Yesterday the North Carolina State Board of Education voted to grant additional charters to Baker Mitchell, who has collected over $16 million in last five years to run three charters.
Today, Lindsay Wagner of NC Policy Watch reports that Mitchell’s schools are under federal investigation.
Mitchell is on the board of the John Locke Foundation, a libertarian foundation that advocates for charters and is funded by Art Pope, the multi- millionaire state budget director. Bill Moyers recently featured Pope in a documentary about his role in the far-right takeover of the legislature.
Mitchell also serves on the State Charter Advisory Board.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Wish the heirs of John Locke would demand an end to using his name for questionable organization.
Perhaps a group of educators should do for charter schools what Colbert did for Super Pacs. Illustrate the absurdity by creatively and openly participating.
Diane,
Please also indicate the number of tradition public schools are under investigation, sure blog followers would be equally interested.
AJBruno, please send me any information you have about public school principals or superintendents making off with $1 million a year in taxpayer money for their personal use.
It wasn’t a year, but a couple working for my district embezzled over 3 million dollars by buying books for the district through a shadow company. Didn’t get any prison time either. We’re still bitter about it here.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705334002/Rosses-plead-guilty-to-thefts-from-Davis-District.html?pg=all
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705351582/No-prison-for-Susan-Ross-in-Davis-school-book-scheme.html?pg=all
The fact that no one sees a conflict of interest that Mitchell serves on the state advisory board and profits from the decisions made is amazing. At a time when our State is supposedly in a financial crisis and we cannot pay for public education, we have made millionaires. It is mind boggling that this happens and there is no uproar. I posted about this yesterday, Thanks for giving this national notice.
you can add another person to the list, the CEO of Charter Schools USA, Jonathon Hage. He is making millions by using the legislation he crafted while a deputy secretary of education under Jeb Bush in Florida. According to many articles he has contributed to the campaign funds of politicans he views to be favorable to charter schools. He recently opened two charters in my region, one in Mooresville NC, where you will find one of the finest public education systems in the state. President Obama recently paid a visit to this school system, little did he know that his support of charter schools will undermine amazing school systems such as this. Charter SchoolsUSA is set to open a second charter in Mooresville next year.