The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice have subpoenaed the campaign contributions made to the notorious Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, which operated for 20 years with minimal accountability and many political friends. The virtual charter raked in about $1 billion before it closed.
From the Columbus Dispatch:
The FBI and U.S. Department of Justice subpoenaed nearly 20 years of campaign contribution records for the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow — an indication that the now-closed online charter school and its key players have come under federal criminal investigation.
The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau obtained the grand jury subpoena in response to a public records request submitted to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. The Secretary of State received the subpoena because it is the custodian of campaign finance records.
The subpoena, sent Feb. 4, 2019, seeks all campaign contribution records since 2000 for ECOT, Altair Learning Management, IQ Innovations, WL Innovations, William and Jessica Lager, Richard James Harris, Melissa Vasil and Teresa Berry…
ECOT-related campaign contributions became politically toxic. Lager had been a top contributor for Republican candidates and GOP organizations, giving about $2.1 million since 2000.
In August 2017, the Ohio Republican Party returned $76,000 in campaign donations to Lager and Vasil. That refund came after former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder returned $70,000 to the Summit County Republican Party — the same amount the county party got two weeks earlier from the state GOP. Lager and Vasil each wrote $38,000 checks to the Ohio Republican Party’s state candidate fund June 26, 2017....
Bill Lager founded ECOT in 2000 and used for-profit companies he created to manage and provide IT services to the charter school.
In 2016, the Ohio Department of Education determined that ECOT had been overstating the number of students it served and the state demanded repayment of $80 million. That triggered a financial death spiral for the school, which abruptly shut its virtual doors in January 2018.
Then-state Auditor Dave Yost issued a blistering report on the operation in May 2018 and referred the audit to county and federal prosecutors for possible investigation.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
About time.
Thank you, Diane.
Here’s a list of the high profile national ed reformers who promoted and sold ECOT for more than 2 decades:
“2010 saw the first national figure speak at ECOT’s graduation – former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. In 2009, Lager gave $10,000 to the Florida Republican Party and in 2003, he gave $2,000 to Bush’s brother, George W. Bush.”
“Governor John Kasich spoke at the 2011 graduation ceremony – his first year in office. ECOT founder Bill Lager and his employees would give Kasich and his running mate Mary Taylor’s campaigns more than $22,000.”
“2012 saw GOP appointed State Superintendent Stan Heffner provide the keynote. Two months later, Heffner was forced to resign for lobbying on behalf of an education company he planned to work for while serving as interim State Superintendent”
No public school in Ohio has anywhere near that kind of political clout. In fact, none of the esteemed ed reform leaders who promoted the school have lifted a finger on behalf of any public school in the state.
So how did this happen? Why didn’t anyone in ed reform ask any real questions about this giant charter school they all endorsed and promoted? Why didn’t ECOT’s sponsor catch any of the financial chicanery? The sponsor was paid every year. What are they paid to do if not regulate the school?
https://innovationohio.org/education/k12education/ecot-survived-until-this-point-because-of-considerable-political-influence-just-look-at-their-graduation-ceremonies/
Breaking News! Federal investigators find that crooks are crooked!
Hahahahahahaha! Thanks for breaking that story, Bob.
Is this the quality of the “governance” we can expect when ed reform succeeds in privatizing schools?
No oversight at all until the school collapses in a heap of corruption and criminal investigations?
This is what we can expect from the “reinvented” systems they all plan to replace existing public systems with?
If it’s all junk like this can we get the public systems back?
“But once Lager inked that deal, his financial woes didn’t last long. ECOT — and his affiliated for-profit companies that provide instructional materials, services and marketing — have brought Lager a fortune.
From 2001 to 2016, ECOT took in more than $1 billion from Ohio taxpayers, and of that total paid more than $170 million to Lager’s companies to run the day-to-day operations of the school and provide it with educational software. During that time, Lager amassed millions in real estate holdings and made $2.1 million in political contributions to influential state officials.
Two years after opening ECOT, Lager bought a $300,000 condominium in the Waterford Tower Downtown, property records show. In 2010, he purchased a $433,500 home on Senecaville Lake in Noble County. In 2013, Lager bought a $995,000 house in Upper Arlington where his daughter, Jessica Lager Harris, and her family now live.
But his crown jewel is a $3.7 million home in Key West, Florida, purchased in 2014, featuring a pool and two-story cabana.”
They allowed Lager’s companies to be the sole-source, no-bid contractor for the school and he employed his whole family. .
They allowed this for 2 decades, all the while cheerleading for the school and expanding it every year.
These are the same people who want to privatize every public school in the country and create a whole new “governance” system- this is the quality of their work.
https://www.dispatch.com/news/20170730/how-ecot-founder-william-lager-cooked-up-lucrative-charter-school
The ed reform echo chamber are celebrating the Ohio public school budget they wrote:
Yitz Frank
Mini #ESA of $500 for all students below 300 fpl
Increased scholarships for EdChoice students (Approx 20%)
Expanded eligibility for siblings and other students
Removes caps on scholarships
Scholarships are fully funded
Tax credit scholarship program
And more…DeAngelisCorey twitter.com/JasonBedrick/s…
Sadly, nothing for students who attend the unfashionable public schools in the state.
This is another charter/voucher law. Public school students are a disfavored afterthought, although they comprise 90% of students in the state.
Once again the ed reform echo chamber deliver nothing for public school students and families, and instead serve only charter/voucher students.
Can we hire someone in state government who will perform some actual work for public school students in this state? I get that the state is completely captured by the charter/voucher cheerleaders of ed reform, but surely one or two state employees could find the time to work on public schools.
The Ohio Catholic Conference wrote to Ohio’s state senators and representatives about HB 110 on June 14, 2021. They communicated their appreciation for “each prior version upon which the budget bill was built”. The leaders of the Conference concluded their letter with, “We pray that you will be guided by God’s wisdom in your pursuit of the common good.” BTW- Sen. Matt Huffman was singled out for praise, no info. provided about the church to which he belongs.
Two weeks prior, the Conference posted, “Ohio Senate’s version provided unprecedented support for Catholic students and parents.”
Big win for the unaccountable Catholic church or as John Oliver quips, Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption. Prevention of the fleecing of Ohio’s citizens through privatization and the loss of their tax-funded assets must not be part of God’s wisdom.
One thing we can count on, all will ignore the Catholic politicking to advance their sect ..except those you implement their agenda.
“Corey DeAngeles”- policy analyst at the Cato Institute.
The Guardian reported 8-23-2019 that the Koch’s co-founded the Cato Institute and financed the Tea Party Movement with $100 million.
In November, 2020, the following notice appeared, “Corey DeAngeles is keynote speaker at the school choice town hall hosted by Bishop McCort Catholic School.”
It’s really incredible. They got nothing at all done for public schools again:
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2021/06/28/ohio-passes-budget-tax-cuts-and-new-school-funding-formula/5370930001/
If Ohio doesn’t find and hire some people who will work for public school students our public schools will continue to slip in national rankings every year.
They simply do no work for students who attend public schools. Every single education bill is a device to increase charter/voucher funding.
If you’re hiring and paying ed reformers in government, know this- they deliver nothing for students who attend public schools.
I thought California ruled the charter fraud world with A3 Education’s theft of $50 million in San Diego. But Ohio, $80 million lost to fraud by ECOT? And a whopping billion dollars to an online outfit that never provided near enough in-person instruction?You’re kicking our left coast posteriors with your charter waste, fraud and abuse, Ohio! Congratulations.
I’m tempted to throw the word Vichy in here to describe the political enablers, but maybe that’s a little over the top. Maybe.
The A3 fraud is surely more than $300 million because that’s what the perps are repaying the state.
Oh yeah, I got my charter fraud numbers mixed up. Too many scandals to keep track of them all. I’ll have to be more careful. California wins the fraud race. Hooray.
And the grift goes on……..
La de da de de, la de da de da……….
And the grift goes on………