Thursday, July 23, 2015
When an Ohio education official admitted that he excluded F grades from evaluations of charter-school sponsors of online and dropout-recovery schools, the question that immediately came to mind was this: Was the official acting alone, or was he following orders from higher ups?
The question is even more pertinent because David Hansen, who resigned as the School Choice director for the Ohio Department of Education, is married to Beth Hansen, chief of staff to Republican Gov. John Kasich.
Beth Hansen has taken a leave of absence from her job in the governor’s office to work for Kasich’s 2016 presidential campaign. The two-term governor formally announced his candidacy for the GOP nomination Tuesday, making him the 16th contender.
David Hansen’s departure – described by an education department spokesman as a “mutually agreed upon” decision – is no way gets him or anyone else in ODE and the Kasich administration involved in the troubled, controversial charter school system off the hook.
Indeed, this is a case that demands an independent investigation.
As we have pointed out on numerous occasions in this space, Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly cannot be trusted to objectively deal with any problems relating to charter schools because they are politically indebted to the private operators. Republican candidates have received millions of dollars over the years from the charter school industry.
Thus, we do not believe a thorough investigation into Hansen’s actions can be conducted by the GOP-controlled General Assembly.
Indeed, despite all the problems that plague the $1 billion industry — there are 390 charter schools serving more than 120,000 students – Republicans in Ohio continue to unequivocally support this failed experiment in education. Charter schools were created 18 years ago with the promise of a bright academic future for many of Ohio’s children stuck in failing public schools. The promise has not been kept.
National spotlight
Ohio’s charter school industry has been held up to national ridicule, and Republicans, including Gov. Kasich, are being blamed for destroying the lives of so many children by allowing failing schools to stay in business.
It’s worth remembering that the money follows the student, so the 120,000-plus young people who are not in public schools have taken state dollars with them to the disastrous charter school system.
Against that backdrop, we have little confidence that Republicans in the state Legislature will do anything to lift the lid off this cauldron of putrid public policy. Thus, we call for an independent investigation, not only of the former state director of School Choice, Hansen, but of the charter industry as a whole.
Democrats in the General Assembly, led by Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, and state Rep. Teresa Fedor of Toledo, have asked state Auditor Dave Yost to conduct a probe.
Yost, a Republican, has been publicly critical of the way charter schools are operated and of the lack of accountability in the spending of public dollars.
Yost is undoubtedly the best choice for taking a close look at what’s going on, but he should not be the only one. We believe a special investigative panel made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats is not only appropriate, but is necessary.
Republican and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly should make the appointments.
Earlier this month, we harshly criticized GOP leaders for not scheduling a vote on a bipartisan bill to address attendance, accountability and performance troubles that are the hallmarks of charter schools.
There was every expectation that the measure, which we believe goes only so far in addressing the myriad problems plaguing the charters, would be enacted before the recess. It wasn’t, which confirmed the belief of critics that the GOP succumbed to pressure from the financially well-heeled sponsors.
House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger isn’t willing to call legislators back to Columbus to pass the legislation. Rosenberger should reconsider.
As for the investigation, it should be launched post-haste.