The man in charge of oversight of charter schools in Ohio resigned in July after the state Board of Education discovered he had been protecting some charters from receiving failing grades. But some board members are still not satisfied he acted alone and staged a walkout at their meeting Monday in Columbus.
One of the members who walked out, former judge AJ Wagner, is expected to submit a resolution Tuesday asking for an independent investigator to find out who knew about the grade-rigging.
He also wants to know what was behind the bill that will allow the state to take over the Youngstown schools.
That bill was introduced and passed the legislature in under 24 hours this July.
Democrats suspect State School Superintendent Richard Ross or Governor John Kasich are making moves to promote charter schools. One of the members who walked out is a former Republican Ann Jacobs.
“Well the buck stops with the guy or the woman who’s running anything and it’s hard to think they didn’t get direct authority. I just can’t imagine.”
Jacobs doesn’t trust an investigation by the Ohio Auditor or Inspector General. Democrats imply they might try to protect fellow Republican Kasich from scandal at a time when he’s running for president.
The president of the Board of Education, Tom Gunlock, a Kasich appointee, doesn’t buy that.
“No, I disagree with that concept. I think the auditor in past dealings with the governor’s office has been independent in other things and I’ve said this forever, if we can’t trust the Inspector General and the Auditor Of State to do their job then we’re in worse trouble than this.”
Republicans control the state board of education as well as the state legislature which will decide whether to move forward with democrats’ calls for an investigation.
