Bill Phillis writes:
State Inspector General holding up a report of an investigation into a multi-million contract that the state steered to IQ Innovations, a company owned by the ECOT Man
The ECOT Man’s donations to political campaigns and political party organizations opened up several spigots connected to state revenue streams. IQ Innovations, created by the ECOT Man, received millions via a contract steered to it by state officials. The Ohio State University was a section of the pipe through which the funds flowed. The chancellor of the Board of Regents was an operative in turning on the spigot.
The attached news release provides yet another sordid piece of the ECOT scandal.
Why the corruption? Because some state officials not only allow it to happen but helped it happen.
“The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves.”
– John Adams, September 10, 1785
William L. Phillis | Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding | 614.228.6540 | ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net| http://www.ohiocoalition.org
Diane Ravitch's blog 
A shout out to Fordham’s media and state capitol efforts which resulted in the victimization of Ohio taxpayers and students, from corrupted state government and privatization of America’s most important common good.
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This is big. Embarrassing for OSU, too. I cannot believe they were in bed with IQ Innovations-they know it’s garbage.
Maybe they got a cut of the money that was stolen from public school students and taxpayers.
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Two school districts are seeking to intervene in the ECOT case. The school districts say the state doesn’t adequately represent the interests of their students.
http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180925/2-school-districts-seek-to-intervene-in-ecot-lawsuit-question-dewines-efforts
I hope they’re allowed to join. No one in Columbus is working on behalf of public school children. We need real representation and effective advocates.
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They don’t want to release the report ahead of the elections, because every Republican lawmaker in the state will be implicated in the scandal.
ECOT was a free for all- and it went on FOR YEARS.
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Fordham Board of Trustees Member- Stephen D. Dackin
Columbus State Community College Superintendent of Schools and Community Partnerships
OSU and Columbus State- PUBLIC institutions steering privatization?
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Yup. And it was cheap garbage, which their own employees told them, but which was ignored:
“Employees of the project said a Lager-connected supervisor retaliated against them after they complained that IQ Innovations wasn’t meeting its obligations and that its online-learning platform wasn’t working well. The supervisor, John D. Conley, Jr., once worked briefly as a consultant to Lager.
The employees complained under Ohio State’s whistleblower-protection policy in 2014, and the university’s Office of University Compliance and Integrity said that the employees “conveyed credible information that they faced significant retaliation after questioning the performance of IQ.” But because the office isn’t authorized to question employees of what is now called the Board of Higher Education, it could not “draw conclusions” about the whistleblowers’ complaints.”
The plan was to jam it into public schools, so all schools could be as lousy as ECOT. They would have succeeded too, but it was so bad it never worked well enough to get off the ground.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/02/25/ohios-troubled-online-education-project-investigated.html
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I wrote to my Ohio representative, asking him to get the report released. I referenced this blog. Fat chance he’ll do anything. That about right, Steve?
Now, if Fordham made a request, I’ll bet he’d listen.
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The Dispatch endorses the same corrupt, state, Republican political machine, over and over. Pseudo newspaper, pseudo democracy.
The power brokers in Columbus solidify colonialism which robs labor, the middle class and poor.
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Do people just not think critically any more.
Maybe the “marketing” ADS assaulting us are making the people of this country dumber and dumber.
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Ohio Rep. Steve Lipps, joined ALEC as soon as he was elected. It insures he is wined and dined by the Koch network. And, he’ll get the first drafts of legislation to introduce to harm his constituents. He’ll be able to do stuff like push private prisons, so the rich can profit on the misery of the most incarcerated population in the world- the U.S.
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Reblogged this on rjknudsen.
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