Charter school in Cincinnati will shut down

Harmony Community School in Cincinnati, one of Ohio's oldest and most controversial charter schools, will close Dec. 31. It is the second Cincinnati-area charter school in recent weeks to turn students out in the middle of the school year. Harmony's enrollment plunged from a high of 800 students several years ago to about 250 earlier this school year. The school, which employed about 50 teachers at one time, now employs about 15. A school official says an ongoing lawsuit by the Ohio Attorney General's Office and negative publicity have hurt the school. The lawsuit alleges that Harmony violated the public trust with a record of poor student achievement and a history of financial mismanagement. To read The Cincinnati Enquirer article, click here.