Ohio school board's Democrats want charter school limits

The state school board's beefed-up coalition of Democrats says it will fight for better accountability for Ohio's charter schools, beginning with pushing for the election of Democrats for board president and vice president.

Minority Democrats on the 19-member panel said Friday they'll promote a so-called "pro public education" agenda as the powerful policy-setting board begins the year's business on Monday.

They plan to nominate newcomer Pat Bruns to face veteran board member Tom Gunlock, an appointee of Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sik), in the race to replace departing president Debe Terhar (DEH'-bee TAYR'-hahr). Democrat Michael Collins, a board incumbent, will be nominated as vice president, likely facing incumbent Ron Rudduck.

(Read more at WFMJ).

Ohio's weak charter school system needs a massive makeover

A recent Stanford University report points out in detail what many education critics in Ohio have long realized: Far too many children in Ohio's 390 charter schools are falling behind their traditional public school peers in math and reading – except for youngsters in Cleveland's charter schools, the best of which have partnered with the city school district. Clearly, the rest of the state must catch up.

Macke Raymond, director of Stanford's Center for Research on Educational Outcomes or CREDO, which worked in partnership with the nonprofit Fordham Institute, a charter school advocate, blames disengaged charter school boards and charter school authorizers, known as sponsors, for failing to eliminate or improve mediocre schools.

One improvement is on its way: Ohio's new evaluation system for sponsors, which begins in January, will rate sponsors according to the academic performance of their students. If the evaluation system doesn't work, it ought to be tweaked.

Meanwhile, the CREDO study should spur Gov. John Kasich, who recently said he wants better regulation of charter schools, and the charter school reform committee created by state Sen. Peggy Lehner, a Republican from Kettering who leads the Ohio Senate Education Committee, to improve the system. Lehner hopes to present legislation later this year. 

Another recent Fordham Institute study -- this one done with Bellwether Education Partners -- also deserves the attention of Lehner's committee. It recommends that Ohio's charter law clearly outline the responsibilities of authorizers, school board and management companies. It also advocates giving charter schools more money. 

The latter should not happen as long as so many charter-school youngsters learn less in reading and math than students in Ohio's traditional public schools, a key finding of the CREDO study.

Read more at Cleveland.com)

Now lawmakers should overhaul Ohio’s charter-school law

It shouldn’t be a surprise that stricter up-front standards lead to healthier charter schools, but it’s worth pointing out, nonetheless: This school year, after the Ohio Department of Education finally made clear that it won’t tolerate shoddy charter-school startups, it got a better crop of new schools.

This is a significant step, but just one of many that Ohio must make to turn its charter-school program from more than a decade of mediocrity and failure to a future of greater promise.

Only 11 new charter schools opened in Ohio for the current school year — a big drop from the 2013-14 year, when more than 50 started. More important is that halfway through the school year, all of the new ones remain open.

By this time last year, Columbus alone had seen 17 charters close. Nine of them had just opened the previous August and operated only until October or November, spending a total of $1.6 million in public money. The failures made clear that, despite numerous attempts to improve the weak oversight of charter schools in Ohio, the Wild West character of the program persisted.

The weakest link in the Ohio system has been the sponsors, sometimes called authorizers, of charter schools. The bar has been too low to be approved as an authorizer, and the law allows obvious conflicts of interest that work against the best interests of students.

(Read more at the Dispatch)

As a result, sponsors — who are supposed to vet proposed schools, hold them accountable and close them if they fail— have sometimes simply used charter schools, regardless of their quality, as a way to make money by selling them services.

Leader of charter schools in Ohio linked to possible government unrest in Turkey

Media reports show millions go to for-profit charter schools; one Ohio school leader may have strong anti-U.S. sentiments

A prosecutor reportedly has asked a Turkish court to issue an arrest warrant for U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, the honorary president of the Niagara Foundation, whom President of Turkey Tayyip Erdoğan accuses of trying to overthrow him, according to a report by a London newspaper. (See: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/19/turkey-arrest-warrant-fethullah-gulen.)

The Turkish court has not ruled on the request, the newspaper reported.

In a Christmas Eve email from Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy in School Funding Executive Director William Phillis, a recent report in The Columbus Dispatch had indicated a warrant may have been issued for Gülen. Other reports said a warrant has not been issued.

"The Gülen movement operates about 150 tax-supported charter schools in the United States, 19 of which are in Ohio," Phillis said. "The Gülen schools have been the subject of investigations by state and federal agencies.

“In spite of the investigations, these schools seem to enjoy protection from state and federal officials. International politics seem to be at play. Meanwhile, these suspect charter schools keep sucking funds from Ohio school districts," Phillis said.

(Read more athe the Highlandcountypress.com)

Charter officials pay for extra days in Vegas

What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas, especially if you inappropriately charge taxpayers for the trip.

Two employees of the Columbus-based Internet charter school Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, or ECOT, attended a school-safety conference in Las Vegas in July 2013. The charter school paid for their flight, hotel and expenses.

If you’re wondering why officials from an online school, whose students take classes from home, need five days of training on responding to school shooters and the like, your curiosity might be doubly piqued to learn the conference was at the Red Rock Resort, with more than 3 acres dedicated to pool-side lounging.

“Boasting 19 irresistible private cabanas and an island fountain, our sprawling pool area offers enough space and the right balance of ambience for both pool parties and quiet relaxation,” including swim-up blackjack tables, the hotel’s website says. The adults-only Cabana Club “offers a more intimate poolside ambiance.”

It also has a few conference rooms, of course.

The conference’s “Meet & Greet Reception” was held poolside, “featuring networking, drinks, food, entertainment & door prizes,” according to the schedule.

Five days weren’t enough for the two ECOT employees, Dana Comparetto and Carol Dimoff.

“The conference ended at noon on Friday,” the audit says. “However the employees did not leave Las Vegas until Sunday night, incurring additional spending of $290 in hotel fees and $102 in meal expenditures,” which “does not meet the definition of a proper public purpose.”

(Read more at the Dispatch)

Ohio charter schools: More closures, less openings signal high-water mark in 2014

Last year was pivotal for Ohio’s charter school movement — never had so many closed or so few opened.

The 2014 uptick in closures — led by 17 in Columbus — and a slump in openings — only 11 opened following 56 the year before — indicate that the groups sponsoring these publicly funded and privately run schools are rejecting some low-performers and applying heightened scrutiny before approving new ones.

As the state’s fiscal auditor and private research groups have reported inordinate amounts of misspent taxpayer dollars and low academic performance in Ohio charter schools, the slowing of the movement is in part a result of Ohio education officials cracking down on sponsors.

“Before I think we were pretty lax in what we were asking them to submit. Now we’re making sure that all those inspections are done, all the teachers are certified, all that stuff is in place before we let a school open,” a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education has said.

Four of the 11 new charter schools, including Steel Academy in Akron, have been sponsored by the state. The remaining seven are mostly sponsored by private, nonprofit groups.

None of the 11 new charter schools has closed, though planned and actual enrollment figures reported to the state indicate at least four are operating below their enrollment goals, which determine operating revenue. Between June 2013 and June 2014, 32 Ohio charter schools closed, most voluntarily for financial reasons. Only nine had been open for more than a full academic year, signalling a spike in the failure rate of first-year schools.

A net loss of charter schools also has curbed statewide enrollment and the steadily increasing transfer of state funding from traditional public schools to charter schools.

(Read more at the Akron Beacon Journal)