Statewide Stories of the Day

Ohio schools chief: Data changes may spur charges (WSYX 6 ABC)

COLUMBUS - Ohio's school superintendent says the investigation of changes made to student attendance data in several districts could lead to criminal charges for any educators who commit fraud. The Columbus Dispatch reports Superintendent Stan Heffner discussed that possibility Wednesday, the same day the Ohio Department of Education announced the Lockland district in suburban Cincinnati filed false attendance data to improve its state report card. The data affect attendance and test-passing rates. Read more...

Toledo Public Schools emails tell of desire to raise scores (Blade)

Some Toledo Public Schools leaders -- apparently under pressure to increase the state's weighted average of student test scores -- detailed in back-and-forth emails their desires to exclude special education students and those absent for a length of time from their records. "Well I sure hope we will be able to do some attendance exclusions," Teri Sherwood, principal of Walbridge Elementary, wrote to Assistant Superintendent Romules Durant on June 20. Read more...

State: Lockland schools cheated (Enquirer)

COLUMBUS — Lockland schools falsely eliminated 36 low-scoring students from its rolls in an effort to improve its state report card, according to the Ohio Department of Education. As a result, the state has now reduced the district's academic standing and sanctions may be filed against staff. The downgrade is the result of a year-long investigation into allegations that the district had provided false data to the state. Lockland reported the students withdrew to go to other schools, then re-enrolled later that year. If a student withdraws, their test scores don’t count against the district. Read more...

TPS leaders speak out about state investigation (WTVG 13 ABC)

TPS School Board Member Larry Sykes explains why some principals may have been tweaking attendance numbers on the state report card. He says a number of inner city students bounce around from school to school. Sykes tells 13abc, "We have to go and find those students, some are sent to different cities to live with relatives ...poverty creates a serious problem for our children and our urban districts to teach them." Sykes says he's upset at how the Ohio Department of Education is handling the issue with the Ohio Urban School Districts. Read more...

Local Issues

Akron will provide free lunches at middle schools and high schools (Beacon Journal)

Akron’s middle and high school students won’t have to pay for school lunches this fall or even fill out paperwork for a government subsidy. The district already provides free breakfast in all its schools and free lunch in its elementary buildings. The Akron school board voted this week to extend that policy to all Akron schools under a new option for districts that participate in the national school lunch program. The change won’t cost local taxpayers any money and the district is expected to save some money because officials won’t have to print. Read more...

15 local schools lack safety plans (Enquirer)

Fifteen local schools have failed to file safety plans and floor plans that would be used by emergency responders in a case of a school shooting or other emergency. They join 150 schools statewide who have not submitted plans, even though it is required by Ohio law. Some are working on their plans, but have not yet filed them. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine Wednesday urged schools to comply. “We hope that we will never experience school violence and we must do all we can to prevent it,” he said during the 2012 Ohio Safe Schools Summit in Columbus. Read more...

‘Major Problems’ Found With City-Funded Tutoring Program (WBNS 10 CBS)

COLUMBUS - A local tutoring company is under investigation for allegedly billing for tutoring services that did not occur. Columbus City Schools officials said that Apostolic Faith Temple, Inc. is being investigated for alleged fraudulent invoicing for the 2010-11 school year. AFT, Inc. received more than $324,000 in public money for tutoring services that are now being called into question. AFT, Inc. is a Supplemental Education Services provider, which is a federally-funded No Child Left Behind program. Read more...

Mansfield schools work to halt teen dating abuse (News-Journal)

Teen dating violence is on the rise, and north central Ohio schools are trying to deal with it. Mansfield City Schools invited the Mansfield Domestic Violence Shelter in February to present information on teen dating violence to more than 600 students. "We want students to recognize behavior that is not appropriate," Mansfield Senior High School Assistant Principal Margaret Sternefeld wrote in a news release. Jill Donnenwirth, director of community-based service for the shelter, said several other area schools have invited the organization to speak to students. Read more...

Schools accused of faking data (Dayton Daily News)

Ohio Department of Education officials said they will review data submitted by all school districts and charter schools to look for potential red flags on whether they may be manipulating attendance or graduation data to improve their report card performance. The department on Wednesday lowered last year’s report card rating for Lockland School District in Hamilton County from “Effective” to “Continuous Improvement” after an investigation found it falsely reported withdrawing 36 students during the school year to boost the district’s state test results. Read more...

Oregon school chief asks for 8% cut in pay (Blade)

Oregon’s school board approved a request from Superintendent Michael Zalar to cut his pay 8 percent, returning his salary to what it was in 2011. Mr. Zalar submitted a resolution Wednesday night to the board seeking the reduction, saying he felt it was in the “best interest of the district, school, and the community.” “I feel this is the right thing to do. I am doing this voluntarily. This is not something I feel coerced to do,” Mr. Zalar said. The concession, which the board approved unanimously during a special meeting to get community input on the district’s budget and spending. Read more...

Editorial

Cyber excess: Taxpayers should not over-fund charter schools (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

There is something very wrong with an education funding system that has public school districts chopping staff and ending programs while a publicly funded charter school is making so much money that it can pay millions to its spinoff companies. The operators of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, the state's first and largest online charter with more than 11,300 students, channeled their innovation into two offshoot management entities, one a nonprofit and the other a for-profit firm. Read more...