Federal government puts the brakes on $32 million to Ohio for charters
More than a month after the Obama administration gave $32.5 million to Ohio to expand charter schools despite Ohio’s history of multiple scandals involving charters, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to state officials in which it said it did not realize the extent of concerns regarding Ohio’s charter schools.
As a result, federal officials said they would place a new restrictions on the way Ohio can use the federal money, including a temporary hold that requires explicit approval from Washington before any of the dollars can be spent.
In a letter to Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Richard Ross, the federal department explained that when the agency made the initial award in September, it had conducted “an expedited review” of Ohio’s record and believed the state could properly track the spending of federal funds.
Ohio was among seven states that won grants under the Obama administration’s program to expand public charter schools. The District also won a charter school grant.
But Ohio got the largest single award — $32.5 million — raising eyebrows because the state’s problems with charter schools are well-documented.
The state has had charter school scandals involving fraud, poor academic performance, oversight failures and the July resignation of a senior official at the state education department after it was discovered he manipulated performance statistics to favor some charters.
That official, David Hansen, was responsible for writing Ohio’s application for the federal grant.
Ohio State Auditor Dave Yost and several others questioned why the Obama administration was awarding millions in federal dollars to a state with multiple charter school problems. Yost’s staff had released a special audit that found a pattern of charter schools inflating enrollment to pocket taxpayer subsidies for students who don’t actually attend their schools.
Nadya Dabby, an assistant deputy secretary at the Department of Education, defended the decision in September. “Ohio has a pretty good mechanism in Federal government puts the brakes on $32 million to Ohio for charters - The Washington Post:
