Millions in federal stimulus dollars flowed to questionable Ohio charter schools

Millions in federal stimulus dollars flowed to questionable Ohio charter schools

DAYTON, Ohio

More than $4.8 million in federal stimulus money went to Ohio charter schools that have since closed and millions more went to charter schools accused of mishandling hundreds of thousands of dollars, a newspaper reported today.

In Dayton, much of the more than $200,000 that went to two schools that were later shut down, New City School and Nu Bethel Center of Excellence, came a month after state audits found numerous problems, including debt, accounting errors, missing documentation for thousands of dollars in spending and unpaid employee taxes, according to the report by the Dayton Daily News.

The state ordered both schools shut down in 2010 for poor performance, part of the closure of 121 now defunct charter schools, including 21 that received stimulus funding. That list also included the Academy of Dayton, which closed after receiving $59,909 in stimulus funds, the paper said.