Boards of education are also reacting negatively to Governor Kasich’s veto of a provision in HB64 (biennial budget) that would have ensured that school districts affected by the phase-down of TPP/PUTPP supplemental payments would received no less funding than in FY15.  The veto means that 116 school districts will receive a cut in state funding in FY17 compared to FY15 (about $84 million).  Some school districts are calling for lawmakers to override the governor’s veto when they return to Columbus in September.

See “Ohio legislature might reverse Gov. Kasich’s school-funding veto” by Jim Siegel,

The Columbus Dispatch, August 9, 2015 at

Lawmakers are also expected to take action later this month on HB2 (Dovilla/Roegner), a charter school reform bill that awaits a House response to Senate amendments.  Although the bill seemed to have the support of the Ohio House after Senate approval on June 25, 2015, House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger and Senate President Keith Faber decided that the bill needed to be reviewed by a conference committee.

See “Ohio lawmakers stall on charter-school reform after they hurried through school choice bill”, by Doug Livingston, The Beacon Journal, June 26, 2015 at

New Audit of Charter Schools Released:  State Auditor David Yost released on September 3, 2015 a special audit initiated on January 14, 2014 for certain community schools sponsored by the St. Aloysius Orphanage, North Central Ohio Educational Service Center (NCOESC), and the Warren County Educational Service Center.  The special audit reviewed the schools’ organizational structure and operations, management companies, and other organizations that provide services.

According to the press release issued by the Auditor’s Office, the Ohio General Assembly should examine current statutes regarding the organization and operations of community schools, sponsors, and management companies, and do the following:

-Establish defined roles and responsibilities and minimum objective academic and financial standards for sponsors to evaluate proposed schools.

-Examine various methods of structuring relationships among community schools, sponsors, and management companies, and enact laws that would prevent arrangements that might be considered improper conflicts of interest.

Auditors also examined a total of $3,727,830 in expenditures by the schools, and identified $27,315 in unsupported disbursements and $4,802 in findings for recovery issued against two community school directors sponsored by the NCOESC.

See “Charter-school sponsor system is ‘broken,’ Yost says” by Bill Bush, The Columbus Dispatch, September 4, 2015 at