The co-founders of the Family Foundation Academy were fired, after allegations that they had racked up some $94,000 in credit card charges to the school for personal expenses.
Amid accusations its co-leaders used school credit cards for more than $94,000 in personal purchases, the Family Foundations Academy charter school has fired the pair, re-shuffled its board, and handed the reins to the leaders of Eastside Charter School in hopes of convincing the state that it should stay open.
The new leaders say the school’s academics and finances are fundamentally sound, and argue that 825 students shouldn’t have to see their school closed because of two leaders’ bad decisions.
“Our motivation is the good of the kids here,” said Charlie McDowell, who is now chair of both schools’ boards. “They have a successful school and it’s just not right for the school not continue because of this.”
Family Foundations was supposed to have its charter renewed at last month’s State Board of Education meeting, but Department of Education officials abruptly postponed the vote, saying they had been made aware of an audit alleging serious financial mismanagement.
Deregulation and lack of oversight lead to predictable problems.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“They have a successful school and it’s just not right for the school not continue because of this.”
Is the Family Foundation Academy really a successful school? Where are the facts behind this claim? I mean, we have seen these claims being made for some of the worst failures in the corporate reform movement and even when they are going down for the count, they never admit they were failing compared to the public schools they are replacing. In fact, it seems many of these crooks end up back on their feet in another state pulling the same fraud over again—or they are rewarded with a high paying, powerful post in another state where they can continue their part in the destruction of the public schools.
Is it possible that the number of con artists willing to destroy the public schools and profit off children while destroying the lives of millions of public school teachers is so small, they keep getting 2nd and 3rd chances—for instance, Michelle Rhee—from the billionaire oligarchs funding this fraud?
Looks like the audit did identify problems. Yearly audits should be required of all public schools.
Meanwhile, in Philly the local teachers union is deeply concerned as he should be about district stockpiles of “millions of dollars of books in the district’s HQ.” This is the kind of thing that rightly deeply frustrated educators. First paragraphs of PFT article reprinted below.
http://pft.org/Page.aspx?pgid=51&article=715
PHILADELPHIA–“While teachers spend thousands of dollars to provide instructional materials for their students, their pleas for books and supplies have gone unheeded by the school district. That’s why it is incomprehensible that millions of dollars in books are housed in the basement at the school district headquarters and the closed Bok AVTS, while our students sit in classrooms with none. These books need to be released immediately to Philadelphia’s educators.
y.
Unfortunately corruption in office does not seem to stop this problem. We have had many problems in Louisiana with charters that can’t account for the money, don’t pay the teachers, etc.
Oh, the stories I could tell you about this school! I did a huge investigation into them, as did the state Charter School Office at our DOE. Some of the complaints this school received were unreal!