The not-to-be believed letter sent by U.S. Education Department to Ohio
Put this in the you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff category.
When the U.S. Department of Education last month handed out $157 million in charter school grants, many in the education world couldn’t understand the largest award on the list. It went to the Ohio Department of Education — $32.6 million for the first year, with a recommended multi-year total of $71 million. Why, the question was asked, did the Obama administration give so much money for charter schools in Ohio when the state’s $1 billion charter sector is as scandal-ridden as any in the country?
Now we know.
Federal education officials just sent a letter (see below) to Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Richard Ross saying that, in fact, it didn’t quite understand the depth of Ohio’s charter problems, and now is putting new restrictions on the grant money, as my colleague Lyndsey Laytonwrote in this story.
The letter says in part:
[I]n making the original grant award, the Department conducted an expedited review of information available at that time and made a preliminary determination that these concerns and issues should not disqualify ODE from the FY 2015 CSP SEA competition. The Department took such concerns into consideration when awarding ODE’s grant, however, and placed special conditions on the grant, pending receipt of more information regarding these matters. Since awarding the grant to ODE, the Department has received additional information that raises continuing concerns regarding ODE’s ability to administer its CSP SEA grant properly, particularly in the areas of oversight and accountability with respect to Ohio’s charter schools.
An expedited review of information available at that time? Who didn’t know that Ohio’s charter schools had become a national joke — literally. The Plain Dealer ran a story this year that started like this:
Ohio, the charter school world is making fun of you.
Ohio’s $1 billion charter school system was the butt of jokes at aThe not-to-be believed letter sent by U.S. Education Department to Ohio - The Washington Post:
