The Ohio Attorney General has gone to court to recover state money from officials at a now-closed online charter school.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Mike DeWine seeks to recover the remaining $62 million that the the state ordered the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) to repay because of inflated enrollment figures over two years.
The state also seeks to recover all profits that ECOT founder Bill Lager received via his two companies, Altair Management and IQ Innovations. Those firms were paid about $200 million for their work operating and providing software to the online school.
ECOT closed in January after its sponsor determined it would run out of money because of the state’s efforts to recover funding.
“My office has been in court for over two years working to hold ECOT accountable,” DeWine says. “I will continue to be aggressive in seeking to recover public funds from ECOT, its affiliates, and Mr. Lager that they improperly received.”
In addition to Lager, other former school officials named in the lawsuit are Rick Teeters of Daytona Beach, Florida; superintendent; Michelle Smith of Bristolville, Ohio, treasurer; Christopher Meister of Worthington, Ohio, vice president of accounting; Ann Barnes of Grove City, Ohio, Education Management Information System (EMIS) director; and Regina Lukich of Upper Arlington, Ohio, director of federal programs.
