The Columbus Dispatch | Bill Bush, Jen Smith Richards
Former Columbus Superintendent Gene Harris surrounded herself with cheaters, and then nurtured and protected them.
The findings of an 18-month state investigation released yesterday tell a story of a superintendent who presided over a culture in which administrators lost sight of their mission to educate children and instead focused on creating an illusion that they were getting good academic results. State Auditor Dave Yost’s long-awaited report found that some Columbus school employees set out to deceive the state and federal education departments – and the people of Columbus.
“In fact, it appears that many of these children were seemingly being passed through the system without receiving an adequate education” or the help required by law, the audit found.
“They were making it up,” Yost said.