The Cleveland Plain Dealer

8/17/2007

Charter schools took a one-two punch from state agencies this week, with reports detailing both financial shenanigans and abysmal academic results.

Audits of 19 charters run by Akron industrialist David Brennan’s White Hat Management found repeated instances of improper credit card use and outsized compensation for board members.

Brennan has purchased the affection of a great many members of the Ohio General Assembly. As a result, some legislators are content to follow him blindly on matters pertaining to school choice.

Brennan also has given thousands of dollars to State Auditor Mary Taylor’s campaigns. But to Taylor’s credit, all of that money appears to have earned him no favors. The audits are blistering, with accounts of “abusive” business practices, repeated difficulties securing necessary documents and inappropriate practices such as paying board members 17 times for attending a single meeting.

Meanwhile, the Ohio Department of Education released its annual report cards on all of Ohio’s public districts and schools, and the numbers for charters were embarrassing. A mere two-dozen of nearly 250 charters rated achieved one of the top two designations, an achievement rate of about 10 percent. Almost 70 percent of traditional public schools hit one of the top two marks.

It’s worth noting that two of the state’s top-ranked charters operate in Cleveland. This year, both the Intergenerational School and the Old Brooklyn Montessori School met 100 percent of the state’s benchmarks. For the Intergenerational School, 2007 marks its fourth consecutive excellent rating.

These examples of excellence show that mediocre performance doesn’t have to become the norm among Ohio charters. Lawmakers recently toughened rules governing charters, and Taylor clearly is committed to holding them fiscally accountable.

It will take time for the reforms to take hold. And even then, parents must take full advantage of the state’s annual report cards.

Glossy brochures may paint glowing images of learning, but results are what really matter.

© 2007 The Plain Dealer

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