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Ohio wins $105 million in federal grants for community school facilities and charter support; oversight questions raised
Summary
The Department of Education and Workforce said Ohio received two U.S. Department of Education competitive grants totaling about $105 million ($55M for charter program access; $49M for state charter school facilities). Lawmakers asked how "quality" will be defined, whether future state changes could affect eligibility, and what ongoing monitoring will ensure outcomes.
The State Controlling Board approved actions to accept and implement two competitive U.S. Department of Education grants totaling about $105,000,000 to support community (charter) school facilities and program expansion.
Aaron Rausch said the grants include roughly $55,000,000 for a charter school program and $49,000,000 for state charter school facilities. He said the department aligned its grant application to state-law criteria for identifying "quality community schools" and plans to release grant application criteria (the "Grama criteria") early next year.
Representative Sweeney questioned whether the department's definition of "quality" simply mirrored a statutory standard that has changed over time and whether future changes in state law would influence who receives federal funds. Rausch said this was a single five-year grant window and that eligibility for these funds will be based on the schools identified as quality community schools in the year the competition is run; future state-law changes would not alter eligibility for awards made under this application.
Sweeney also asked about federal and state monitoring to ensure schools awarded funds continue to meet metrics across the five-year grant. Rausch said the department, as the state educational agency, is responsible for federal grant monitoring and oversight and that awarded funds are subject to state audits.
The board approved the item without recorded roll-call votes.
What happens next: The department plans to run a competitive grant process in the spring for eligible community schools and will publish criteria and the quality community school list before the end of the calendar year.
