Six members of the board of an Imagine charter school in Columbus, Ohio, resigned en masse “amid ongoing concerns about a high-cost building lease, teacher turnover and adequate services for students.” They were promptly replaced by the for-profit chain.
The school paid an enormous lease fee to a management company owned the the charter chain.
“The previous board “explored” closing the school with 150 students attending after clashing with Imagine Schools over several issues, including the academy’s $58,000-a-month lease.
“The lease is with SchoolHouse Finance, a subsidiary of Imagine Schools Inc., raising questions about a possible conflict of interest.
“Board members complained that the $700,000 annual lease consumes too much of the school’s $1.3 million annual budget. According to the Franklin County auditor’s office, the building, at 4656 Heaton Rd., is valued at $1,164,600.
“Schoolhouse Finance purchased the building in 2005 for $1.5 million and made $2.6 million worth of improvements, according to the auditor’s website. SchoolHouse sold the building in 2006 for $5.2 million to a real-estate investment trust, then leased it back from the trust to charge rent to the school.
“I am disappointed we couldn’t close the school. We felt it was the right thing to do,” said Leon Sinoff, a board member who resigned on May 27.
“The school opened in the 2013-14 school year, just months after another Imagine School that occupied the same building under a different sponsor was closed for poor academic performance.”
School opens, school closes, school opens. Through it all, the corporation’s profits grow.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Hmmmm. Plenty of money available for fees to Schoolhouse Finance, but none available for teachers? :
“Sinoff said board members also tried to increase teacher salaries, concerned that low salaries of $30,000 a year were causing high turnover. Imagine allowed the salaries to increase by $2,000.”
How will race to the bottom wages for teachers improve education for students? Why would politicians who come to Ohio and tell voters they are pro-education and “working for the middle class” support this?
I hope they don’t drive down public school teachers wages. I don’t think that benefits students. No one mentioned this part when they were selling ed reform in this state, not President Obama or Governor Kasich. I wonder why not?
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Nor will small businesses benefit. People who do not earn adequate money do not buy cars, houses, extra clothing, dinnerware, carpets, etc. These teachers will need the money for copyays on health insurance, food, and rent for their shared apartments. Another round of lower wages suits Walmart and Dollar Tree, but even more local small businesses die.
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Yes, freedom to profiteer is the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time, and how dare anyone question it…
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Ohio just increased funding to charter schools and the ed committee in the legislature has spent nearly the entire session working on the latest charter regulation scheme.
90% of Ohio children attend public schools, and the 90% get 10% of the attention and support from lawmakers- except 6 weeks before an election, when we all see our lawmakers in our schools.
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Here’s Thomas Friedman of the NYTimes plugging his wife’s school:
Why is public education dominated by billionaires, millionaires and media personalities now? No one elected any of these folks. Why are they dominating the whole field?
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When it comes to billionaires and media personalities swarming the public schools, Friedman and his wife are a two-fer: he gets to make know-nothing pronouncements about education, while his wife, the billionaire scion of the General Growth Properties (shopping mall developers) fortune gets to play educator while advancing Overclass interests.
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What is it with people named Friedman?
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Yet again: should we laugh, cry or vomit?
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This was sent to me by a retired state education administrator in Ohio:
Question: In Ohio, when a discussion is about charter schools, what are the five most used words?
Answer: Will the defendant(s) please rise.
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“School opens, school closes, school opens. Through it all, the corporation’s profits grow.” And the poor children get further and further behind.
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Ohio politicians entice crime, with the charter school set-up.
Speaker of the House, John Boehner’s aide, Christopher Martin of Springfield, Ohio, and two other individuals, were convicted June 2, 2015, “for bribery and conspiracy…connected to the Arise! Academy charter school.”
Ohio taxpayers get screwed three ways (1) Theft of tax dollars
(2) Costs of litigation and incarceration (3) Influence peddling in Columbus.
But worse, society, including business, is robbed of an educated population.
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