ProgressOhio

Schools that never were got millions

Charter startup audit tracks costs

Would-be Ohio charter-school operators received a total of $2.55 million in state and federal "planning grants" to start 33 schools that never opened, state records show.

That's nearly 10 percent of the 352 grants issued and doesn't include planning money for schools that have opened and closed.

The Ohio Department of Education is trying to recoup $1.56 million from 19 schools that either misspent startup grants or could not document how the money was spent. About $3,600 has been repaid.

The department is halfway through an audit of every startup grant recipient that has received federal planning and implementation money in the past three years. The audit will be completed next summer, said Todd Hanes, executive director of the department's Office of Community Schools.

Hanes said he doesn't think anyone took grants not intending to open a school.

"There are some people who have some very good intentions," he said, adding that the work required to open charter schools likely overwhelmed some operators.

But spending education money that never reaches children is just more evidence that Ohio's charter-school program is broken, said Sue Taylor, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers.

"I hold the state of Ohio accountable for this very lax system," said Taylor, whose union represents teachers who work in traditional school systems.

"This is a huge, huge abuse of taxpayer dollars."

 Well, somebody got millions, but it wasn't the kids or the charter schools.