources, as well as breaking down expenses by buildings, instructional, staff, pupil support and administration, the reports also feature demographics, tax information and key ratios that are vital for the school funding formula, presented as averages for each district and the state.
With this view, both the increase in funding from the state as well as the rising local tax revenues are apparent, as displayed in the above chart (note: nominal values are not adjusted for inflation).
While excepting the highest outliers, such as the Lake Erie islands, the average increase in annual operating expenditures for districts in the first four years of the phase-in have been 31.1% (with a standard deviation of 14.8%, indicating substantial variability). The fiscal year 2026 year will undoubtedly be more once the books are closed, followed by further growth next year.
The Truth
Our taxpayer-funded public school districts have been curiously quiet about these gains. Perhaps there is some gratitude expressed at the local level, or in school board meeting minutes, but that would be whispers at best compared to the loud shouting of histrionics claiming underfunding and specifically attacking EdChoice.
EdChoice is, in fact, the best value for taxpayers in Ohio. The EdChoice Expansion scholarship, which became available to every Ohio household on a sliding scale in 2023, ranges from $616 to $8408, and averaged payments of $4,958 per pupil in FY2025.
One local school district, both in filings that were cited in last year’s common pleas court decision, and in recent anti-voucher propaganda, actually blamed EdChoice, claiming it was the reason that their schools, with revenues and expenditures among the highest in the state at close to $27,000 per pupil, had “inadequate funding” that “has caused lay-offs or suspension of teachers and other staff members.” Apparently it was not their failure to manage the predictable decline in enrollment demographers have been projecting, but rather … EdChoice.
With one of the state’s highest local tax bases, the district claims it “cannot afford to repair its many facilities and most of its buildings operate with no air conditioning and inadequate roofs, doors, windows and masonry.” The reason? EdChoice. Meanwhile, one of our nearby Catholic parishes has just installed a 290-panel solar array, which should power both the century-old church efficiently for generations, along with its 76-year-old school building that provides high-quality, faith-based education at less than a quarter of the price to taxpayers for pupils who elect to use a state scholarship there.
The district’s complaints are meritless because state scholarships are funded separately from the recently enhanced district formula, a truth that even the most overzealous scholarship opponents have begun to acknowledge following last month’s circuit court hearing.
A lack of veracity has not slowed the coordinated effort of district’s public comments repeating a set of talking points against EdChoice, as if the fact that the ability for parents to opt their children into a sliding-scale scholarship program has placed traditional public schools, which have never been better funded, in the poorhouse. And so I hope this interactive map will provide helpful transparency and support to those who prefer to discuss facts about education policy over cherry-picked propaganda.
The next time your district or local media outlet refers to “vouchers” costing a billion dollars without any reference to the number of students served or the amount public school districts spend over a comparable period… Look them up. When you hear anti-parental-choice spokespeople claim that the legislature has “reduced its spending on public school funding” because the state’s actual 3.68% increase this biennium is not as high as they would have like… You can search for the facts.
Data on the map comes from the District Profile Reports (Cupp Reports) as well as the ODEW Reports Portal, featuring data from both non-public and public schools. An aphorism often attributed to Noam Chomsky observes, “If the truth threatens power, it will be buried under noise.” The Cupp Reports and the ODEW Reports Portal aim to cut through that noise, bringing clarity and evidence to the forefront in order to elevate the conversation around education policy. Please feel free to use and share these resources as part of thoughtful dialogue about Ohio’s school choice options.
Frank O’Linn, ED.D
Superintendent of schools
Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
Northeast Ohio Advocates for Catholic Schools
You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. (Matthew 5:14-15)