Article: Charter-school operator cuts jobs as growth slows

" The state doesn’t require charter-school management companies to disclose how much money is spent directly on students and how much is kept as profit." Imagine that! John

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Bill Bush

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Suffering from stagnating enrollment, the largest operator of Ohio charter schools has laid off almost 10 percent of its employees, including about 18 at three Columbus charters, a spokesman said yesterday.

But how those cuts affect White Hat Management’s bottom line remains a secret.

Based on October enrollment at White Hat schools in six states, including 31 in Ohio, "it was now appropriate to make adjustments," said President and CEO Mark Thimmig.

He wouldn’t provide enrollment numbers but said they were about the same as in 2004. In fact, "I believe we may have had a few more students going into this period last year," he said.

State figures show 15,673 students attended the White Hat schools in Ohio last year, including the three Life Skills Centers in Columbus.

Asked why White Hat would need layoffs if enrollment is about the same, Thimmig said the firm had grown quickly, adding about 1,000 employees during the past several years "in anticipation of what our needs would be." The company employs nearly 2,000 people statewide.

At the three Life Skills Centers in Columbus, enrollment is down about 20 percent over figures from a year ago on file with the Ohio Department of Education. The Life Skills schools cater to dropouts and people at risk of quitting school.

The number of students fell at each of the Columbus schools, which together were paid for a total of 1,098 this month, down from 1,377 for November 2004.

Thimmig didn’t have exact figures for the Columbus-area layoffs but said that each of the three schools lost about six employees. The reductions were based on each business unit’s enrollments, he said.

The schools’ contracts call for a teacher-to-student ratio of 1-to-45 and two aides in each classroom.

"Wherever they’re going to cut, I’m sure that it’s not going to be in a place that will take them out of contract," said Patricia Hughes, sponsorship director of the Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, which holds the charter contracts that allow the Columbus schools to operate.

The foundation’s board will request information about new teacher-to-student ratios when it meets Jan. 11, Hughes said.

Although the Life Skills Centers are public schools, White Hat is a for-profit company. Its founder and chairman, David L. Brennan, says the firm is making money but won’t say how much. The state doesn’t require charter-school management companies to disclose how much money is spent directly on students and how much is kept as profit.

Last year, White Hat received $109 million in state education funds that followed students from public school districts.

bbush@dispatch.com