The major party candidates for governor have laid out their plans to help children and parents. Both Republican Mike DeWine and Democrat Rich Cordray say it all begins before the kids are even born. But as Statehouse correspondent Andy Chow reports, there is at least one clear difference.
ECOT came up in discussion about those plans for kids, because it’s definitely a campaign issue. Republican candidates say they’re going after the now-closed online charter school for the tens of millions it owes the state, and Democrats are saying it’s potentially the largest scandal in state history and it happened on the GOP’s watch. Attorney General Mike DeWine has filed a lawsuit claiming ECOT’s agreements with its management and software service companies, operated by ECOT founder Bill Lager, constitute a pattern of corrupt activity. Auditor Dave Yost, the Republican candidate for Attorney General, talks about his audit and DeWine's role in this saga.
Democrats say this echoes what they've been claiming for yerars, and they continue to dispute whether DeWine, Yost and other Republicans have done all they could with regards to ECOT. Rep. Tavia Galonski (D-Akron) is among those raising questions.