Here is yet another example of the Florida “miracle,” wherein charter operators open and close as they miseducated children and waste taxpayer dollars.
Amy Shipley and Karen Yi of the Sun-Sentinel tell the woeful tale of the latest charter failure in Florida.
“The Broward School Board voted Tuesday to close two charter schools in Fort Lauderdale, citing poor academics and saying the schools failed to document how they spent $876,000 in taxpayer money.
The Obama Academy for Boys and The Red Shoe Charter School for Girls serve more than 250 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The schools have 90 days to appeal the termination or close down.
“We know the claims are exaggerated,” Corey Alston, who founded both schools three years ago and oversees day-to-day functions, told the Sun Sentinel. “We know many of them are wrong. We know this is the most recent attempt to target our schools.”
The district attempted to shut down the charter schools this March after the schools relocated and failed to secure a required certificate of occupancy, records show. Officials allowed them to remain open after the schools appealed the decision and submitted the necessary paperwork.
Alston said the schools would appeal the closure.
In termination notices sent to the schools last week, district officials said the schools failed to provide services for students with special needs and students who are not native English speakers. They also cited the schools for not providing an adequate reading program and poor record-keeping…..
“The community should be outraged,” said School Board member Rosalind Osgood. “For nine months [we’ve] just given away free money to people who are not following any of the rules … They keep coming up with excuses….”
Six Broward charter schools have closed or been ordered to shut down since the start the school year in August.
Alston told the Sun Sentinel the charter schools had been so successful they had turned away about 150 prospective students this year for lack of space.
Alston received probation for a felony charge of grand theft and a misdemeanor charge of corrupt misuse of official position as part of a plea deal last month in connection with his tenure as city manager of South Bay in Palm Beach County. The judge withheld adjudication on the felony charge. Those charges had no connection to his work with the Broward charter schools.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
down there last Christmas I was startled at all the charters I saw everywhere.
There was some momentum to begin regulating charter schools in Ohio, but the Ohio Dept of Education basically jumped in front of the legislature and insisted they would start doing their jobs, so we didn’t need new laws.
This is what they put up on their site for the proposed new rules with a link that doesn’t lead anywhere. They’re not even pretending at this point 🙂
Good luck regulating your charter schools, Florida. Ain’t’ gonna happen. There are a LOT of vested “adult” interests that are entrenched after 15 years of zero regulation.
http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/School-Choice/Community-Schools/News/Sponsor-Compliance-Rules
Chiara,
so your state Dept of Ed does not even seem to be an advocate for its own purpose?
I was at a dinner the other evening with our Superintendent (NCAE members dine with him once a month), and someone (who does not follow the national scene on reform like I do) said, “It seems like our own Department of Education is working against us.” To this, the Superintendent seemed to agree, but didn’t really have much to say on it. I offered up that it is likely because they are strong advocates for RttT (maybe they just have to be since they led us down that path?)
Anyway, I would love to hear more about what you have observed from Ohio’s state dept of ed in terms of bringing about harm to the cause they are supposed to protect and guide. Do expound.
My sense was they basically threw themselves in front of charter schools to protect charter schools from the legislature. There were a series of scandals and investigations, some in the legislature started making noise about drafting new laws, and all of a sudden this agency discovered they had some role in all this and THEY’LL write new rules rather than pass a new law.
Why weren’t they providing oversight prior to this, if they’ve always had the agency/ statutory authority?
The thing is, I read the charter schools statute and I DON’T think the DOE has any way to truly regulate these schools. They can attempt to regulate the authorizers but that’s one step removed from the schools. The truth is they can’t regulate these schools. They don’t have the legal authority- they don’t have the tools.
It’s so difficult for me to believe that the public has allowed this to happen. I guess this is what happens when people don’t exercise their right to vote.
But even where and when people vote and vote progressively, we still end up with charters. Look at the Illinois governor’s race, look at the past two presidential races, look at Mayor de Blasio in New York. Not only have the right-wingers bought many elections, they’ve bought many candidates, along with the structures of government, like the courts and the regulatory agencies, so no matter who we elect, we end up with the same government.
Who would have EVER thought that our first black president, a democrat, would turn his back on democracy and sell out to the highest contributors/bidders and anoint/appoint Arne Duncan with his anti-union, anti-teacher, pro-charter, pro-voucher slant to undermine not only his own people, people of color, but every person striving to eek out a middle class living. Lets face it, teachers are not in it for the money. I read a t-shirt that stated “Teacher–I’m in it for the outcome, not for the income–and truer words were never spoken these days. Gone are the times when a teacher can make a solid living because salaries have been capped and the cost of living has risen. Obama’s education policies are a disgrace to democrats, and any democrat who is “with him” on education is also a disgrace. I DON’T KNOW WHO TO VOTE FOR ANYMORE. And that is the truth. We are getting snookered voting for a bait and switch, or a lesser of 2 evils.
Donna, read Bob Herbert’s new book “Losing Our Way,” which pulls all the threads together. Basically we live in an age of plutocracy, and we have to organize and restore our democracy. I will be reviewing the book in a few days. It is terrific.
Oh cool. Good. I will be buying this book pronto. Thank you for recommending, Dr Ravitch!
They are in such a hurry to draft new laws to screw public schools and teachers and unions to the wall. Amazing how they fall all over themselves to rush in the charters without oversight, and with every advantage.
It’s about $$$$$ and the oligarchy. Propaganda Techniques are well and alive promoting corporate interests at the expense of our most vulnerable.
That sort of background sounds like Alston is a prime candidate for governor in Florida.
Donna Devine
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Ah, yes, another source of educational leaders: Felons R Us, w. Michael Milken et al.