Harris: Principals May Have Received Bonuses For Changing Records

Columbus City Schools superintendent Gene Harris says some principals might have received financial bonuses by changing student attendance records to boost their state report card numbers. Harris tells The Columbus Dispatch that schools could qualify for bonuses by improving student performance on state standardized tests. Harris said she didn't direct the effort, nor did she know about it. She said some of her 200 principals told her in June that they were trained in how to change data by a now-reassigned official. Columbus is one of at least three districts in the state targeted by investigations into enrollment and attendance practices.