When the board of Metro Charter Academy in Romulus, Michigan asked too many questions of the for-profit management company running the school, the university that authorized the charter stepped in to discipline the board. Grand Valley State University defended National Heritage Academies.
According to the latest installment by the Detroit Free Press in its series about charter schools:
“Some board members were critical of the school’s $854,560 annual lease with the Grand Rapids company and the way NHA kept their meeting minutes (not detailed enough, in their opinion). And some wanted to expand the academy to include a high school.
“Ultimately, Grand Valley, which had authorized the school and was responsible for oversight, asked all four board members to consider resigning. Leonard Mungo and Justin Mordarski refused.
“So Grand Valley’s Board of Trustees voted Feb. 13, 2004, to summarily cut short their three-year terms.”
One university employee went to work for National Heritage Academies.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
One of the charter operators has written a book. The book tells the story if ECOT, which is the worst school district in Ohio (charters are their own district in Ohio).
In the book, the founder lists his political patrons and advocates. One of them is Chester Finn, from Fordham.
I think it’s amusing the founder of the worst school in Ohio named names.
LONG list of politicians in there 🙂
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They were looking for “passive board members” Diane, as it states in the piece.
They wanted relinquishers and agnostics.
So now that the university is completely in the pocket of a for-profit company, what do we do next? Reform ed reform? Hire some more relinquishers and agnostics to oversee public funds?
How much has Grand Valley State pocketed from K-12 education funding?
Can they even give up the unearned revenue at this point?
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The Trustees of the university are governor appointees, and serve at his leisure, unlike other universities that have elected trustees. Eastern Michigan University also has appointed trustees. Eastern is the university which sponsors the “reform” district for 14 “lowest performing” Detroit schools, the notorious EAA. Students and faculty have been demonstrating and holding teach-ins at Eastern and pressuring the university to disassociate itself from the EAA. Perhaps now the students and faculty of Grand Valley will get involved with their school.
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