Gadfly Bites 8/14/26—Big change

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1. Only one piece of news to talk about today, but it’s a doozy. Fordham-sponsored United Schools here in Columbus took on the task of transporting all of their own students for the first time last year, cutting their dependence on the various local school districts which had caused them headaches for ages beforehand. How’d it go? Judging by the parent comments in this piece, United created a system that was responsive to family needs and supported their students and school culture goals. Big change from the status quo, then. United CEO Andy Boy lets us know the effort was expensive—$1.8 million, with only about one-third covered by the state of Ohio—but clearly worth it to the network. And likely worth it for other charters (and maybe some calcified district systems) to investigate themselves. Year 2 is almost upon them and we wish everyone the best. (Columbus Dispatch, 8/13/26)

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