Online school sues Ohio board after vote on $60M repayment

COLUMBUS (AP) — One of the nation’s largest online charter schools is suing Ohio’s State Board of Education over how the board handled a vote to have the school repay $60 million in funding.

The $60 million was disputed because of a lack of documentation to justify the funding.

The complaint filed Tuesday in Franklin County by the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow alleges board members violated state public-meetings law by voting without first hearing public comment or substantive deliberation on the matter at Monday’s meeting. ECOT contends that those circumstances and the removal of a slated non-public session from the agenda indicate the board improperly discussed or made a decision in advance, and its lawsuit is seeking to block enforcement of the board’s decision as invalid.

It’s part of a larger dispute over how attendance is tracked to determine funding and ECOT’s argument that the Ohio Department of Education improperly changed those practices.

“ODE leadership got what it has wanted all along, a rubber stamp of its unlawful attempt to change its funding standard for ECOT in the middle of a school year,” ECOT spokesman Neil Clark said in a statement.