It's good to buy legislators' votes....with YOUR money!
From John Curry, December 12, 2013
ECOT Founder Living VERY Well Off Ohio’s
School Funding Dollars
By Greg On December 10, 2013
his weekend we posted about Ohio’s largest charter
school, ECOT, being recommended to receive a “bonus” check of $2.9 million that
would be quickly rerouted into ECOT owner William Lager’s other private
businesses. This is not the first raise that ECOT has received this year.
Through the Kasich budget passed this summer, ECOT received the largest increase in
state funding for any charter school in Ohio at $4.8 million. This far
surpassed the second largest increase of $1.35 million given to Ohio Virtual
Academy.
It’s good to buy friends in high places…
Since 2004, Lager, the ECOT CEO, has donating to Ohio political campaigns
with staggering regularity and in staggering numbers for someone whose main
livelihood is providing a “public” education to Ohio
children:
(Click image to enlarge)
Lager began profiting off of Ohio taxpayers shortly after opening ECOT at
the turn of the century. In 2000, he founded Altair Learning Management
Company to “manage” ECOT’s operations. This company began receiving
millions in funding that same year according to ECOT’s annual filings with the State Auditor’s
office. In FY01, Altair began receiving 10% of ECOT’s funding as a management
fee. As enrollment increased, the total amount of funding began to increase,
but that wasn’t enough for Lager. In FY05, Lager to increase the management fee
to 14%, realizing a raise of nearly $2,000,000.
Finally, in FY08, Lager figured out a way to pocket
even more taxpayer dollars. He coordinated a decrease in the Altair’s
management fee down to 4% while creating a new contract with Altair to provide
curriculum to ECOT at an annual cost of over $8 million
dollars.
The next year, FY09, Lager created IQ Innovations, a
for-profit software company to develop and provide services to ECOT, while still
using Altair as the school’s management company. That first year, FY09, IQ
Innovations was paid over $5 million by ECOT and the figure has increased every
year since.
The chart below shows the year-by-year breakdown of the payments from ECOT
to William Lager’s for-profit companies.
(Click image to enlarge)
Such grand figures help to explain how Lager can afford to make such
astronomical political donations year after year and why, as we mentioned over the weekend, the last
thing Lager and his companies need is for Ohio’s Controlling Board to approve
another $2.7 million in state taxpayer dollars supposedly allocated for public
school funding to be directly funneled into Lager’s
pockets.
And deep pockets they are.
In 2002, Lager purchased a $300,000 condominium in downtown Columbus where
he could be close to his pals in the legislature and oversee ECOT’s operations.
While the small, 1,200 sq ft condo apparently served him well for many years,
Lager recently found the need to upgrade. On November 1 of this year, Lager
added to his personal real estate portfolio, purchasing a $995,000 mansion
(4,600+ sq ft) in Upper Arlington.
What public school superintendent/CEO could donate over $1.3 million to
political campaigns over the span of a decade and turn around and purchase a
$300,000 condo and a million dollar home? Let alone do so while avoiding the
ever-watching eye of the state’s media? Can you imagine how bat-shit crazy the
Dispatch would go if this story was about the superintendent/CEO of the Columbus
City Schools? What type of outcry would this generate about the misuse of
precious taxpayer dollars that we should be spending on educating our
children?
The bottom line? William Lager is grandly profiting off of taxpayer
dollars that are supposed to be going to our
schools.
What can we do?
Start by contacting the State Controlling Board members (see contact
information at the end of the post) before they meet this week to Approve the
Straight A Fund recipients and tell them to DENY the additional $2.9 million
award to ECOT that will further line Lager’s
pockets.
Then continue contacting your state Representatives and Senators and tell them to STOP this egregious misuse
of OUR public school funding dollars!
And then make plans to vote out Lager’s Lager’s close friend and ally, Governor
John Kasich, in 2014.
State Controlling Board Members (click on a name to send an email)
Randy Cole, President
(614) 728-8778
(614) 728-8778
(614) 466-8072
(614) 466-3780
Sen. Tom Sawyer (D)
(614) 466-7041
(614) 466-7041
Rep. Jeff McClain (R)
(614) 466-6265
(614) 466-6265
Rep. Ross McGregor (R)
(614) 466-2038
(614) 466-2038
Rep. Chris Redfern (D)
(614) 644-6011
(614) 644-6011
posted by Kathie Bracy at 1:28 PM
