Currently, charter schools can only be opened in Ohio in “challenged school districts” that are struggling academically. The only school districts in the immediate Dayton area that meet that definition are Dayton, Trotwood-Madison and Jefferson Twp.
Asked to explain the provision, Voltolini told this newspaper that ODE still has to do a full legal analysis of the exact language of HB2 to see if the “any number of schools anywhere in Ohio” power could be subject to limitation.
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” said state board member Ron Rudduck of Wilmington. “House Bill 2 is much more in-depth than most people think. The devil’s in the details, and I think there are a lot of things in there that will get further review.”
Aaron Churchill, Ohio research director for the Fordham Institute, a charter school sponsor, said he’d love to see markets outside “challenged districts” open to competition from charters. But he questioned ODE’s belief that HB2 with let that happen.
“If you’re a start-up charter and you want to open in Centerville or Kettering, I don’t see how you can do it. It would seem to be in contrast with existing law,” Churchill said.
State board member A.J. Wagner of Dayton said while HB2 offers some good charter reforms, there’s also room for interpretation and implementation problems.
“Part of me thinks, until the charter school industry cleans itself up, I’m not too crazy about seeing it expanded,” Wagner said. “The other part of me says, if they think they can compete in the suburbs, have at it. … Let’s see how they compete with the suburban districts.”
$71M grant debated
State school board member Stephanie Dodd raised concerns about the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to award Ohio up to $71 million for expansion of charter schools.
Dodd pointed out that ODE’s grant application relied heavily on a robust new sponsor evaluation system. That system has since been revoked because of intentionally misused data, with the architect of the system, David Hansen, quickly resigning. Dodd said that amounted to Ohio getting millions of dollars under false pretenses.
State Superintendent Richard Ross said Ohio informed the feds of the problem and asked to amend its application after the evaluation problems came to light, but that U.S. DOE said to wait to see if they won the grant.
Dodd questioned how forthcoming ODE was with the feds, citing ODE’s July 31 email telling grant overseers only that “a hold was placed on the authorizer evaluation to allow for a review of the methodology.” The email makes no mention of intentionally hidden data or Hansen’s resignation.
But even Dodd and other board members critical of ODE’s grant application did not suggest Ohio refuse the $71 million.
Wagner, a Democrat, also asked the state school board to reconsider his motion for an independent investigation of the rigged sponsor evaluation process. The request was denied, 10-7 on party lines.
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