Two parent leaders in Lancaster, Pennsylvania–John MGrann and Dennis Deslippe–are organizing opposition to a Gulen charter in their community. The Gulen charters are the largest charter chain in the nation. They are associated with a reclusive Turkish imam who lives in the Poconos but has a powerful political movement in Turkey.

This is their petition:

The application for a new charter school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has generated a strong public response in opposition to its approval. On Tuesday, February 19, the school board for the School District of Lancaster in Pennsylvania will conduct a hearing for the Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School (ABECS), a school which promises to “integrate business and leadership opportunities” and “launch entrepreneurial skills” for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. The lead applicant for ABECS is Sait Onal.

Troubling letters of support

A group of local parents has been working to review the proposed program and curriculum, and to research the background of the charter school’s board members and letters of support. They have serious concerns about the curriculum, but equally troubling are the letters written in support of the charter school, including several which were subsequently withdrawn after these parents started asking questions and raising concerns. The withdrawn letters include:

· One letter, originally written by Harrisburg Area Community College, withdrawn because, “we believe that based on the ongoing public scrutiny and concerns regarding allegations of the organization, we cannot in good faith continue to support the charter application, at this time.”

· Letters from two Pennsylvania non-profit organizations that “promote teaching financial literacy”, withdrawn after a board member was alerted to the letters and discovered that they overstated the organizations’ position. The board member in question is president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (the statewide teachers’ union) who added in a follow-up letter, “I do not support the development or creation of any new charter schools in Pennsylvania at this time.”

· A letter of support from Lutheran Refugee Services, withdrawn after leadership from that organization’s office in Philadelphia discovered that the lead applicant’s wife, Selma Onal, issued the letter without authorization.

The remaining letters of support include:

· Letters from US Representative Joseph R. Pitts and Pennsylvania State Senator Lloyd Smucker.

· A letter sent from the local office of the Transamerica Agency Network where lead applicant Sait Onal is District Manager, signed by an employee of that office.

· A letter sent from MUDI Farm Export, a business in which the lead applicant Sait Onal is a partner, signed by Onal himself.

· A letter from Godiva Chocolatier / Yildiz Holdings, promising the opportunity for “job shadowing” and “summer internships” at their facility in Reading for the school’s K-4 students. This letter is signed by Murat Ulker, son of deceased Turkish industrialist Sabri Ulker who was a friend of Fethullah Gulen.

· A letter from Etimine USA in Pittsburgh, also promising “job shadowing” and “summer internships” for the school’s K-4 students. This letter is signed by Gokhan Yazici, former Deputy Undersecretary in the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (2002-2004) and former Advisor to the Prime Minister of Turkey (1996-2001). The opposing parent group has noted the absurdity of a summer internship being offered to K-4 students which necessitates a four-hour drive from where they live.

The lead applicant

Sait Onal has repeatedly attempted to establish charter schools in the midstate-Pennsylvania region. In addition to his failed effort with the Lancaster Science Academy (denied in 2008), Onal was part of the group that attempted to start the Capital [sic] Academy of Harrisburg (denied in 2006). The ABECS application closely resembles two other charter school applications that were submitted in Pennsylvania in 2012, for the Allentown Science Academy and the Erie Biosciences Academy.

Although Onal insists that he has no connection to the Gulen movement, his work has appeared in The Fountain, a magazine produced and published by the Gulen Movement which features a lead article by Fethullah Gulen in every issue. In his capacity as president of two NGOs, the Red Rose Intercultural and Educational Foundation and the Turkish Cultural Center of Pennsylvania, Onal has hosted a number of political dignitaries on trips to Turkey, including State Senator Mike Brubaker.

It was while they were in Turkey in April 2011 that Onal accompanied Brubaker to the headquarters of TUKSON, a Turkish business association described by the RAND Corporation in 2008 as the “fourth leg” of the Gulen movement – the other three being its education, media, and interfaith dialogue activities.

Onal has also organized several Turkish Cultural Days at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, one of which was held in May 2011 shortly after the above-mentioned Turkey trip. The afternoon senate session that day was started with prayers by Bekir Aksoy, president of Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. Fethullah Gulen has been living at this center ever since he fled from Turkey in 1999.

The parent group has posted an online petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/school-district-of-lancaster-pa-oppose-the-academy-of-business-and-entrepreneurship-charter-school