n Special Edition – August 15, 2012
E-News Special Report
In late June, I shared information with our eNews subscribers regarding my request of the Auditor of the State and Ohio Department of Education to investigate what I found to be irregularities in some of the District's attendance records. While there has been significant media coverage of this issue, I wanted to make sure that you have an accurate and complete account of exactly what has occurred to date, where we are at this juncture, and what we are doing while awaiting the Auditor of State's findings, in order to strengthen our record keeping and reporting systems.
In August of 2011, after learning from the District's Pupil Services Office that there were inconsistencies in reported absences found in 16 student records being reviewed by the Franklin County Juvenile Court, I contacted our Internal Auditor and the Auditor of State's Office, asking them to investigate my concerns. After an initial review of the available data, the Auditor of State's office determined that there did not appear to be sufficient evidence to warrant their review, but recommended the District's Internal Auditor continue her investigation. The Auditor of State's Office indicated their willingness to reengage in the future, should the District's Internal Auditor need their assistance.
In December, 2011 the CCS Internal Auditor informed me that her office had reviewed the 16 files provided to her in August. As a result of their review, she believed there was a need to expand her investigation. We talked again in March of 2012, and she informed me that her office had reviewed an additional 65 files, and her auditors were seeing similar inconsistencies to what had been previously reported, and she was going to further expand her investigation.
In early June, 2012, after finding additional concerns, the Internal Auditor and I agreed that I inform principals that I was implementing system-wide restrictions to limit who could access student computer records, as well as putting in place requirements for the documentation that needed to be on file in order to support any changes made in student attendance records. Based on growing concerns, in mid-June I contacted the Auditor of State and the Ohio Department of Education requesting that they conduct an investigation into the concerns that we had uncovered – both agreed to do so.
Subsequent to my request, similar issues have come to light in two other school districts across the state. The Auditor of State has since stated that his office will lead the investigation into our concerns, as well as conducting a review of other Ohio school districts and the Ohio Department of Education.
On August 7, the Board of Education passed a resolution that reinforces their personal commitment to support and cooperate with the investigation. That resolution includes a request by the Board that employees of the District fully cooperate by providing information relevant to the investigation. Clearly, I am in full support of the Board of Education's resolution.
In order to protect the interests of the school district, the investigation, and individuals whose names have been brought into question, I have temporarily reassigned two staff members. We have also begun to implement additional protocols designed to eliminate any potential misunderstandings or misapplication of attendance reporting systems, as defined by the Ohio Department of Education. We have re-established a District-level Attendance Reporting Committee and we will conduct regular reviews of attendance and other data at the senior leadership level to seek out any anomalies or inconsistencies in the data. We have also implemented a new student information system, Infinite Campus, which has additional safety protocols in place to ensure that the appropriate documentation and/or notations are in place to support any changes made to computerized student records.
The Auditor of State's investigators are conducting this investigation at the District's request, and we do not yet know what the facts will reveal. Based on our conversations and their public statements, we believe that they will complete their review and issue a report this fall. After the Auditor issues the report of his investigation, I, as well as the Board of Education, will take the necessary actions, including any appropriate changes in policies and practices, in order to move forward and to restore the public's trust.
The District's staff has worked tirelessly to ensure that our students are achieving at record levels, and there should be nothing that should be permitted to diminish or discredit this work.
Thank you for your continued support of Columbus City Schools.
Respectfully,
Gene T. Harris, Ph.D.
Superintendent/CEO
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