THE FACTS: JON HUSTED AND CHARTER SCHOOLS
COLUMBUS – Republican State Senator and candidate for Secretary of State Jon Husted (R-Upper Arlington) has a long history of supporting for-profit charter schools that lack accountability and deprive public schools of critical dollars for education.
“As Ohio’s schools are returning to session, it’s important to remember the impact of the for-profit charter school lobby on our public school system,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern. “Our Democratic leaders have worked to make Ohio schools among the best in the nation, but that status is threatened by Jon Husted’s allies who have evaded accountability and cheated the state out of money. The education of our children should not be lining the pocketbooks of charter school fat cats who bankroll the campaigns of Jon Husted.”
FACT: HUSTED’S CAMPAIGNS HAVE BEEN BANKROLLED BY ADVOCATES OF FOR-PROFIT CHARTER SCHOOLS INVOLVED IN ILLEGAL ACTIVITY.
Husted Received Over $130,000 From Charter School Advocates. Since being elected to the Ohio General Assembly, Husted has received over $130,000 from charter school owners, employees and advocate groups. Donors included David Brennan, owner of the largest for-profit charter school operator in Ohio, and William Lager, Founder of Altair Learning Management and Electronic Classrooms of Tomorrow. [Ohio Secretary of State, Accessed 8/20/09; Columbus Dispatch, 10/23/05; Lager Biography, accessed 5/12/10]
Republican Campaigns To Return $29,000 In Improper Campaign Donations To Charter School Mogul. Four Republican campaigns were forced to return a total of $29,410 in contributions associated with charter school proponent David Brennan. The Brennans contributed the maximum amount in their own names to four GOP candidates’ campaigns in the 2006 and 2007 election cycles, but then appear to have used two political action committees, Main Street PAC and the Go-Go PAC, to give beyond the legal limit. The refund was due to an agreement between the parties at the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. [Akron Beacon Journal, 7/2/08; Akron Beacon Journal, 4/11/08]
Husted Donor Fined $5.2 Million For Illegally Operating Charter School PAC In Ohio. All Children Matter, a political-action committee associated with David Brennan, was fined a record $5.2 million in April 2008 by the Ohio Elections Commission for exceeding campaign-contribution limits. The group illegally funneled $870,000 from its Virginia PAC to its PAC in Ohio in 2006. The state ruled that All Children Matter-VA PAC was not properly established under Ohio law, and the transfer of money to the Ohio PAC was not permitted because contributions exceed state limits. Brennan donated $200,000 to All Children Matter. [Columbus Dispatch, 4/11/08; Akron Beacon Journal, 8/24/07]
Husted Recieved $10,000 From All Children Mattern In 2006. According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, Jon Husted recieved $10,000 from All Children Matter PAC in 2006. [OhioSecretary of State, accessed 8/25/10]
Husted Donor Illegally Lobbied Legislators At His Private Residence. On July 10, 2005, the Akron Beacon Journal reported that charter school giant David Brennan invited an unknown number of Republican legislators to visit him at his private home and a high-rise condominium near the Statehouse over the years. Ohio Legislative Inspector General Tony Bledsoe said Brennan could have been acting as an unregistered lobbyist because, “If Brennan is having frequent meetings with one legislator or groups of them, and Brennan is deriving income from his business, then he should have been registered [as a lobbyist].” [Akron Beacon Journal, 7/10/05]
Husted Held Several Meetings With Brennan Prior To Ethics Probe. In 2005, charter school mogul David Brennan was being investigated by the Ohio Inspector General’s office for possible illegal lobbying efforts at his Columbus townhouse a few steps from the capital. Karen Tabor, spokeswoman for House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said the speaker met with Brennan several times. She said the conversations focused on Medicaid changes, education issues and efforts to place a constitutional ballot issue before voters to limit state government spending. [Associated Press State & Local Wire, 7/19/05]
Husted Donor Overbilled State By At Least 25 Percent. According to an analysis by the Akron Beacon Journal, Akron-based White Hat Management, the for-profit operator of Life Skills charter high schools owned by David Brennan, enrolled 25 percent more students in 2001 than its Akron facilities could accommodate. [Akron Beacon Journal, 4/27/03]
FACT: HUSTED ALLY AND FOR-PROFIT CHARTER SCHOOL MOGUL DAVID BRENNAN’S FIRM SUED FOR LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY.
Dave Brennan’s Firm, White Hat Management, Sued By Several Charter Schools Is Manages For Lack Of Accountability. According to the Columbus Dispatch, “10 charter schools in the Akron and Cleveland areas filed suit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court… The schools say White Hat refuses to provide an accounting of how the funds are spent.” [Columbus Dispatch, 6/4/10]
Lawsuit AllegedleyStems From Lack Of Accountability For Poor Student Performance. According to the Columbus Dispatch, Kurt Minson, “a board member of two Hope Academies involved in the lawsuit, told the committee that both schools are on the verge of being closed for poor student performance, yet board members ‘have had little or no input into changes needed to improve the quality of education for the at-risk students.’ He said White Hat hires, promotes and fires school administrators and changes curriculum without input from the board.” [Columbus Dispatch, 6/4/10]
White Hat Manages 31 For-Profit Charter Schools Across Ohio. According to the Columbus Dispatch, White Hat Management, owned by David Brennan, owns 31 schools across Ohio, and “has received more than $400 million in tax dollars for the charter schools it oversees.” Additionally, in 200, it was “reported that White Hat was making about $1 million on every school it operated and state law did not require it to disclose details of its expenditures.” [Columbus Dispatch, 6/4/10; Columbus Dispatch, 5/20/10]
FACT: HUSTED’S FOR-PROFIT CHARTER SCHOOL BILLS REMOVED ACCOUNTABILITY AND TOOK MONEY FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Husted’s Charter School Bill Removed Oversight And Accountability. Husted’s proposed overhaul of Ohio’s charter school law included the creation of a State Board of Community Schools. According to the Associated Press, “Such a board would, along with individual school districts, become the sole sponsor of charter schools in Ohio. It would replace the Education Department as the main sponsor of charter schools.” The Ohio Federation of Teachers opposed the proposal; OFT President Tom Mooney said, “There’s no question that with that provision, the charter school lobby wants less scrutiny… They want a chartering commission they can politically control.” [Associated Press State & Local Wire, 11/21/01]
Husted’s 2001 Charter School Bill Took Millions From Public Schools. Husted sponsored the Community School Enhancement Act in 2001. The bill would create the State Board of Community Schools to sponsor and monitor charter schools statewide, removing sponsorship from the Department of Education. The bill would also permit the creation of start-up charter schools in districts under academic watch, and not just under academic emergency as in current law. The bill would loosen teacher requirements by authorizing charter schools to hire teachers who hold either a teachers’ license, a limited license for part-time teachers, or who have a college degree and were mentored by a licensed teacher. An elimination of the ban on public school districts enrolling students over the age of 21 was also in the bill. Husted’s proposal also authorized charter schools to establish single-sex schools, required public schools to allow charter school students to participate in extracurricular activities (including sports) and required the state to pay $450 per student to a charter school that provides its own transportation. The bill sought to create a loan program to help charter schools acquire school buildings. Finally, the bill allowed the state to allocate money to charter schools from the state’s Classroom Building Assistance Program. [Associated Press State & Local Wire, 4/5/01]
Husted’s 2004-2005 Budget Would Take $9 Million From Poorest School Districts To Give To Charter Schools, While Cutting Teacher Training. Husted’s 2004-2005 budget reduced anticipated state aid to Ohio’s 612 public school districts. The bill would also reduce parity aid, one of the largest form of aid to the state’s poorest school districts to help those districts offer programs that wealthier districts are able to afford. The Akron Beacon Journal reported that, “The money — $9 million each year, according to Husted — will be deducted from the poor school districts and given to the charter schools on a per-pupil basis. According to an analysis by the [Akron] Beacon Journal, Akron and Cleveland schools could lose about $400,000 and $5 million, respectively, to charter schools, most of which are operated by for-profit ventures… The bill also reduces funding for several teacher-training programs, including National Board Certification. A study by a business-community-education coalition, released in 1997, said that teacher training is one of the most important elements in improving Ohio schools.” [Akron Beacon Journal, 6/21/03]
