Appeals court judge should resign

I respond to the Dispatch articles and letters regarding comments made by Franklin County Court of Appeals Judge Gary Tyack regarding the operations of the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT).

Tyack made references unrelated to the facts being presented before the threejudge panel as ECOT tries to overturn a trial court decision that requires it to use log-in duration to determine enrollment and funding levels. The judge made personal comments that compared the online charter school to a Russian oligarch, and references to the control ECOT and another e-school have over the Ohio General Assembly through their lobbying activity and how legislation that governs their operations are passed.

The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow wants the judge removed from its appeal, The Dispatch reported on April 18, arguing he is biased and made comments that “denigrated” Bill Lager, the founder of the school. Tyack remarked that Lager and another e-school CEO “had probably gotten a billion dollars’ worth of state funds that would have gone to public schools because of their clout. In Russia, we call them oligarchs. Here, we don’t call them anything. We call them influential donors.”

Those comments truly reflect a bias from the judge, especially when reviewing all the facts in this case that have been discussed for the past several years in the local press and with the Ohio Department of Education. All of this posturing has a ring more common with politicians than in the courts. It might not only be time for Tyack to recuse himself from these proceedings, but to resign from the bench. His integrity is now in question. Few of us are interested in a judge’s personal position on this or any case until the final court decision is announced, and his comments create a conflict of interest with we as taxpayers in this community.

The case between the Ohio Department of Education and the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow seems to stem more from public school employee unions and school administrators than anywhere else. They don’t like the competition for state funds. The unions finance election campaigns of politicians that support their lobbying efforts.

Tyack and the two letter writers supporting him probably are Democrats. Tyack’s criticism of the ECOT’s influence is with the Republicancontrolled General Assembly.

Ralph Richter Orient am the directress of administration there, and the article contained a lot of information that I am pleased with.

However, I am concerned about the part of the article on why the school was founded.

Mater Dei Academy was founded for the formation of children in the tradition of an authentically Catholic education. We were not formed as a reaction to the changes from the Vatican in the 1960s.

I want to make sure our school is not misrepresented in any way. I thank The Dispatch for taking the time to represent our school.