Dive Brief:
- Ohio's Parma School District is issuing the state a $46 million bill to make up for a gap in traditional funding said to amount to $4,650 per pupil.
- In Parma, charters receive $7000 per head, while traditional schools get just $2350, and the district's school board has approved two resolutions that "seek to get the money back and change the 'unfair and inequitable' state funding formula," Cleveland.com reports.
- The move isn't the first of its kind in the state: Two other districts previously executing the same maneuver over the funding gap.
Dive Insight:
The move comes also as the state grapples with a handful of charter school scandals. Last January, Democrats took over the majority of the school board, taking aim at heightening scrutiny. Since then, one Ohio charter has been accused of defrauding taxpayers to the tune of $1.2 million dollars related to the collection of per-pupil funding for almost 50% of the student body, who couldn't be proven to have attended the school. In another high-profile case, charter execs were found guilty of taking bribes.
The spotty history of charters in the state also recently caused the U.S. Department of Education to reconsider grant funding for the state, attaching strings to $71 million dollars that had already been promised.