In the short two years an Indianapolis charter school was open, it mismanaged funds and didn't prove academically viable. The result? Despite a public outcry to keep the school open, officials wasted no time in shuttering its doors. Contrast that with the long overdue closing of The International Preparatory School (TIPS) in Cleveland. TIPS's financial woes trace all the way back to 2001, when an audit showed the school had illegally spent $98,000 of public funds. Throughout the six years TIPS was in operation, the school languished in Academic Emergency. Yet, when Attorney General Jim Petro announced the school would be closing there was an outpouring of the support for the school by some of the parents whose children attended it, and there were threats of lawsuits. It appears that, after much hemming and hawing on all sides, TIPS is no more. Watching from afar, and with less than perfect information on both cases, we applaud Indianapolis for following through on its obligation to close failing schools in a timely fashion. We wonder: why did it take Ohio so long to do the same?
"Petro wants charter school closed," by Scott Stephens, The Plain Dealer, October 21, 2005
"Auditor: Shut charter school," by Scott Stephens, The Plain Dealer, October 12, 2005
"City threatens to shut charter school," by Kim L. Hooper, Indianapolis Star, October 6, 2005