COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A judge in Ohio has ruled that a private management company that operates a group of publicly funded charter schools must turn over financial records requested by the schools' governing boards.
The Wednesday ruling in Columbus comes in a lawsuit in which the boards of Hope Academies and Life Skills Centers in Cleveland and Akron asked to break their contracts with Akron-based White Hat Management LLC.
The ruling also says a 2007 law that allows operators to replace school boards that break their contracts is irrelevant because it came after White Hat and the schools had entered agreements.
Among records the boards seek are those related to school operations as well as money spent on lobbying for the 2007 law. The judge says White Hat must only turn over records related to the use of public funds.