- One of State Auditor! Man’s superpowers, it appears, is the ability to create two news stories with a single press conference. Case in point: his announcement on Monday of the results of an attendance audit at charter and district schools. We told you briefly in that day’s clips about the findings, but his other point – an assertion that the Ohio Department of Education might not be the best-run agency in all of state government – got as much or more attention than the audit findings. Fiendishly clever. Here you can find the full video of the press conference in four pieces. A fifth piece here includes full commentary from our own Chad Aldis on both of State Auditor! Man’s truth bombs. Y’all know I love both Yost and Aldis, so take it from me with love: fish-eye lenses are not flattering. (Ohio Capital Blog, 5/23/16)
- Chad is also quoted in these stories reporting the auditor’s press conference. First up, Jeremy Kelley focuses on the part about ODE, although Chad is quoted only on the attendance audit findings. (Dayton Daily News, 5/23/16) Public radio reporter Andy Chow economically addressed both of the auditor’s topics in his brief report. Once again, Chad is quoted only on the attendance audit findings. (WKSU-FM, Kent, and other public media outlets, 5/23/16)
- So, about those attendance audit findings. The bottom line seems to be that things are looking up for charter school attendance tracking as compared to last year’s findings, although still not perfect. The comparison to traditional district schools was new this year and provided helpful context. Big problems, however, surfaced in the dropout-recovery schools visited by the auditor’s staff. The PD took a “glass half-empty” approach to the findings, and included details on the auditor’s thoughts about ODE. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5/23/16) The Vindy stuck to the findings – in a “glass half-full” take – and localized them since several of the schools visited were located in the Valley. Interesting look. (Youngstown Vindicator, 5/23/16) Kudos to Gongwer for publishing separate stories on the audit findings and on the auditor’s comments about ODE. Here’s the one specifically on the findings, with admirable detail and context included. (Gongwer Ohio, 5/23/16)
- And here’s Gongwer’s piece specifically about the Ohio Department of Education. I like the comment from ODE’s spokesperson at the end; mainly because I read it aloud in a dry and even tone. (Gongwer Ohio, 5/23/16) Contrary to the impression you might have been given by some of the social media coverage Monday, State Auditor! Man didn’t investigate ODE. He was expressing some frustration over data issues specifically as related to the attendance audit. Coverage of these comments went into the spin cycle. To wit: The Blade. (Toledo Blade, 5/24/16) And also the Enquirer, although they do talk a little about the attendance audit findings – quoting Chad – at the end. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 5/23/16)
- Speaking of charter schools, here’s a belated look at an editorial on charters from the Beacon-Journal published last weekend. While the editors predictably put the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) on blast for myriad offenses, the language related to brick-and-mortar charter schools seems a bit softer than usual. Or maybe not. (Akron Beacon Journal, 5/22/16)
- In other news, Cincinnati Public Schools’ Board of Education approved a levy request for November. It’s a sizeable 8 mills and includes new money for the ambitious Queen City pre-K plan we have discussed here in the recent past. The potential of two separate entities looking for money for the same project on the same ballot has been avoided since CPS decided to share revenue with Cincinnati Preschool Promise. It’s still projected not to be enough to provide full-day preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, so questions remain. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 5/23/16)
- Sticking with the topic of money, it seems that we’ve gone from “Win-Win” to “winner winner chicken dinner” in Groveport Madison Schools. Why? Because G’port has managed to negotiate a substantial discount (40%) on their Win-Win payout to Columbus City Schools. It is said to potentially be a model for other districts involved in the pact; or it may signal the slow unraveling of the pact. (Columbus Dispatch, 5/23/16)
- My powers of snark have been defeated by the endless pit of SMH sadness that is the Youngstown City Schools’ elected Board of Education. Note that the members all got paid for this parody of a meeting and will get paid for however many “work sessions” will be needed to iron out whatever issues were not addressed in the 3+ hours spent here. (Youngstown Vindicator, 5/24/16)
