Ex-Columbus schools chief to face dereliction of duty charge

(Information in the following story is from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com )

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A prosecutor says the former Columbus city schools superintendent will be charged with dereliction of duty in connection with the district’s attendance data-scrubbing scandal.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said he plans to file the charge later today and confirms that ex-superintendent Gene Harris will enter a no contest plea.

The Columbus Dispatch, which first reported the deal today, says Harris is expected to enter her no contest plea in court Wednesday.

The paper says O’Brien and Harris’ lawyer, Yvette McGee Brown, agreed to let a judge decide the penalty without O’Brien seeking a certain outcome.

At issue are allegations first reported by the Dispatch in 2012 that administrators changed attendance numbers to manipulate schools’ performance ratings.