The Ohio House is considering a list of reforms aimed at cracking down on bad charter schools and the companies that manage them. One for-profit charter company is getting help from the recently retired Speaker of the Ohio House.
Charter school advocates speaking at the University of Colorado over the weekend took aim at several underperforming charters in Ohio. Part of the reason was because of the poor performance of the management company that runs the under-performing online school Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow or ECOT.
ECOT recently hired the lobbying firm of William Batchelder, the former Speaker of the House. But Batchelder insists he won’t be lobbying his former colleagues.
“I sponsored the bill that makes it illegal,’’ Batchelder said.
But that law, banning former legislators from lobbying the Ohio General Assembly during their first year out of office, was struck down by a federal district court in 2010.
Batchelder said he will adhere to the requirement of that law and do no lobbying.
Batchelder said he will be a consultant. But two former aides will be lobbying.
His successor, House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, said Friday his members are starting the conversation on school reforms – lining up with priorities laid out by Gov. John Kasich.
“This is not a witch hunt on charter schools,” Rosenberger said. “It’s not to go out and make them look bad but I also think there are things we need to make sure we’re doing the right course of action to make sure the number one priority -and that is our kids- are being taken care of and they’re getting the best quality education.”
Over the last 5 years, ECOT founder William Lager has donated more than a million dollars to state legislators, including more than $42 thousand to Batchelder.