Justices are ECOT’s last hope

A long, nasty fight between the state and Ohio’s largest charter school culminates Tuesday when ECOT attorneys step in front of the Ohio Supreme Court in a final effort to save the school.

A day after the state Board of Education formally ordered the now-closed school to pay back an additional $19.2 million for unverified enrollment, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow will try to convince at least four of seven justices that the state illegally changed the rules for how enrollment is counted.

ECOT’s sponsor, the Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West, voted

This is terrible new terrain for Westerville. The city is not unfamiliar with large-scale displays of grief. Twice during the course of four weeks in 2016, a river of strobe lights had flashed north on State Street, atop cruisers that were headed to St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church for the April 19 funeral of Columbus Police SWAT Officer Steve Smith and again for the May 25 funeral of Hilliard Police Officer Sean Johnson.

Both died in the line of duty, and mourners packed a church said to seat 3,000.

On both of those days, mourners had lined State Street, waving flags and holding signs of thanks as the miles-long processions passed.

But until this week, the people of Westerville have never mourned the line-ofduty death of an officer from their own city’s department.

Now they mourn two.