Thursday, October 11, 2001
Harmony School funding restored
By Jennifer Mrozowski
The Cincinnati Enquirer
State funding for Harmony Community School, a charter school in the former Slush Puppie Corp. building in Price Hill, will be restored after 3 p.m. today, state officials said.
The Ohio Department of Education will issue the school a check for September for $234,455.07, to be used for operations, maintenance, teacher salaries and supplies.
We continue to verify enrollment on a weekly basis, said Dottie Howe, spokeswoman for ODE.
Each month, the state funds charter schools based on enrollment. Charter schools run separately from public schools and are instead governed by parent groups or non-profit organizations.
Enrollment at the school, which caters to middle- and high school-age students, was 515 last week, Ms. Howe said.
The three-year-old charter school's monthly funding was put on hold in September because the ODE had concerns about the school's facility.
Questions arose when state officials learned some students were meeting at locations throughout Cincinnati after the school had vacated its former location in a Bond Hill shopping center this summer. The school owed more than $40,000 in back rent and late fees, according to the property owner's attorney.
Harmony's attorney has said the school did not pay the rent because it had concerns over safety violations at the site. Harmony officials said students met at libraries and other locations for about three weeks as part of a project.
David Nordyke, Harmony's director, said the school can now continue with its normal operations.
I'm glad they're not only being reasonable but fair, he said. I'm glad they recognize we're in full operation.
State funding for October, which arrives for charter schools mid-month, will be contingent on the school's enrollment, Ms. Howe said.
We have a responsibility to the community school, to the taxpayers and to the children to ensure these schools are running properly, she said.
The state will review the school's hours of operation. Since school began on Sept. 28, students have been going in shifts because part of the Slush Puppie building is still in use by its former tenants.
Mr. Nordyke said he submitted a plan to the ODE detailing how students will make up the hours.
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