Are Ohio Democrats playing politics in urging Republican candidates and lawmakers to give up their campaign contributions from William Lager? He is the founder of the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, the largest online school in the state. The simple answer is yes, and good thing that they are.
Heavy pressure should be applied to the Republican majorities at the Statehouse to do more to enhance oversight of the state’s charter schools.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that since 2000, Lager has given about $2.1 million to Ohio candidates and political parties. If both Democrats and Republicans have benefited, virtually the entire sum has landed in Republican coffers. The donation disparity does not surprise. Republicans have the power. From 2011, when Republicans regained total control of state government, to 2015, Larger routed their way more than $1 million in political money.
To be sure, the Republican majorities enacted substantial improvements in accountability last year. Yet even voices in their own ranks admit that additional steps are required to repair the state’s dismal reputation as the “Wild, Wild West” for charter schools. Will their leadership act?
Bear in mind that the scandal here, and that’s what it is, goes to all that Republicans permitted as they encouraged the rapid expansion of the charter industry. State Sen. Bill Coley, a Cincinnati Republican, reflected the neglectful attitude last week. He described as a “colossal waste of funds” the legal fees the state faces as the Department of Education has attempted to do the right thing in holding ECOT accountable under the law for its enrollment claims.
The legal fees wouldn’t be necessary if ECOT complied with the reasonable request of the department. Where did the online school get the idea that it could skate past such requirements? Its many legislative enablers have played their part.
ECOT received $106 million last school year. An Education Department audit recently found that the school overstated its enrollment by 143 percent, raising the possibility of the state seeking repayment of as much as $60 million.
And that is for one year. What about previous years, other false enrollment numbers generating an accumulated windfall?
No question, many students benefit from an online education, and online charter schools often enroll students facing severe challenges. Yet the task for lawmakers is ensuring that public dollars are put to effective use. That becomes urgent when the Columbus Dispatch reports that ECOT accounted for one of every six dropouts in Ohio last year. Or that the school’s five-year graduation rate is 44 percent, compared with an average 85 percent for the state.
These and other discouraging numbers explain why Joe Schiavoni, a Youngstown Democrat and the Senate minority leader, has proposed legislation that would require online schools to document precisely student participation. The bill should receive high priority. Instead, it has been pushed aside by the Republican leadership. Which leaves Schiavoni and his allies to seek ways to apply further pressure — and to look good standing up for students and taxpayers.
To see a summary of the Beacon Journal recommendations for the Nov. 8 election, go http://www.ohio.com/editorial/endorsements.