The state auditor, acting on behalf of his political allies in the General Assembly, is using the power of his office to intimidate school district boards of education from pursuing an anti-voucher lawsuit.
Auditor Keith Faber has requested all the school districts to inform him of how much money they have spent on lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of laws passed by the Ohio General Assembly.
The auditor gives no substantive reason for his ask, except that he has the authority to do it.
The purpose of this request is clearly to chill the opposition to legislation attempting to expand the Ed Choice school voucher program.
The school districts that brought the lawsuit say the request is “contemptuous and criminal behavior” and have asked Ohio Attorney General David Yost to order Faber to rescind the request.
The group of school boards, Vouchers Hurt Ohio, noted the request was done by the state auditor on behalf of Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima.
The school districts have told Senator Huffman, a longtime advocate for school choice, they intend to subpoena him about his “end goal.” Huffman’s attorneys are arguing against it.
And now Faber is loaning his power to help Huffman avoid answering the questions.
A lawyer speaking for the coalition of more than 100 school districts said that the purpose of the information request is to “intimidate the school districts exercising their right to help pay for this litigation.”
He’s right, and Faber should stand down.
We would not be surprised if the Ohio General Assembly tries to pass a bill prohibiting Ohio school boards from bringing lawsuits against Ohio laws. Running roughshod over the rights of local and district governments to do their jobs is a favorite tactic of Ohio’s General Assembly.
School boards oversee the public schools in their jurisdictional boundaries and are rightfully jealous of the funding they receive from the state. They fear that an expanded voucher law, known as the “backpack bill”, will divert even more money away from traditional public schools to private schools.
Toledo, Sylvania, Swanton, Washington Local, and Bowling Green school boards are among the litigants.
It is the boards’ responsibility to protect their schools and they have the right to take their fight to the courts to challenge the constitutionality of these laws.
Whether Ohio families have the right to direct state school spending to the schools they want their children to attend, and whether that spending is unconstitutionally crossing a line into state support of religious education are questions that deserve more legal exploration, not less
The suit, filed in January, 2022, in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, contends that Ohio is constitutionally obligated to fund one system of “common” schools and has no authority to give taxpayer dollars to private schools. It asks for a permanent injunction blocking the spending of state money on vouchers.
Ohioans benefit from having the voucher program reviewed for constitutionality.
Faber and Huffman should back off from their unseemly power play and let the legal process go forward.
