Peter Greene has just discovered the most amazing fact about the U.S. Department of Education’s award of $157 million to the charter industry. The state that won the most money for charters is OHIO! Ohio, where there have been more charter scandals in the past few years than in any other state!
He says in the title of his post: Accountability is for public schools only.
Arne Duncan today held a press chat to announce that USED would be throwing more money ($157 million) at charter schools.
Throwing money at public schools is, you may recall, anathema to reformsters, who are concerned that while money has been thrown higgledy piggledy at public schools, it appears that insufficient amounts of the money have struck students in the test-taking parts of their brains.
Throwing money at public schools is bad, because we are just certain that they are wasting it and that the taxpayers are not getting a sufficient bang-to-buckage ratio.
But throwing money at charter schools is awesome, because we have no idea where the hell it’s going.
The department’s inspector general issued a report in 2012 that Lyndsey Layton calls “scathing.” The report suggests that the feds have been throwing that money at charters with blindfolds on. The Center for Media and Democracy has a more recent, more scathing report on the vast piles of money that has been thrown into charter black holes. “Gosh,” say the feds. “That’s a state problem. It’s up to them to exercise oversight. Not our problem.” Although, just in case you think USED is providing no oversight at all, I am happy to report they did send states a strongly worded letter, exhorting them to be more oversighty.
With all that, you’ll be unsurprised to discover that the top winner in the charter change chunking festival is the state of Ohio. Yes, that Ohio. The Ohio where hundreds of charters have failed in just about every way a charter can fail, the Ohio where the husband of the governor’s campaign manager had to resign from his ed department job because he was caught cooking the books to make charters look better (including some belonging to some political money throwers, proving that throwing money at politicians can also work well). That Ohio gets another $32.5 million to throw at charters. Even the journalists listening to Duncan’s news apparently felt the urge to question that decision, but USED assistant deputy secretary Nadya Dabby responded:
“Ohio has a pretty good mechanism in place to improve overall quality and oversight,” said Dabby, although she could not provide details. “We believe Ohio has put practices in place, although there ‘s always room for them to grow.”
Room to grow? Well, that’s one way of putting it. Another way would be to mention that under the Ohio charter law, helpfully written by charter lobbyists, any equipment purchased by charter operators with taxpayer dollars belongs to the charter operator as private property. Ohio is the state where the charter monitor for the state was fired for rigging grades to help the especially low-performing online charters.
It appears that Arne will keep throwing money at the charters as long as he is in office, no matter how little supervision or oversight there is.
Duncan and the federal DOE are not wearing blinders when it comes to subsidizing charter schools.
On the contrary, they know exactly what they’re doing, and why.
I wouldn’t let apathy rule the day — I do find that most people in education policy really do want to get it right. The problems tends to be the distance between information received from lobbyists & charter enthusiasts (especially when it feeds a predisposition) versus a real understanding of what is really happening on the local level.
PLEASE contact the US Department of Education to share data and express concerns about the Ohio charter situation — IT MATTERS. The grant mentioned above is actually set to be allocated over time and can be withheld if are issues with performance, oversight, etc.:
The charter grants fall under the US Dept. of Ed’s Office of Innovation and Improvement. Two key decision makers who I’m sure would appreciate information & feedback from Ohio parents & voters:
Nadya Chinoy Dabby, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement: nadya.dabby@ed.gov
Stefan Huh, Director, Charter Programs: stefan.huh@ed.gov
PS: A more detailed Department of Education Ohio grant review sheet can be found here: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/charter/2015/ohiotrf.pdf
I’m not sure I believe that. I used to, but there is so much information and there seems to be a determination NOT to look at the bad, and that’s pretty scary. I thought Secy Duncan was just clueless but now I truly wonder if that is the case.
Chiara:
I await your reaction to the news that Ohio is #1 on the list of those being rewarded for all their Charter Centres of Educational Excellence.
😎
Oh, I’m confident it will be strictly regulated.
Here’s the Secretary:
“However, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says despite what he calls some impressive recent progress by charters, he continues to be concerned about fiscal oversight within the charter sector.
“We still see too many reports of unscrupulous behavior of charter schools and their authorizers,” Duncan said in a press call with reporters.”
They sent them a letter that says,” please, if you don’t mind, if it’s not too much trouble, could you possibly get around to regulating yourselves?”
It’ll be regulated about as well as for-profit colleges were regulated by Duncan’s team, which was “not at all”.
Meanwhile, here’s the latest Ohio editorial demanding charter reform. We get one or two a day, and have for 6 months.
http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/09/the_ohio_legislature_must_pass_a_charter_school_reform_bill_and_increase_fracking_taxes_pronto_editorial.html
Congratulations, you’re number one!
Since farmers get paid by the feds not to grow crops, seems like charters should get paid sometimes for students they don’t enroll. I’m sure they could come up with a logical reason for this.
Cross posted the original post at
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/CURMUDGUCATION-USED-Acco-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Accountability_Charter-Schools_Education_Fraud-150929-448.html#comment565112
Diane, I can always count on you to cheer me up! Thanks for the lift today.
This is from the letter they sent with gentle suggestions on how charter schools might start doing some purely self-regulation, and this part is interesting:
“CMO/EMO Relationship Transparency
The relationship of charter schools to management organizations (especially EMOs and other organizations that provide fee generating management services to charter schools) requires effective oversight to ensure that charter schools provide the best quality services and benefits to their students. By increasing transparency and oversight regarding these relationships, and ensuring that appropriate corrective actions are taken when conflicts of interest arise..”
I wondered if they were federally funding for-profit charter management companies (the school entity is non-profit but the management entity who actually run the school and makes all the decisions is a for-profit) and it appears they are. This would be a good question to ask one of the thousands of paid charter promoters. Is this just a for-profit wrapped in a non-profit legal entity?
Click to access finalsignedcsp.pdf
Maybe someone could pull up a statement from President Obama’s 2008 or 2012 campaign where he told the public he planned to prioritize replacing public schools with charter schools.
I’m drawing a blank on that. Pretty sure he didn’t run on this in Ohio. I know he didn’t tell rank and file labor union members that he was opposed to schools where labor union members work. Maybe he could clarify, now that’s he’s safely re-elected. Maybe he could visit Youngstown, where they just imposed a plan to eradicate the public schools and privatize the whole system. He could explain to us how he differs from John Kasich on public schools.
Well, I’m pretty sure he did run on a pro-union, pro-collective bargaining platform, but then he went and lost his comfy shoes. I’m pretty sure he did run on an anti-war platform, but then he did everything he could to extend Iraq, he re-invaded Afghanistan and he invaded Libya (to say nothing of the number of countries he has droned and special oped, along with a few American citizens here and there that he’s offed). I’m also pretty sure he did run on a pro-Main Street/rein in Wall Street platform. Doesn’t it seem like we could at least sue him for false advertising?
He was opposed to NCLB and also opposed to NAFTA. Then he gets elected and institutes NCLB on steroids and rams thru another giant, crappy trade deal which no one is allowed to read and was drafted and promoted by the exact same people who sold the last one. His crack negotiators have already dealt away auto parts. Canada and Mexico opposed. The US was on board for race to the bottom on auto components. Can I get one of the negotiators for Canada and Mexico? The banker Obama hired doesn’t seem to be working for me.
This goes beyond “omissions”. He specifically ran against these things.
I am not shocked much anymore by the length & breadth of Ohio’s ongoing charter scandal, but I’ll admit this action took me by surprise.
I’m a conservative voter and am not ‘anti-choice’ per se, but our charter scandal in Ohio is so far out of control that I’d be hard pressed to think of even one “pretty good mechanism in place to improve overall quality and oversight” in our current education policy & governance.
Senator Peggy Lehner, the Republican chair of the Senate Education committee, is one of only a handful of Ohio’s current government leaders to attempt to place even minor restraints on the cronyism, donor-favorable legislation and the billion + of our tax money that has already been siphoned from public schools and spent on FAILED (closed) charters. She hasn’t made much headway — each year, noise is made about ‘reform’ right about the same time more egregious legislation and budget decisions are made in favor of shifting more tax dollars and/or easing oversight/regulation of our lowest-performing, for-profit charter schools.
At least one (and often both) of the two most notorious Ohio for-profit charter owners have consistently led the donor lists for every high-ranking legislative majority leader in our legislature. The favorable legislation written for the charter schools they own — also consistently listed as the worst-performing in the state — is so blatant and documented in the press that no one in Washington can be excused for missing it.
U.S. Department of Education officials — what on earth were you thinking? No data can justify the decision to transfer millions into what even national charter association folks recognize is a very problematic system. I can only imagine that this is a political ploy…but to what end?
Kettering’s Peggy Lehner said, “I love our Governor”. The fact that she has been unsuccessful in her “attempt to place even minor restraints” on charters. reflects her unwillingness to set a standard for herself and to achieve that standard in a reasonable time frame…. so, why the double standard for public schools?
Ohio’s an oligarchy, not a democracy.
Apparently the oligarchy isn’t limited to Ohio…..
Hey, give Nevada an honorable mention. We get 8 million with another 8 to match if Andre Agassi and his cronies put on a good show.
There’s going to be a hearing on whether Youngstown should be privatized:
http://www.wfmj.com/story/30134598/injunction-hearing-set-for-youngstown-school-plan#.VgqwLuXTxIY.twitter
The case is about whether they violated Ohio process when imposing the plan. Ohio already has unlimited and unregulated charter growth and also vouchers galore so I’m not clear why they had to expressly eradicate public schools, but I guess they were tired of the “slow bleed” method they usually rely on.
“but I guess they were tired of the “slow bleed” method they usually rely on.”
good observation
Also,maybe Secretary Duncan could respond to this:
“Pay their teachers 40 percent less than districts ”
Why is the Obama Administration supporting race to the bottom wages for teachers, a profession that is overwhelmingly dominated by women?
Click to access Charter-School-Funding.pdf
Why do Kettering residents, including teachers, vote for Peggy Lehner? Why do Wilmington residents, including teachers, vote for Cliff Rosenberger? Why, in the past, did Ohioans vote for Batchelder, who is now a lobbyist influencing the legislature? Why do Ohioans vote for ALEC members? And, why haven’t teachers organized as a voting block? (Just 27% of Ohio voters elected Kasich in the last election.
Thanks for the lINK!
And, why does the Hillary/Chelsea/Melinda “Rise Up” campaign fail to advocate for unionized women, like teachers.
Charter Schools Scandal will make the Teapot Dome Scandal look like peanuts in the future
OK…I’ll ask the question: isn’t there something that can be done????? I don’t have access to information about the uses and abuses of tax $$ by charters, other than what I read here. If there ARE people with hard evidence or whistleblowers, what will it take for them to come forward? I’m really sick and tired of hearing about double standards, under the table deals, and oligarchical behavior by the 1%, etc. I feel completely helpless to make changes. Where are the taxpayer groups who should be watching out for how $$ are spent? Is everyone bought off out there who could make a difference? How can the USDE ignore their inspector general’s report on improper use of federal money for unsustainable charters? Or schools that convert publically funded equipment to private ownership? Call me naive, but…
I. REALLY. DON’T. UNDERSTAND.
It is very difficult to know what to do, other than to just tell it as it is, so at the very least, these malignant beasts who run the schools into the ground, and the the puppet masters will KNOW that we see their propaganda and lies and how they manipulating and bamboozle the public
http://www.opednews.com/articles/BAMBOOZLE-THEM-where-tea-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-110524-511.html
is VISIBLE, even if the media hides it.
http://www.perdaily.com/2014/03/have-reporters-become-poli-ticks–the-media-parasites-of-the-body-politic.html
All we can do is expose them for the liars and criminals that they are, so the teachers, parents and the public can get the TRUTH somewhere!
Otherwise, the puppet masters win!
When the people, the mothers and fathers discover the truth about CC, VAM and the magic elixirs http://www.opednews.com/articles/Magic-Elixir-No-Evidence-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-130312-433.html
that the corporate masters disseminated through Duncan and the media sycophants, then they will demand real LEARNING be the objective everywhere, and althea crap about TEACHING AND TEACHERS will disappear from the national conversation.
Learning-not-Teacher-evalu-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-111001-956.html
YOU AND I, AND DIANE AND ALL OF US MUST CHANGE THE CONVERSATION.
THE TEACHER MUST SPEAK AGAIN!
However Drakestraw, It is not hard to understand what has happened, as I do –having experienced the process sixteen years ago when I wrote this:
http://www.perdaily.com/2011/01/lausd-et-al-a-national-scandal-of-enormous-proportions-by-susan-lee-schwartz-part-1.html
YOU can get the depth and breath of what happened to us teachers — BEFORE YOU faced the same tactic described here:
http://citywatchla.com/8box-left/6666-lausd-and-utla-complicity-kills-collective-bargaining-and-civil-rights-for-la-s-teachers
Go to Perdaily.com and just read. It goes back 6 years and IS the story how it happened in LA.
http://www.perdaily.com/2014/06/lausds-treacherous-road-from-reed-to-vergara–its-never-been-about-students-just-money.html
http://www.perdaily.com/2014/07/former-ctc-attorney-kathleen-carroll-lays-out-unholy-alliance-between-union-and-public-education-pri.html
Go to Betsy Combiers’ posts here to get a glimpse of NYC,
nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/2009/03/gotcha-squad-and-new-york-city-rubber.html
http://parentadvocates.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=7534
and see THE PROCESS — how the conspiracy to remove the teacher’s voice did it, removed the teacher very PRESENCE from ANY CONVERSATION ABOUT LEARNING, SO THAT the schools so would fail,.
And see this wonderful film which shows how this conspiracy took out NYC
Go to Karen Horwitz NAPTA site
http://endteacherabuse.org/ and read the horrendous stories of hundreds of teachers like Karen , Lenny, and me who faced the assault on our profession and our careers.
Or read the truthful and astonishing story by Lorna Stremcha in her book which tells about the extreme harassment her principal felt was ok.
http://www.amazon.com/Bravery-Bullies-Blowhards-Lessons-Classroom/dp/0991309936/ref=cm_sw_em_r_dptop_dn1Avb040EW4Q_tt
I think we have to get politically active. Closing our classroom doors doesn’t work anymore. Finding people who are true progressives who actually believe in the democratic process may not be easy. If you don’t read Fred Klonsky, you should. You can start to build a web of local and state resources. I don’t know who is who in Lake County but I do know that a teacher who retired this past year who taught SS at the high school level who was a former special education teacher was talking about getting politically active in W. She may still be basking in her freedom or she may be beginning to be active. Otherwise, keep reading and following links. There is an amazing amount of information out there. You can at least spread around what you learn. There are so many teachers (and of course parents) who are just trying to keep their heads above water and have no idea what is going on in their own communities much less around the country. I know you already have your plate full, and you don’t exactly work for a collegial district. Hang tough.
Activism is good. However, a Princeton professor published a study recently that showed our U.S. Congress does respond to the wants of
90% of the public. America’s oligarchs are similar to their Russian counterparts. They are snatching up national assets.
Since our democracy was lost through peaceable means, our best hope is selective targeting by those fighting for our democratic republic.
Picketty spelled out the end result of increased concentration of wealth, with irrefutable evidence. He offered a solution, subsequently rejected by Gates and other oligarchs.
YOU are not meant to grasp the enormous conspiracy that is undermining American Democracy, not merely enriching the privateers. With 15,880 systems, we are already divided . Few people know what is afoot in the schools in the next district. NYC was the largest school system to be dismantled by removing the experienced veterans and underfunding the programs. LA is the 2nd largest and they are going down… what is not to understand. The media re owned by the very people who do not want YOU to grasp the enormous conspiracy.
I have posted this many times, here. You want proof ..go read at this site… more recent ones will bring you up to date on the enormous corruption.
What’s not to understand
and BY THE WAY…Lenny Isenberg has been telling the tale of the Broad paid corruption in LAUSD for a decade, and NO ONE HAS LINKED OR FOLLOWED HIS WONDERFUL CHRONICLE OF THE END OF THE SECOND LARGEST SCHOOL SYSTEM IN AMERICA.
Perhaps, this is because the assault on education began and is still the WAR ON TEACHERS a civil rights issue that enabled these billionaires to disenfranchise the VOICE OF THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR FOR TEN YEARS.
http://www.perdaily.com/2011/01/lausd-et-al-a-national-scandal-of-enormous-proportions-by-susan-lee-schwartz-part-1.html
Lenny showed how at CityWatch
http://citywatchla.com/8box-left/6666-lausd-and-utla-complicity-kills-collective-bargaining-and-civil-rights-for-la-s-teachers
Now, with the teachers gone, Broad can do his chicanery and lies… the Donald Trump of LA… no connection to the TRUTH!
Hey he wrote this years ago
http://www.perdaily.com/2014/07/social-promotion–lausds-prime-mover-for-continued-and-predictable-student-failure–do-they-really-w.html
and this:
http://www.perdaily.com/2014/06/lausds-treacherous-road-from-reed-to-vergara–its-never-been-about-students-just-money.html
So now, because of the MEDIA SILENCE
http://www.perdaily.com/2014/03/have-reporters-become-poli-ticks–the-media-parasites-of-the-body-politic.html
we are hearing about Esquith, and with theLAUSD in tatters so Broad can FIX it.
I wonder what it is about Lenny, who gave his career and his life to setting the record straight, that HE IS NEVER FEATURED in prominent education blogs, when he says things like this
http://www.perdaily.com/2012/03/brave-new-world-no-public-education-no-democracy-by-simone-harris.html
Reply
Ohio now has Public Education Partners – a new 401(c)3 that aims to act as an “umbrella” advocacy group that unites all the many grassroots parent/teacher/community groups in Ohio that are fighting corporate “reform,” including charters. We don’t have the money that Lager, Brennan, et al have, but we do have the power of our voices & our votes. Our Board includes current & retired teachers, local school board members, and such notables as Bill Phillis – executive director of Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy in Public Education Funding (Diane has posted his blog entries several times), among others.
Our inaugural “Summit” is being held on 10/17 in Dublin, OH. Stephen Dyer of Innovation Ohio is our keynote – he has been relentless in writing about charter abuses. We will be having breakout sessions on Youngstown, Charters, Opt Outs, Parent Advocacy groups, etc. Tom Dunn, Superintendent of Miami County ESC is rounding out the day by helping us “connect the dots” and determine the next steps in our fight. It should be a great networking opportunity for those in Ohio who truly want to save our public schools. Cost is a modest $15 which includes lunch. Message me through this site if you would like registration information – I would love to meet you Chiara, Deb, drakestraw and other Ohio frequent commenters!!
(Thanks for letting me advertise this Diane – I hope I didn’t break a posting rule?)
You can’t make this stuff up:
http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/ohio-official-who-manipulated-charter-school-data-helped-win-federal-grant-to-take-over-public-schools-1.628194
Here’s what is really scary: Kasich looks like the sanest and most adult candidate in the Republican party! Republican friends have a favorable view of him after the debates where he appeared to be a thoughtful moderate— evidence of the theory of political relativity. Unlike his colleagues he wasn’t prepared to launch a unilateral war, gut Planned Parenthood, or introduce religion into legislation. With Walker out, Kasich looks like a possible contender for the Koch Brothers sweepstakes…and his affability and experience as a governor and member of the House could make him a formidable candidate… Ohio’s charter school mess COULD be an achilles heel… but only if the story is broadcast outside of blogs like this one…
From The 74 yesterday: https://www.the74million.org/article/inside-ohios-charter-school-disaster-how-big-profits-and-pay-to-play-operators-have-derailed-reform.
My point: this is not education reform, this is the very thing that most on this blog are railing against. Anyone who is in ed reform in the best interests of kids is also against this.
Did leaders in the U.S. Dept. of Education, plot to turn voters, against the federal government? Big business views democracy as impinging on its plans to dominate America and the world. Gates and Pearson, who back for profit, international, schools in a box (Bridge International Academies) could achieve an objective of dismantling U.S. government departments, created to be of the people, by the people and for the people,… by filling federal and state positions with people who serve the richest 0.2%. People in the highest positions on Duncan’s staff were granted ethics waivers because their stints in the government, followed employment at plutocratic foundations and business-linked education firms.
Was it much of a feat to turn both the right and left, against a government department, when Duncan has been allowed to foment anger during his entire tenure, which is among the longest in the Obama administration?
Today, Trump called for the elimination/massive down-sizing of the Dept. of Ed.
Those pulling the strings behind the reformy movement are smiling.
The Democratic Party was fully aware that its base did not and does not, want privatization and corporatizing of public education.