takeover

Education News for 04-18-2013

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State Education News

  • School funding plan from Ohio House headed to a vote with many details still unclear (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The school funding proposal created by Ohio House leaders is scheduled for a vote Thursday, along with the rest of the state budget…Read more...

  • Patrolman’s substitute-teaching job might start security trend (Columbus Dispatch)

    • When Columbus Police Officer Bret Wilson encountered teens on the job, he found them to be disrespectful, rude to their parents…Read more...

  • Legislator’s sex-ed proposal baffles some educators (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Some local school administrators say it’s unclear how a ban on teaching about “gateway sexual activity” would change sex-education lessons in their districts…Read more...

  • Coleman balks at school-takeover legislation (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman opposes a legislative plan that would allow him to pick two of the five members of a state panel that could take over Columbus City Schools…Read more...

  • Teachers see movement in state reading requirements (Mansfield News Journal)

    • Helping struggling readers master the skill is becoming more difficult for some Ohio teachers, even as lawmakers try to make it easier…Read more...

  • Conotton Valley debuts student helpline (New Philadelphia Times-Reporter)

    • Conotton Valley Union Local Schools has launched an anonymous helpline where students can report threats of violence, illegal activity, depression or bullying situations…Read more...

  • Bring Your Own Device pilot starting soon (Newark Advocate)

    • Newark City Schools is running a pilot for the Bring Your Own Device initiative in select classrooms at the high school. The students in the pilot will be encouraged to bring their own…Read more...

  • Budget bill contains proposal for state takeover of schools (Toledo Blade)

    • Proposed legislation could lead to a state takeover of Toledo Public Schools and eight other districts because of its data-reporting practices…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Phila school board gets ‘EverFi’ update (New Philadelphia Times-Reporter)

    • Members of the New Philadelphia Board of Education got an update on the EverFi Program…Read more...

  • Local groups could gain, schools lose under tax exemption (Zanesville Times-Recorder)

    • Some local fraternal organizations could save thousands of dollars each year if they are exempted from paying property taxes, dollars that could be directed to other charitable work in the community…Read more...

Education News for 12-13-2012

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State Education News

  • Perry Local Supt. Richard to retire, Bowe to replace him (Canton Repository)

    • After seven years, Perry Local Schools Superintendent John Richard plans to retire at the end of January to become the senior executive director of the Ohio Department of Education…Read more...

  • Ohio Senate OKs new school evaluation system (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The Ohio Senate on Wednesday passed a Republican-backed education bill that calls for a more demanding evaluation system for schools, along with other significant changes…Read more...

  • State officials auditing troubled charter school (Columbus Dispatch)

    • A Columbus charter school already strained because of poor fiscal management now is under state scrutiny for its work with special-needs children…Read more...

  • House likely to OK school report cards (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The House is expected to approve legislation today to create a new school report card and accountability system that supporters hope will help improve student learning…Read more...

  • Steep cuts, levy crucial for Carlisle schools to avoid takeover by state (Dayton Daily News)

    • Carlisle Local Schools may consider eliminating at least one bus route in January as part of $400,000 in potential cuts to keep the district from falling into fiscal emergency status and a takeover by the state…Read more...

Local Education News

  • 25 local leaders on Coleman’s city schools panel (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The chief executive of a major corporation, a federal judge and a prominent attorney will lead a commission of 25 people appointed…Read more...

  • Berea school officials listen to parents, readjust next year's hours Sun Newspapers)

    • Berea school officials reconsidered next year’s proposed time changes for the district’s elementary schools…Read more...

  • Midview schools facing major cuts WKYC)

    • The Midview Schools may cut up to 25 percent of teachers and go to a five-hour school day. The Midview School District says if a levy fails in February, $2.3 million will need to be cut…Read more...

Editorial

  • Newfound urgency Columbus Dispatch)

    • Ohio’s new “third-grade reading guarantee” is causing big headaches, especially in big-city school districts. While they aren’t anything to celebrate, those headaches are necessary and overdue…Read more...

The Columbus parent trigger profit motive

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A smart and interesting post at Plunderbund, discusses which of the Columbus schools might be susceptible to a parental takeover, now that the Ohio house has reduced their statewide parent trigger provision to a trial in Columbus.

So how likely is that to take place? Consider some details:

As reported by ODE for 09-10, 21 percent of the students at Weinland Park are at the school for less than one year. That also means that the number of parents involved enough to sign the petition is around 80%, with the student population constantly changing. So if 50% of the parents need to sign, but only 80% are around, the parent(s) leading this effort must obtain the signatures of approximately 63% of the parents. And Weinland Park serves a population categorized as 93.7% “economically disadvantaged” in a building that already runs a non-standard year-round schedule. For additional perspective, the number of economically disadvantaged students is 43% statewide. I’m going to take a wild guess and project that these families have greater concerns than taking over a school. Just a guess.

This is a smart and reasonable observation, but as we pointed out in an article a while ago, it's not the only consideration to account for. Indeed, other provisions included in the budget bill could have a significant impact too.

The other question to be asked is this;

How much money could a for-profit charter make by sponsoring an effort to take over one of these Columbus schools?

With an empty promise to desperate parents to fix things, and a paid effort to garner the required parental support for the takeover, these schools might be easy marks, with easy profits to follow.