DAYTON - School choice supporters on Monday urged Dayton leaders to consider a voucher program, but the state's top education official, at a separate local meeting, said vouchers aren't likely to expand from Cleveland.
Parents Advancing Choice in Education, or PACE, held a news conference in conjunction with East Dayton Christian School's celebration of "red, white and blue ribbon week" to advocate for a state-sponsored voucher program here. Cleveland's six-year-old pilot program, one of only a few in the nation, was upheld as constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in June. Cleveland's program targets low-income families, offering up to $2,250 in state money to about 4,000 public school parents to send their children to private schools.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Tave Zelman, speaking at a Rotary Club lunch in Dayton, said expansion of vouchers to other cities is not likely.

"I don't see a lot of support for that in Ohio right now," she said. "I think community schools have dealt with the issue of choice. We need to do some good research on the benefits of the voucher program, and we need to create good choices in the public education system."

In Dayton, PACE runs a scholarship program similar to a voucher plan, but it's privately funded and receives no public money. This year, PACE is funding about 900 partial scholarships averaging $1,348 to help low-income kids attend private schools, and keeps a waiting list for new applicants.

"A lot of people think we're trying to destroy Dayton Public Schools," said Daria Dillard Stone, PACE program manager. "That's a lie. We want to give parents opportunities and options to have a choice they've never had before."

East Dayton Christian School has 23 students using PACE scholarships out of an enrollment of 382 students in grades kindergarten through 8. The school is a nondenominational private school on Spinning Road in Riverside, and draws many of its students from Dayton. The school celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

More than a dozen students at the school wrote letters to Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin asking her to help bring vouchers to the city. McLin did not receive her invitation to attend until after Monday's event, a McLin spokeswoman said, but promised to read the letters and respond.

Third-grader Elizabeth Kittner wants other kids to have the opportunity she has.

"I attend East Dayton Christian School and I love it!" she wrote to McLin. "I think poor families who live in the Dayton area would like the opportunity to attend a private school if they want to. School vouchers will give them these choices."

Elizabeth's parents, Brian and Dana Kittner, live in Old North Dayton and sent her to Allen Elementary School for pre-school, but wanted what they believed would be a better academic program when she reached kindergarten. They were put on the waiting list for a PACE scholarship. Tuition at East Dayton Christian School is about $2,600.

"We didn't feel like we could take a chance with her education," Brian Kittner said. "It's too important to get off to a good start in school."

Contact Scott Elliott at 225-2485 or [email protected]