Are the legislators of Ohio insane? Is the Ohio Department of Education totally corrupt?
Those are some of the questions that come to mind on reading that the state has agreed to designate the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow as a recipient of funding for dropout prevention and recovery center.
ECOT certainly knows a lot about dropouts.
It produces more dropouts than any other “school” in the state of Ohio, more than any other school in the nation.
As Stephen Dyer shows, ECOT performs worse than any other district in the state:
Now that it appears the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow — the state’s largest online school and the nation’s largest producer of high school dropouts — will be classified as a dropout recovery and prevention school (without a hint of irony) by the Ohio Department of Education, it is useful to look at just how dreadful ECOT’s performance has been.
In the 2016-2017 school year, ECOT received $103 million in state money meant for kids in Ohio school districts, but which went instead to ECOT. Not a single penny came from a district that performed worse in more report card categories than ECOT. Only $2,204 of the $103 million came from a district whose performance was the same.
But here’s the amazing stat: More than $25 million of that $103 million came from districts that outperformed ECOT in EVERY SINGLE COMPARABLE REPORT CARD CATEGORY!
That’s right. One out of every 4 dollars going to ECOT comes from a district that in every way outperforms ECOT — the largest single chunk of state funding transfers to the school.
Naturally, the inquiring mind wonders who made this decision. It didn’t just happen. Someone or several someones just sat down and said, how can we shovel more millions of taxpayer dollars to the worst performing virtual charter school in the state? in the nation?
Were they incompetent or corrupt? I leave that to you to decide.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Maybe this will give us more fodder: “Drugs are killing so many people in Ohio that cold-storage trailers are being used as morgues” Headline on the Washington Post, March 16, 2017. Are the lawmakers on something?
Yes! They are on “STUPID & GREEDY.”
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education and commented:
We must remember that John Kasich is the ringmaster of this 3-ring circus.
Too many people still look at Kasich as possible Presidential material: may the exposure of his true nature continue.
He, Scott Walker, Jeb Bush and a few others just need to slither off into the night.
It just comes to show:the homeschool days are over. Get used to it.
“The Smell of Corruption”
Never assume
Incompetence rules
If ever a fume
Of scandalous fuels
This decision is beyond embarrassing. When one out of every 4 dollars going to ECOT comes from a district that in every way outperforms ECOT, you have to follow the money to find out who is getting paid to sell out the at risk students of Ohio. Ohio taxpayers should contact local representatives to complain.
Yes, Ohio is absolutely in the pockets of charter operators. Follow the money. Many editorials have criticized and condemned this outfit, yet it continues to flourish with money that should be going to the public schools. If the press, the people, the schools all are against this blatant money-grab, why do they keep “winning”?? Clearly the corruption is deep and dirty……..At this point, I am not sure if anyone with integrity has a voice in our state. Clearly not the citizens, parents, or the press………………Tragic.
Yes and yes!
Also Yes and Yes and yes to drext727 who identifies the ringmaster.
Both…incompetent and corrupt!
They are insane, incompetent, corrupt, and arrogant.
.They think with a serial liar, failed businessman, fake billionaire, malignant narcissist and psychopath like Trump in the White House, the crooks are now in charge.
The Trump administration will go down as the most incompetent and corrupt one in US history – that is if the U.S. survives and has a future.
If one cockroach rises to the top and doesn’t get smashed, then the rest of the cockroaches come out of the dark places they hide in.
Perfect description of the Republicans who control the Ohio Assembly.
“Naturally, the inquiring mind wonders who made this decision.”
The people who “made this decision” are ECOT’s sponsor, because that’s how Ohio charter law works.
So, the sponsor of ECOT, who are paid 1.5 million a year by ECOT, make the decisions on ECOT.
Yeah. It’s ridiculous.