Ohio board to online charter school: Pay back disputed $60M

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio's State Board of Education says one of the nation's largest online charter schools owes the state $60 million because of a lack of documentation to justify the disputed funding.

The board voted today to have the Ohio Department of Education pursue that repayment from the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, or ECOT.

ECOT has argued, among other things, that its original legal agreement with the state allowed a different way of logging student attendance and learning and that the agreement still applies for the school of some 15,000 students.

Rick Teeters, ECOT's superintendent, addressed the board after its vote, saying the school has benefited thousands of students and urging members to reconsider.

ECOT had sought to block the collection, but an appeals court denied that request.