Journalist Sarah Darer Littman is still aghast from the weeks of scandal that have rocked Connecticut and its charter sector.
“Dr.” Michael Sharpe stepped down as CEO of Connecticut’s Jumoke Charter Schools and its parent organization FUSE. Sharpe had a criminal record long ago, and his doctorate was a phony. Littman remembers how she was fingerprinted every time she took a new job.
She writes:
“Yet the members of the state Board of Education, all appointed or re-appointed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, required no such due diligence before forking over $53 million of our taxpayer dollars to “Doctor” Sharpe’s organization. Just to make things even cozier, Gov. Malloy appointed FUSE’s chief operating officer, Andrea Comer, to the state Board of Education. Comer resigned earlier this week, in order to avoid being a “distraction.” I’m afraid it’s a little too late for that.
“Rep. Andy Fleischmann, D-West Hartford, the co-chair of the legislature’s Education Committee, told the Connecticut Mirror’s Mark Pazniokas: “This is a pretty unique situation. Michael Sharpe had been tremendously successful at Jumoke Academy since about the year 2000 . . . So I think it’s fair to say it came as a big surprise to many of us that someone who had achieved so much would be claiming to have degrees that he lacks and have a past.”
“Unique situation? One has to ask oneself if Rep. Fleischmann has been living under a rock. Maybe he missed the comprehensive report by the Detroit Free Press on charter improprieties in Michigan. Or the scandals in Florida. . Or New Jersey. Or California. Or Louisiana. The list goes on.”
“But the surefire winner of the Connecticut Chutzpah Crown has got to be Jennifer Alexander, CEO of ConnCan,” who said,
“I think it is an important moment that signals a need to revisit and update Connecticut’s charter law so that it keeps pace with best practices nationally, including clarity around areas of accountability and transparency — but, I think, also flexibility and funding,” she said.
Translation: “Oops, one of our guys was caught lying, so we should make a show of ‘best practices’” Don’t you just love the reformy lingo for what the rest of us call “good government?” Orwell would have a field day with Ms. Alexander. “But in the meantime, give us more money and less regulation.”
Yes folks, I think Ms. Alexander just gave us a new definition of chutzpah.
“A close runner up has got to be the acting co-CEO of FUSE, Heidi Hamilton, who, in response to requests for information from the Hartford Courant, responded: “It is my understanding that FUSE is a private non-profit company and we are not subject to the Freedom Of Information Act.”
This is really a problem. Charter advocates have to explain how they are “public” when they aren’t subject to sunshine laws. Also, it’s worth mentioning that while she may not be subject to the laws that govern other publicly-paid employees and entities there is absolutely nothing stopping that organization from releasing information voluntarily.
Why do ordinary public employees have to undergo criminal background checks yet this special, privileged subset of publicly-paid private sector workers do not? What is the underlying assumption here? That one set of publicly-paid employees are somehow more ethical and trustworthy than the other set?
If charters get the same local facility funding as public schools, do they plan on complying with the same reporting regulations that public schools have to follow?
Because that isn’t a “level playing field”. It’s state law preferential treatment for charter schools and it’s also WILDLY irresponsible with public money.
If people in Connecticut want to know how promises of increased regulation of charter schools play out in practice, they can look at Cleveland where charter school promoters did an end-run around the elected mayor, despite promises made when they were looking for funding:
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/06/cleveland_mayor_frank_jackson_15.html
Get it in writing. The Mayor of Cleveland has to beg for “concessions” on running his own city. It’s appalling. They rolled right over him.
A shift in priorities from “accountability” to “transparency” could help this national issue.
They’re busy fighting the national scourge of teachers unions. Remarkably, it turns out that all of our national problems can be traced directly to teachers unions- segregation, income inequality, low wages, corruption and capture, incompetence, you name it.
You probably had no idea you were this wildly powerful, huh?
And don’t forget the sun going behind the clouds! (Hee hee)
My question is: if school leadership at state levels had not gone along so heartily with the accountability movement, would they/we have been better prepared for this onslaught? Seems to me they are kicking us (public Ed) while we were down by a self-inflicted wound.
Oh how I wish I had paid better attention to the subtleties leading up to NCLB and how states responded (what was said and who said it etc). Nobody had a crystal ball BUT every teacher knew NCLB was a bad idea.
I hope this isn’t happening:
“You might think that the willingness to discuss the Common Core State Standards suggests an AFT that is slightly more democratic than the NEA, which allowed little discussion of the Common Core.
Except that Chicago delegates are telling me that the AFT is using bully-boy tactics to shut down the CTU proposal, physically pushing CTU delegates out of their seats and away from the microphone.
‘It’s a dog back out here,’ one delegate messaged me.
‘A convention delegate representing 30,000 shouldn’t need shin guards,’ wrote another.”
Great link Matt!
Both conventions are political theater. If Duncan were to resign, he would be replaced by another corporate Obama puppet. Eliminating CCCS and the concomitant Endless Testing would be a step in the right direction, but it ain’t happening.
The Obama Administration took some time out from promoting charter schools and anti-labor activism for some passionate advocacy on behalf of kids in public schools:
“First of all, I want to say one quick thing about the budget issues here in Philadelphia,” he said. “This school system is being starved – the cuts here are incomprehensible.”
Lucky, lucky public school students in Philadelphia! The Secretary of Education finally noticed they exist! I guess a public school system has to collapse from the deliberate withholding of funding before they’re even mentioned by ed reformers. Of course, it’s also July of an election year, so I guess we can expect more ed reform politicians to rediscover public schools.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20140712_Duncan_holds_a_teacher_Q_A.html#FWMHHayI1tXIiJJa.99
True dat.
What would you expect from a “jamoke?”
Jumoke Charter Schools!!!
Ha ha ha ha ha.
I needed a good laugh today.
Can education “reform” get any more absurd?
Are you implying it takes a jamoke to run a Jumoke?
TAGO!
Funny
Or was the charter name a subtle jab at all the fools who bought Sharpe’s line?
TAGO! also
I love to read Sarah Littman’s articles, however, this has got to be one of her best. I just don’t understand it. If a reporter requests the list of every employee and their salary and Jumoke Charter School has done nothing wrong, why don’t they simply release the requested information?
I think we all know the answer to that question.
“…flexibility and funding,” for the so-called reformers means “We get to do whatever we want with the billions we receive from taxpayers and our Overclass patrons, and you have nothing to say about it.”