YIKES: Talk show host slams Dayton school on show

Talk show host John Oliver ripped a Dayton charter school and its founder on his show "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" Sunday.

Oliver laid into Jeanette Harris, the former director of Richard Allen Schools, during a segment on problems with charter schools. He showed a clip of the 2011 Dayton Daily News story "Lack of oversight an issue for model charter school system," written by Christopher Magan and Margo Rutledge Kissell.

Comments about Dayton and Ohio start just before the 14 minute mark. 

http://youtu.be/l_htSPGAY7I?t=13m40s
  • "A Dayton Daily News examination found that of the $6.5 million in tax dollars Richard Allen Schools received in 2009, more than $1 million went toward management and consulting firms founded by Jeanette C. Harris, Richard Allen's CEO and president."

This reporter left a message seeking comment  on superintendent Michelle Thomas' voicemail.

Thomas is Harris' daughter.

Oliver also showed a WHIO clip featuring anchor Cheryl McHenry and a DaytonDailyNews.com article "Charter School padded attendance records for state money, auditor says" by reporters Laura A. Bischoff and Jeremy P. Kelley.

In December, Ohio appeals court upheld a state auditor's finding that the Richard Allen charter school chain overpaid its management company by roughly $1.5 million. Richard Allen has schools in Montgomery and Butler counties.

>> RELATED: State: Charter schools overpaid management company by $1.5M

About the Author