Ohio
Judge rules Ohio’s EdChoice school vouchers are illegal, but will ruling stick? | Opinion
Columbus, Bexley, and Worthington schools among plaintiffs suing state
Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. tsuddes@gmail.com.
In a late-June ruling, a Democratic Franklin County Common Pleas judge outlawed spending Ohioans’ tax money to help parents pay private school tuition for the state’s K-12 pupils via the state’s EdChoice school voucher program.
Because Judge Jaiza Page issued her sure-to-be-appealed decision amid the General Assembly’s budget-writing frenzy, some voters may have missed it. And that is, or should be, a problem for Ohioans who like to keep an eye on how the politicians on Capitol Square spend the people’s money. That’s especially so given the sneaky way that voucher fans expanded voucher spending during the 30 years since vouchers first surfaced in the 1995-97 state budget.
For one thing, as inaugurated then, vouchers could only be used by pupils living in the Cleveland school district. And the total amount of tax money the Republican-run legislature agreed to spend on Ohio’s first “school choice” venture in the 1995 budget amounted to about $5.25 million, The Plain Dealer reported. In terms of today’s population, that’s about 44 cents per Ohio resident.
The budget Gov. Mike DeWine just signed allots about $2.44 billion for voucher programs over the next two years — or about $205 per Ohio resident, an incredible increase resulting from stealthy, year-by-year legislative scheming.
Page’s decision was a clear-cut victory for the public school systems supporting the Vouchers Hurt Ohio coalition (lead plaintiff in the lawsuit: the Columbus schools). Among the coalition’s many other members: The Bexley, Upper Arlington and Worthington schools; the Dayton schools; and such Greater Cleveland districts as Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Cleveland Heights-University Heights, Mayfield, Richmond Heights and Shaker Heights schools; DeWine’s Greene County school district, the Cedar Cliff schools; and Republican Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman’s hometown district, the Lima schools.
How vouchers violate Ohio’s constitution
Reduced to essentials, the judge ruled that Ohio’s school voucher spending violates the state constitution on a number of fronts. That’s the state constitution that Ohio’s 99 state representatives and 33 state senators must swear to uphold before they can take their seats in the General Assembly.
The state will appeal Page’s decision to the Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals, which encompasses Franklin County. If the all-Democratic appellate court upholds the Common Pleas ruling — it likely will — the state would undoubtedly ask the Ohio Supreme Court, with a 6-1 Republican majority, to save the voucher program. And the Supreme Court’s GOP incumbents have shown zero appetite for challenging the similarly Republican-run General Assembly.
Page sided with the voucher foes on three of the arguments they made.
First, the plaintiffs argued that vouchers breached the Ohio Constitution, which requires the General Assembly to create and fund “a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state.” But she found that “the evidence … [showed] that, in expanding the EdChoice program to its current form, the General Assembly has created a system of uncommon private schools by directly providing private schools with over $700 million in funding.”
Page said the plaintiffs had also shown the state had additionally violated Ohio’s constitution to maintain a “thorough and efficient” school system when General Assembly Republicans decided against fully funding what’s known as the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan. Result: Ohio public schools received $6.48 billion in state aid instead of $7.24 billion for fiscal year 2022. She said the difference was close to the amount of state voucher funding that same fiscal year.
Finally, the judge agreed with voucher foes that because the program “provides private religious schools with approximately $1 billion in public school funds [the voucher program] violates … the Ohio Constitution by giving a religion or other sect the exclusive right to, or control of, a part of the school funds of Ohio.”
Voucher partially to blame for rising property taxes
What the judge didn’t say, but fairly might have observed, is that the creation and steady increases in Ohio’s state-tax-subsidies for non-public schools has been Statehouse government by stealth: start small, then, budget-by-budget, year by year, divert more and more public school money for the benefit of private schools. The resulting financial squeeze on public school districts is a big reason why skyrocketing property taxes are hammering Ohio homeowners — property tax burdens the General Assembly is making heavier by steadily diverting public school money to private schools.
Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. tsuddes@gmail.com.
Where do bed bugs come from? How they get could get into your home
Does the thought of bed bugs keep you up at night? Here’s what to know.
Columbus remains one of the nation’s top cities for bed bug treatments, according to Orkin’s latest annual rankings, while Ohio continues to dominate the list more than any other state.
Orkin ranked Columbus eighth on its 2026 list of U.S. cities with the most bed bug treatments, the same position the city held last year. Cleveland ranked even higher at No. 4. Cincinnati came in at No. 15.
Overall, six Ohio cities made the Top 50, more than any other state: Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Youngstown, Dayton and Toledo. The rankings are based on residential and commercial bed bug treatments Orkin performed between May 2025 and May 2026.
Chicago claimed the top spot for the sixth consecutive year, followed by Los Angeles, Detroit, Cleveland and Indianapolis.
Ohio continues to rank high for bed bugs
Ohio’s strong showing on the list comes as the state has repeatedly appeared near the top of national pest rankings.
A recent USA TODAY report, citing an analysis by Casino.ca, estimated Ohio has the second-highest bed bug risk for travelers in the country, behind only Michigan.
The Orkin rankings do not measure the total number of bed bugs in a city. Instead, they reflect where the company performed the greatest number of residential and commercial treatments over the past year.
Columbus has dealt with bed bug sightings before
The rankings also follow several high-profile bed bug incidents in downtown Columbus government offices.
Last fall, The Dispatch reported a bed bug was discovered inside the Ohio Department of Medicaid’s downtown office, prompting treatment of the affected area.
The Dispatch also reported that employees at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation had reported bed bug sightings, leading to inspections and pest-control efforts.
Those incidents highlighted the challenges large office buildings face when dealing with pests that can hitch rides on clothing, backpacks and luggage rather than originating inside the buildings themselves.
It’s not just bed bugs
Bed bugs aren’t the only pests putting Columbus on Orkin’s radar.
In October 2025, Orkin ranked Columbus No. 21 on its annual “Rattiest Cities” list, a slight improvement from previous years but still among the nation’s leading metro areas for rodent treatments.
Taken together, the rankings suggest central Ohio remains a busy market for pest-control companies as the city holds steady on this year’s bed bug list.
Which Ohio cities made Orkin’s 2026 list?
Among Ohio cities, the rankings were:
- Cleveland– No. 4
- Columbus– No. 8
- Cincinnati– No. 15
- Youngstown– No. 32
- Dayton– No. 38
- Toledo– No. 42
Trending reporter Amani Bayo can be reached at abayo@dispatch.com.
After years of unchecked dominance from the SEC, the Big Ten Conference cemented its place as the best in college football in the 2025-2026 season.
The Indiana Hoosiers completed a remarkable 16-0 season by winning a National Championship, beating Ohio State in the conference championship game, dominating Alabama in the Rose Bowl, then blowing out Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
That completed a Big Ten trifecta, with the Michigan Wolverines winning a championship in 2024, then the Buckeyes following it up by beating Notre Dame to win the title in 2025. While the SEC might have better depth overall, it’s no question that the top of the Big Ten is as good or better than anyone.
SEC, BIG TEN ARE DOMINATING COLLEGE FOOTBALL THANKS TO MASSIVE ADVANTAGES OVER OTHER CONFERENCES
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti after defeating the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Jan. 19, 2026. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
And a new program might be ready to take their turn at the top of the Big Ten: those same Oregon Ducks.
One of the most predictive measures of a team’s strength from year to year is how much production they return from the previous season. It makes sense; the more key players that stay with the team, the better it is for continuity and development.
The Big Ten, oddly enough, has several teams that return much of their production on both sides of the ball. ESPN’s Bill Connelly ran the numbers, finding that teams like Maryland, Nebraska, Minnesota and UCLA all ranked in the top 10 nationally in returning value. Though given how these teams played in 2025, that’s less important. Number 12, though? The Oregon Ducks.
And that carryover production is coming from a team that lost just two games all season, both to Indiana. They handled a very good USC team, 42-27, overcame miserable conditions to outlast the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road, beat the rival Washington Huskies, and most impressively, shut out an elite Texas Tech team 23-0 in the College Football Playoff. And they bring back the players responsible for 66% of their overall production, including star quarterback Dante Moore.
Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) warms up prior to the 2025 Orange Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
Just behind them at 65%? USC, heading into a pivotal season under Lincoln Riley.
Here’s where Oregon has the advantage, however. They bring that percentage back from a team that was significantly better than USC. It’s no surprise then, that per Connelly’s SP+ projections, Oregon is expected to be the No. 2 team in the country, by efficiency on offense, defense and special teams.
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A BIG 12 WINNER NOT NAMED TEXAS TECH OR BYU, CONSIDER THE HOUSTON COUGARS
What about the other Big Ten schools, though?
USC is the biggest wildcard. They sit at No. 13 in the SP+ projections, thanks to an elite offense and a defense that’s expected to be solid, if unspectacular. But their special teams projections are all the way down at No. 100 in the country, thanks to a series of disastrous mistakes in 2025. Special teams, though, should be the easiest area to improve upon. So if the Trojans can make some adjustments, they could exceed the eight game win expectancy.
Ohio State and Indiana, the two most recent champions, have a bit of a tougher hill to climb, though their roster composition is far from disastrous. The Buckeyes bring back 60% of their production, while Indiana is at 56%, even with several huge departures. That ranks at No. 31 and No. 52, respectively. Important, but not enough to push either team out of the top 5 in the national projections. And Ohio State sits at No. 1, thanks to consistently elite recruiting and key players like Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith returning.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning attends Oregon Pro Day on March 17, 2026, at the Moshofsky Center in Eugene, Oregon. (Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
But if there is an upset brewing at the top of the conference, Oregon might be the place to look. The question then becomes, can they put it all together against a difficult schedule? The Ducks play USC on the road, host Nebraska, travel to Illinois, play Ohio State on the road, host Michigan and have their rivalry game against Washington at Autzen.
OUTKICK IS NOW ON THE FOX APP: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
It won’t be easy, but don’t be surprised if at the end of the season, Dan Lanning and the Ducks are right back in the mix.
A Kentucky woman who had been missing for more than two weeks was found dead in her vehicle in Ohio, authorities said.
The body of Debra Wireman was found in her vehicle on July 3 in Clermont County, Ohio, the Flemingsburg Police Department in Kentucky said on Facebook on Wednesday. Investigators were called to the scene after a report identifying the vehicle as belonging to a missing person, police said. The remains were identified as Wireman’s by the Clermont County Coroner’s Office on July 7, according to law enforcement.
Police in Kentucky said the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio is investigating the woman’s death. No additional information will be released by Flemingsburg police “out of respect for Debra’s family and the integrity of that investigation.”
“While this is not the outcome any of us hoped and prayed for, we are thankful that Debra has been found and that her family can now begin to receive the closure they deserve,” police added on Facebook.
Wireman, according to police, was last seen on June 17 at around 4:30 p.m. in Aberdeen, Ohio, while traveling toward Maysville, Kentucky. She was driving a white 2020 Kia Forte with front-end damage. Police said family and friends were “concerned for her welfare.”
“The overwhelming response from our community, neighboring agencies, the media, and countless individuals across the region demonstrated the very best of people coming together in the hope of bringing someone home safely,” Flemingsburg police said.
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