The Associated Press

CLEVELAND - Ohio spends more per pupil on private and religious schools than any other state, dropping about $420 million in the current two-year budget cycle on transportation, textbooks, Internet connections and other expenses, The Plain Dealer reported Sunday.

Supporters of the subsidies argue the aid offsets the tuition burden on private-school parents.

"The parents paying tuition at nonpublic schools are paying taxes," said Karin O'Neil, director of the Ohio Association of Independent Schools. "Certainly our schools appreciate the funding, and they use it."

Supporters also say taxpayers are getting a bargain because the state's 940 private schools teach 220,000 students who would otherwise be in public schools.

The average per-pupil cost of educating a public student is more than $7,600, but the state allocates less than $1,000 for private school students.

Private schools save the state as much as $2 billion a year, according to the Catholic Conference of Ohio.

But William Phillis, director of a coalition of public school districts that have successfully sued the state over funding levels, said public support of private schools is like subsidizing country club dues for families who don't use city parks.

"The public school system is the system that has the potential to bring all children together and give them a chance to learn to be Americans," Phillis said. "If someone wants to opt out of that system, that's fine. But when government subsidizes stratification, that's a problem."

Some studies show that while Ohio leads the nation in its support of private schools, it ranks low in its support of public schools. In a six-year period in the 1990s, Ohio fell from 24th to 32nd in its support of public schools, according to a Congressional Quarterly report.