COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A criminal charge of dereliction of duty has been filed against the former Columbus city schools superintendent at the center of the district’s attendance data-scrubbing scandal.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said he filed the charge Monday and confirmed that ex-superintendent Gene Harris will enter a no contest plea.
The Columbus Dispatch, which first reported the deal Monday, says Harris is expected to enter her no contest plea in court Wednesday.
O’Brien and Harris’ lawyer, Yvette McGee Brown, agreed to let a judge decide the penalty without O’Brien seeking a certain outcome. McGee Brown confirmed that deal Monday.
At issue are allegations first reported by the Dispatch in 2012 that administrators changed attendance numbers to manipulate schools’ performance ratings.