The Ohio State Auditor said that a charter school that closed due to mismanagement in 2015 owes the state $340,000.
http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170525/ohio-auditor-closed-columbus-charter-school-owes-state-340000
“A North Side charter school that shut its doors in 2015, stranding about 300 students, has not repaid the $340,770 it owes the state, according to an audit released Thursday by state Auditor Dave Yost.
“The FCI Academy was closed in August 2015, just prior to the start of classes, by its sponsor, the Toledo-based Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West. The shutdown, for mismanagement, came after the school had received its per-pupil aid from the Ohio Department of Education for the 2015-16 school year.
“Poor management ran this charter school aground,” Yost said. “The financial losses to taxpayers are significant, but the biggest victims here are the students and parents who had the rug pulled out from under their feet at the start of the school year.”
“Auditors found that as of Feb. 28, 2017, the academy, formerly located at 2177 Mock Road, had a bank balance of $86,110 and outstanding liabilities totaling $632,339, including the amount owed to the state.”
A financial calamity. Not a public school.
“The Ohio State Auditor said that a charter school that closed due to mismanagement in 2015 owes the state $340,000.”
Time will tell when the check will be in the mail…
DeRolph v. State is a landmark case in Ohio constitutional law in which the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled that the state’s method for funding public education was unconstitutional.
On March 24, 1997, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled in a 4-3 decision that the state funding system “fails to provide for a thorough and efficient system of common schools,” as required by the Ohio Constitution, and directed the state to find a remedy…
“The school was the creation of the Living Faith Apostolic Church in Columbus, which shares an address with the school and was founded by the church’s leader, Bishop Edgar Allen Posey, his wife, Tracey, and another person, according to state incorporation documents. It served students in kindergarten through grade 12, according to its website.
The closure letter was sent to Tracey Posey and lists her as president of the school. No one answered the phone Wednesday at the offices of the church. The superintendent for Lake Erie West, the sponsor, did not respond to an email seeking information about the closure.”
Why do they allow people to just create a publicly-funded position for themselves?
He started a school and hired his wife, who then received a public salary. How is this different than ordinary corruption?
What, exactly, is the “president” of a school? That’s not a public school category for an employee. They’re using this language to get around state regulations that apply to “superintendents” and “principals”.
You know, so far it just been money but the State of Ohio will be in a world of hurt if something happens at one of these unregulated schools and then people find out any random person was permitted to open and operate a “public school”. The State of Ohio will have some explaining to do.
If they aren’t watching the money they probably also aren’t watching anything else, like safety. This school wasn’t even paying employee withholding taxes. We really trust that they’re conducting fire/tornado drills? Why?
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/08/26/FCI_Academy_charter_school_closed.html
How “godly” of them.
Check the bank accounts of the founder and president of the school. Seems this is getting the norm with these charter school scams. Just what they want for the 1% club. But DeVos isn’t talking about it and if they ask her, she’ll lie like she has been.
The money is not gone, it’s just somewhere else where it shouldn’t be. Everyone associated with this (and all the other corrupt charters) should have their assets frozen and funds seized.