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Auditor Recommends Changes To How State Funds Online Schools
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – As lawmakers consider changing how Ohio funds online charter schools, the state auditor recommends they consider models factoring in student performance or testing.
Ohio’s traditional school funding is enrollment-based, but e-school funding in recent years has been calculated using documented student participation. In a report released Thursday, Republican Auditor Dave Yost’s office says virtual schools and their information systems weren’t equipped for that.
The massive Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow is among e-schools that closed after Ohio found they didn’t have participation data to justify their funding and moved to recoup some.
Yost is now recommending clarifying how e-schools are evaluated for funding and having lawmakers review a manual that guides that process.
Democrats criticize Yost for taking political donations from ECOT’s founder and not pushing more accountability for it sooner.