The dust has settled in the wake of the January release of State Auditor Yost’s report on Columbus City Schools. The findings of the audit have been discussed ad nauseam in press conferences, news articles and on television broadcasts.
In the midst of the reports of corruption and the discussion surrounding it, there are three lights that shine brightly in the pages of the audit itself. There are three heroes who were brave enough to speak up about data tampering, even at the risk of their own careers.
Columbus City Schools supervisor Katie Huenke served with Steve Tankovich as a member of what was called the “A-Team”, the group existed to improve attendence in the district. When Tankovich advised colleagues that the best way to optimize the district’s record was to break enrollment by withdrawing and re-enrolling, Huenke pointed out that this practice was not permissible.
That didn’t stop the cheating. The audit details Huenke’s continued efforts to curtail the dishonesty:
“Katie Huenke advised AOS investigators that, between 2009 and 2010, she brought a number of instances of attendance data manipulation to the attention of her supervisor, Mary Ey, the Chief Officer of Community Partnerships/Student Support Services. Mary Ey did not respond to Huenke’s emails and took no steps to remedy the situation other than to warn Katie Huenke to be careful of what Katie put in emails.”
Fortunately, there was more concern about the manipulation at a higher administrative level.
Deputy Superintendent, Keith Bell, had noticed some disturbing inconsistencies between attendance records and his observations during school visits. He saw half-empty classrooms in schools that reported 93% attendance. The audit describes how his concerns were met:
“When he asked about the law on student attendance, he was told that he did not understand the problems of urban schools.”
In August of 2011, Bell was appointed to investigate alterations in attendance data (initiated by Huenke’s observations). The investigation found evidence of widespread data manipulation achieved by withdrawing and re-enrolling students at the end of the school year. The audit reports that many of these changes were made by an administrator named Michael Dodds.
Bell presented the information to Superintendent Harris. Shortly thereafter, he was relieved of his duties. Again, according to the audit report:
“Keith Bell was called into Superintendent Harris’ office in December 2011. At that time, Superintendent Harris removed Keith Bell of all his responsibilities as Deputy Superintendent, and they also agreed he would resign as Deputy Superintendent at the end of the 2011- 2012 school year. Superintendent Harris would assist Keith Bell in finding another position.”
And, the report continues, “One of Keith Bell’s duties as Deputy Superintendent was implementing the new Infinite Campus data system. Superintendent Harris advised Keith Bell she was giving this assignment to Michael Dodds.”
And finally, there is Carolyn Smith. Smith is the internal auditor for Columbus City Schools. For Smith, her involvement started in the summer of 2011 with an investigation of data tampering as it related to juvenile court case dismissals. When she looked beyond the court cases, she saw the same disturbing patterns. In spite of pressures to cut her investigation short, she completed a thorough report documenting data manipulation. That report is HERE (PDF).
There have been many calls for punishment for those involved in the data scandal. What rewards await the whistle blowers? According to the local newspaper, Huenke has retired from Columbus City Schools. After being relieved of his duties at CCS by the former superintendent, Bell is now superintendent of Euclid City Schools.
In November, voters rejected issue 51, a ballot option that called for the elimination of Smith’s position. She still serves as the internal auditor of Columbus City Schools.
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