Assessing Union Impact: Factors Impacting 2020 Reopening Plans of K–12 Catholic Schools in Ohio

• In Event: Teaching and Organizing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This pilot study explores the factors impacting fall 2020 reopening plans at catholic K-12 schools in three Ohio diocese by measuring the effect of unionization, political polarization, COVID-19 transmission rates, economic indicators, and geographic determinants on catholic school reopening plans. A multinomial logistic regression model is used and provides a statistically significant prediction of school reopening plans. This analysis reveals that catholic school reopening plans were impacted by CARES Act funding, rather than political polarization or COVID-19. Unionization also impacted reopening plans, though this effect disappeared when controlling for diocese. These findings may have implications for teacher organizing as well as education policy more broadly, particularly where private and public schools compete for scarce government funding.

Author

• Kathleen Marie Sellers, Miami University - Oxford