- In case you missed it, our own Aaron Churchill entered the lion’s den in Cincinnati on Monday, participating in a League of Women Voters event on charter school accountability. It appears from Enquirer coverage that he was about the only one who thought that charter law reform efforts were a step forward in Ohio. And if I wasn’t sure from that, then this piece from the “News and Stuff” column of CityBeat sealed it. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 4/21/15; CityBeat Cincinnati, 4/21/15)
- Also on the topic of charter law reform, editors in Cleveland opine today on the raft of bills in the state legislature aimed at doing just that. Citing the CREDO charter quality study from December and calling the charter sector in Ohio a “wretched, weedy mess”, the PD bosses opine favorably on the reform efforts and in favor of more money to ODE to do the job right. Interesting. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 4/22/15)
- Speaking of opiners, the Enquirer continues adjusting to the “post-5-of-8 landscape” they find themselves in here in Ohio. To wit: a guest commentary that evokes school violence as a likely outcome of the loss of mandatory staff levels for counselors. While she’s not wrong that counselors can be vital participants in an education community, why not just advocate for that – especially in Cincy, which is all in on “wraparound services” for students in need. Honestly, she undercuts her own argument by seeming to be OK with bailing on arts instruction. If a district wanted – needed – to hire 50 counselors and 1 art teacher, that was much harder under 5 of 8 than it is now. Just sayin’. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 4/21/15)
- Another district performance audit, another denial. Springfield Local Schools in Northwest Ohio came onto the State Auditor’s radar (and “fiscal caution” status) due to worries about its financial health. The auditor found $2.6 M is savings, mostly in staff cuts, only to have the Board President say she doesn’t believe the community wants the district to cut staff. She is right that even a $2.6 M expense reduction won’t eliminate the deficit, but it would be a lot closer to even. And it might be some further incentive for “the community” to support the levy on which the Board president is pinning her hopes to avoid further financial health woes. Why do district school representatives only love the State Auditor when he’s ragging on charter schools? (Toledo Blade, 4/22/15)
- Speaking of the hot and cold reception for Auditor Yost (I know! I never get tired of talking about that guy either!), we end today with yet another round of “If this were a charter school, the reaction would be…”. A new audit report in Medina Schools indicates that personal student loan repayments aren’t the only expenditures for which the ousted superintendent questionably used taxpayer funds. Sounds like this effort is well in hand as the case heads slowly for trial (seriously, how much has this two-year-plus effort cost the district and the state?) and that all of the individuals involved are out of a job in Medina, but of course no one ever called for the district to be closed or for school finance law to be rewritten. If this had been a charter school, though…. Well, then we’d be right back where started at the top of these clips, wouldn’t we? (Akron Beacon Journal, 4/22/15)
