As part of its wide-ranging investigation into the financial practices of the state’s booming charter sector, the Arizona Republic identified numerous instances where board members and family members were self-dealing.
Here are a few prime examples.
Of those highlighted here, this is the most startling:
$42.3 million for curriculum
Primavera Technical Learning Center
City:Chandler | Grades: 6-12 | 2011 enrollment: 3,160
Number of schools: 2 | Year opened: 2001
Payments: Damien Creamer and Vanessa Baviera Rudilla run one of the largest online schools in Arizona, and the non-profit school contracts with a for-profit company, American Virtual Academy, for its curriculum and software. Creamer and Rudilla are officers of the non-profit and earn salaries. American Virtual Academy also is owned by Creamer and Rudilla. From fiscal 2007 to 2011, the non-profit paid $42.3 million to American Virtual Academy. The non-profit is exempt from state purchasing laws. Damien Creamer said when the school started it purchased software and curriculum from a number of vendors. The curriculum was mediocre and the software burdensome and unwieldy, he said. As American Virtual Academy’s products developed, the school began using its services. Because the company is the only one to offer such an online platform, getting price quotes from other vendors is not an option, he said. Creamer said he makes sure the non-profit school and his for-profit company operate at arm’s length.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“We’re shocked – SHOCKED! – to discover that corruption is behind a host of for-profit charter schools.”
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I don’t see how it can be an “arms length” deal if one arm shakes the hand on the other arm. The problem of a non-profit school contracting with a for-profit supplier might be appropriate for lunches and maybe even janitor services and boiler repair, but for the actual educational substance is perhaps a different matter. Perhaps the problem is with the “virtual” school rather than with non-profit, non-public schools themselves.
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You would be shocked to see how easy it is for people to creatively take taxpayer money in charters and use it for their own gain. It would turn your stomach. The checks and balances don’t exist. It is an easy way to get rich if you live in the right state. When you see reports saying this free market idea will create copetition and a better product don’t beleive it. It is just an easy way to make money and rip off taxpayers.
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Also, when they say “non-profit” don’t believe it. Take a close look and you will find someone awarding themselves a LOT of money.
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It is my impression that most citizens who know about charter schools think they are nonprofit schools of choice for parents whose children are stuck in “failing schools.” They probably think these schools are run by parents and teachers and differ from the traditional public schools only in the sense that they are free to try new ideas for improving instruction. My guess is that the average person has no idea that privateers are coming in to take over public schools, pay teachers a low salary, and do whatever else is necessary to make a profit. I doubt very much if the average taxpayer knows that some of these charter operators are making tons of money without coming within a mile of an actual schoolchild (except of course, their own). And of course, there are many cases of outright fraud, where students are left without a school and grifters have absconded with the money.
Now that journalists are catching on to this tax money scam, the word is getting out, but not fast enough. Parents, teachers, and other citizens who are concerned about the theft of our public schools need to take on the essential task of educating citizens. When they find out what is happening, I think we’ll see all states following the example of Indiana. Perhaps educator groups should pay for ads in local newspaper as well as television. If there is an organized effort to get the word out, I will contribute.
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You are right. They definately need to create a network and get the word out on the local level. Wouldn’t it seem beneficial to present info at parent meetings, etc.
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