State isn't ready for more charters (OH)

Sunday, July 31, 2011, 6:27 PM

If state education officials can't improve their oversight of failing charter schools and charter sponsors, the state's in no position to sponsor 20 new charters, as state lawmakers want the Ohio Department of Education to do under a new state law.

Exhibit No. 1 is the continuing saga of the Marcus Garvey Academy charter school in Cleveland and its sponsor, Ashe Culture Center.

Garvey's accounting records were such a mess that the Ohio auditor's office temporarily stripped the school of funding last April. It found that more than $46,000 of taxpayers' money may have been misspent. The Ohio Department of Education, meanwhile, said someone at the school had falsified student test scores.

An assertive, vigilant state Department of Education would have shut Garvey down. But current law allows multiple reprieves. And while a department spokesman said he is confident that the department can be a good sponsor, few would agree.

More: http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/07/state_isnt_ready_for_more_char.html