Gene Harris faces charges after Columbus City Schools alleged data scandal.
A former Ohio University Board of Trustees chair has been charged with dereliction of duty as part of an ongoing investigation of her tenure at Columbus City Schools.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien filed the charge Monday, against Gene Harris, a former Columbus City Schools superintendent and former chair of the OU Board of Trustees, the university’s governing body.
Harris resigned from her position as superintendent in 2013 after several principals in the district were accused of falsifying student records to make the performance rating of the schools higher.
Harris is expected to plead no contest Jan. 14 and is unlikely to face other criminal charges, according to The Columbus Dispatch, her attorney, Yvette McGee Brown, and O’Brien agreed to the plea and the charge. As a part of the deal, Harris could testify in other cases or participate in further investigations.
Dereliction of duty is a second-degree misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and/or a $750 fine.
Before becoming superintendent in 2001, Harris received her doctorate degree in education from OU in 1999. She served as the chair of the Board of Trustees from June 22, 2012 to May 13, 2013, according to a previous Post article.
Former Governor Bob Taft appointed her to the Board of Trustees in 2004.
She was chair during the early talks of the Capital Improvement Plan and previously said that she stood against student trustee voting rights.
Board of Trustees members were unavailable for comment before press time.
An OU spokesperson was not available for comment.
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