- The US Department of Education has put a hold on use of the $71 million grant Ohio won from the Charter Schools Program. More conditions were put on the grant due to ongoing concerns about oversight of charter schools by the Ohio Department of Education. You can check out coverage from the Enquirer (which also notes the recent op-ed on the CSP grant written by our own Jamie Davies O’Leary and published in the Enquirer) in Cincinnati (Cincinnati Enquirer, 11/5/15). Also covered in Gongwer in their usual just-the-facts manner. (Gongwer Ohio, 11/5/15). And here’s the DDN version, with one of those headlines. (Dayton Daily News, 11/5/15)
- The other big new: Ohio’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Richard Ross announced that he is retiring at the end of this year. (Columbus Dispatch, 11/6/15)
- Meanwhile, the president and CEO of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools penned an opinion piece in the Plain Dealer, looking forward to the implementation of the many charter school reforms contained in the recently-enacted House Bill 2. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 11/6/15)
- The mayor of Youngstown has been advised by his legal staff that he cannot appoint himself – as he had hoped – to the new Academic Distress Commission which is forming to help lead the district out of its long decline. He does have to make one appointment, however, and he says he should have a decision by early next week. (Youngstown Vindicator, 11/5/15)