Effects of ECOT on taxpayers discussed

Education advocates discussed the effects of the now-closed ECOT on taxpayers and students.

Education advocates spoke Aug. 16 in front of Lorain City Hall, 200 W. Erie Ave., to discuss the effects of the now-closed Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) on local taxpayers and students.

“The ECOT financial scandal is the largest in Ohio history,” said Stephen Dyer, education policy fellow at Innovation Ohio. “This is the final stop of our day. We went to Cleveland, Akron and Lorain.

“We felt it was important to come to local street corners and meet the folks who have been affected the most by ECOT. People view the problem as being far off, but it has affected people right here in Lorain.”

Dyer said ECOT was able to conceal its failings because of campaign contributions to people in Columbus.

“ECOT failed to account for a large portion of their students, and they were able to continue for years despite students not meeting the educational requirements of the state,” he said. “They continued, however, to take tax dollars from taxpayers in Ohio and took it away from students in local school districts.

“This was all overlooked by the folks in Columbus, most notably (attorney general) Mike DeWine, because of the millions in campaign contributions they were getting from ECOT’s founder William Lager.”

Dyer said Lorain County has been largely affected by the ‘scandal.’

“In the past six years, ECOT has cost Lorain $1.3 million, Elyria $6.4 million and North Ridgeville $1.4 million,” he said. “The total amount of the entire county is $22 million.

“That money should have (gone) to your local school districts. But it went, instead, to an online school that failed this state and the students who both attended and didn’t attend it.”

Dyer said despite ECOT’s poor performances, the school was not closed for academic reasons.

“The school closed in January, but not for the poor grade performances, but because the adults running the school weren’t getting paid anymore,” he said. “It was strictly done for the financial gain, and the children were not the priority. This is evident by the multimillion dollar mansion Lager owns in Key West.”

Dyer said the ECOT situation is ironic considering the current situation in Lorain City Schools.

“You have a district here locally that state officials feel the need to control due to performance rates,” he said. “It’s ironic that they didn’t do the same to ECOT, and Lorain students performed better than ECOT’s. “The priority is simply not in the students. That needs to change in Columbus.”

Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy said the first priority should be the students.

“Students should be what motivates every decision,” Lundy said. “ECOT was not meeting the standards but continued on.

“Students and taxpayers suffered because of this. There needs to be a culture change in Columbus.”

Matt Jablonski, a teacher of sophomore history at Elyria High School, said he went to the discussion to support Elyria City Schools.

Jablonski said $6.4 million is a lot of money that should have helped Elyria Schools.

“People need to be held accountable for failing to put an end to what was going on with ECOT,” he said.

The Ohio Department of Education has ordered ECOT, despite being closed, to pay back $60 million for the 2015-16 school year.

ECOT had argued in court that the education department overstepped its authority because it used student learning time to determine the amount owed, as opposed to solely enrollment.

But Ohio Supreme Court justices sided in a 4-2 decision with the education department, according to the Associated Press.

Joshua Eck, a DeWine campaign spokesman, dismissed the claims.

“Democrats kicked the can down the road, and it’s been under Republican leadership that we’ve held people to account,” Eck said in a statement to The Morning Journal. “That’s the real story here.

“The ODE has performed audits of ECOT in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2011. ECOT was incorporated in 2000. Democrats, including Richard Cordray, were in charge of Ohio between 2006 and 2010. They did nothing about ECOT, including performing reviews of the school while they were governing.

“In fact, the Ohio Democratic Party and Richard Cordray accepted campaign contributions from ECOT while they were in office, $100,000 of which has yet to be returned.

Under Mike DeWine, the Attorney General’s office has been fighting ECOT in court for more than two years, and is aggressively working to recover money for Ohio taxpayers.”