Centerville residents press school board to join ‘Vouchers Hurt Ohio’ lawsuit; some defend vouchers

Dozens of Centerville residents used the board’s public-comment period Monday to urge the Centerville City Board of Education to join Vouchers Hurt Ohio, a statewide lawsuit challenging Ohio’s expansion of taxpayer-funded private school vouchers.

Speakers told the board they view voucher expansion as siphoning public dollars from district classrooms and cited state budget proposals that they said would further reduce aid to public schools. Senator Willis Blackshear Jr., newly elected to the Ohio Senate, attended and said school funding and limiting voucher expansion are among his priorities.

The appeals came during a 30‑minute public‑comment block; no motion to join the lawsuit was introduced or voted on that night. Superintendent and finance staff instead asked residents to contact state lawmakers and participate in a district letter‑writing campaign aimed at the Ohio Legislature.

Why it matters: Speakers said voucher growth and the governor’s budget could shrink state aid and increase pressure on local levies, which they said would harm Centerville’s roughly 8,000 students. The board’s response—so far—has been to encourage constituent advocacy rather than to…