10 Ohio charter school boards sue White Hat Management: board "virtually impotent"

[Hannah Bell]

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A group of Cleveland and Akron charter schools is in open rebellion against the for-profit management firm that runs the schools.

An unusual lawsuit brought Monday by 10 governing boards of Hope Academies of Cleveland and Akron and Life Skills Centers of Cleveland and Akron alleges that a 2006 state law passed by majority-party Republicans is unconstitutional and gives the for-profit company unchecked authority.

At the center of the lawsuit is White Hat Management, the for-profit company whose five-year contract to run the 10 charter schools in Northeast Ohio expires on June 30... 96 percent of the state funding flows to the company...

The suit, filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, says that the boards are "virtually impotent to govern the schools." They say that White Hat has refused to provide...unaudited quarterly financial reports...details on grants received and also failed to spell out what funds were used to purchase school property and equipment since 2004, the suit charges.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/05/for-profit_management_company.html


But charter schools are public schools! Operating under the same rules as other public schools! The for-profit corps who manage them are just employees & contractors!

A 2006 LAW PASSED BY REPUBLICANS GIVES THE FOR-PROFIT COMPANY UNCHECKED AUTHORITY.


"The lines of authority have been blurred in Ohio," said Terry Ryan, vice president of Ohio programs and policy for the non-profit Thomas B. Fordham Institute. "Therefore, we see this confusion which makes it prime territory for a lawsuit."

Ryan said the Ohio law is "the kind of law that was crafted by a management organization to protect their interests."

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Sigh

Not sure how much more of this I can take in. It's such a paradigm shift. And it's so damn evil.

[Hannah Bell]

2. very evil.

[SoCalDem]

3. White Hat Management..really?

What is it with these scammers/con-men? They always seem to name their enterprises "cutesy" names?

It's all a big game to them..:puke:

[zbdent]

4. In 1994, the Ohio school funding mechanism was declared unconstitutional ...

Repugs have been controlling much, if not all, of Ohio since 1/3/1995, still run the Ohio Senate (21 of 33 are Rs) ...

and the Rs scream about how Democrat Strickland hasn't fixed the school funding system and the schools since he took office a few years back.

All the Repugs have done was scream for vouchers and privatizing the system.

[Hannah Bell]

5. k