The 2017-18 Seneca Valley School Board (from L-R): Ms. Susan Harrison, Ms. Leslie Bredl, Mr. Eric DiTullio, Board Vice President, Mr. Fred Peterson, Jr., Dr. Tracy Vitale, Superintendent of Schools, Rev. Reid Moon, Mr. James Nickel, Board President, Mr. Jeff Widdowson and Ms. Kathy Whittle. Missing from photo: Mr. Tim Hester.

JACKSON TWP — The Seneca Valley School Board has taken a stand against proposed legislation that would allow private schools to get state education funding.

Board members passed a resolution Monday opposing Education Savings Account voucher programs outlined in state Senate Bill 2.

“It's essentially bad public policy, and I worry that it's a slippery slope,” said Fred Peterson, Seneca Valley school director.

The bill would amend the state's Public School Code to provide education savings accounts, or ESAs, to school-age children in low-achieving public schools, defined as those ranked in the bottom 15 percent based on standardized test scores.

While there are no schools in Butler County on the list of low-achieving districts, Seneca Valley board members wanted to show their support for school board and districts that would be directly affected.

Seneca Valley is the only school board in the county to pass such a resolution.

Eric DiTullio, school board vice president, said the bill sounds good on paper, but unintended consequences could spiral out of control for the lower-performing districts, and later for other school districts.

A full story appears in the Butler Eagle.