A state review of Akron's Steel Academy has unsheathed some sharp criticisms toward the charter school's governing board and has called for urgent reform in the wake of declining enrollments and financial woes. The recently released performance audit, conducted by the Ohio Performance Team (OPT) at the behest of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's Office of School Sponsorship, outlined grim prospects – including the risk of insolvency – for the institution that's been serving local students since 2014.
In an audit noted by the Ohio Auditor of State's office, Keith Faber remarked, "The board outsourcing its responsibilities to provide a quality, cost-effective education is not working for its students." Steel Academy's sinking ship is evidenced by an alarming cash balance nosedive to $502 from $95,734 in just a year and a pile-up of overdue bills surpassing $450,000. The board's distant, almost spectral approach to governance is failing to right a course that's seen enrollment drop and educational quality dwindle.
The audit sprang into action following the school's failure to hit any benchmarks set by the state's traditional report card measures, consequently landing it on the "At Risk for Closure List." According to the OPT review, the school's operator, to whom the board funnels most decision-making, has not been steering toward excellence either. The audit lays bare a harrowing landscape, a high rate of students entangled in impediments to their academic success, and an institution historically lagging in meeting state educational standards.
Augmenting these academic hurdles are the operational defects exacerbated by the passive leadership style of the board, which is saddled with an absence of long-term operational strategies. "… We found that Steel Academy has a high rate of students who face barriers to academic performance and that the school historically struggled to meet academic standards set by the state," Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber noted. This has spelled out a clear message: strategic resource allocation tailored to the unique needs of its student body is no longer a choice but a survival imperative for Steel Academy.
As the reports state, a transformation in governance is imperative if the Academy hopes to escape the looming specter of closure due to insolvency. The public can head to the Auditor of State's website to obtain the full report and its findings.
