In the business world, ROI - return on investment - is a way to evaluate how well an investment is performing. Simply put, it's a way to measure the bang for the buck.
When it comes to public schools in Ohio, the "state report cards" fulfill a similar role. This year, due to a review of attendance figures, state ratings for public schools were delayed. Thus, preliminary results were released Wednesday.
It's no coincidence the information was made public before Election Day. After all, many districts have levy and bond issues on ballot. The hope is the ratings will reflect positively on the local districts.
Around here, that's almost a given.
Eight public school systems in The Advertiser-Tribune coverage area received an excellent rating - Tiffin City Schools, Clyde-Green Springs and Upper Sandusky exempted village school districts, and Hopewell-Loudon, Mohawk, New Riegel, Old Fort and Lakota local school districts.
Meanwhile, Bettsville - the smallest district in mainland Ohio - maintains its "continuous improvement" rating.
Voters in the Mohawk, Tiffin City, Clyde-Green Springs and Bettsville districts should keep this in mind as they vote in the general election. Schools deserve to see election returns which reflect their return on investment.
