Bill Phillis, onetime state deputy superintendent of instruction in Ohio, now director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy, raises an important question: What becomes of the Gulen charter chain of about 150 charters if the U.S. State Department decides to extradite Imam Fethullah Gulen? The Turkish government blames Gulen’s followers for the coup that sought to overturn the government. The Turkish government now blames the U.S. for sheltering Gulen. Turkey has resumed an alliance with Russia because of our refusal to turn Gulen over.
The decision the White House makes on the request of the Turkish government to extradite Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen (the U.S. charter school magnate) will likely affect the future of the 150 Gulen, tax-funded charter schools, 19 of which are in Ohio
The August 3 New York Times article-Turks can agree on one thing: U. S. was behind failed coup- indicates that pressure is mounting for the U.S. to send Gulen home to Turkey. Since the U.S. government has denied the extradition request multiple times, the Turks opine that the U.S. is supporting the coup attempt by the Gulenists in Turkey.
Disentanglement of the international politics associated with the recent coup attempt is beyond the scope of this post. But it is appropriate to ask a fundamental question to state officials and the sponsors of Gulen charters: Should a chain of charters, spawned and operated by members of the Gulen movement, continue to be supported by tax funds?
In dealing with this sensitive issue, the White House could send a clear message to Turkey by forbidding public funding of Gulen charters. Inasmuch as it has been substantiated that some of the funds paid to Gulen charters gravitates to the Gulen movement, state and federal officials should arrange for a complete investigation of the connection between the Gulen movement and the Gulen charters.
The question remains: Why are taxpayers allowing foreign nationals to take control of their neighborhood public schools?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The answer to this is, I think, easy:
The chain will still be supported politically here, knowing the typical American capitalist ruling elite, and some American or foreign corporation will purchase the chain from Gulen, and he will make a profit. Whether he gets to keep his money might be another issue.
Wait and watch.
The question remains: Why are taxpayers allowing foreign nationals to take control of their neighborhood public schools?
Taxpayers are not often in the loop of understanding how and why charters are proliferating. Appointed and elected officials, including members of Congress are complicit in letting almost anyone operate a charter school if the paperwork meets federal and state requirements for cashing in.
Turkish nationals many not be the only foreign nationals who are purchasing a fast path into the US charter business and citizenship in the same way that Gulen did. Foreign investment and ownership of large chunks of “US” business and real estate is no longer unusual.
Laura,
I understand that American businesses are good investments for foreign nationals.
But from my perspective, it is wrong for neighborhood public schools to be controlled by foreign nationals. They are not investment vehicles. They are supposed to be community institutions.
You are correct!
Gulen should be turned over to the Turkish authorities, and his schools should revert back to being public unionized schools with excellent, robust funding by the state, federal, and local tax revenues.
The question in my mind is “Under whose administration did Gulen enter the United States and what specific American politicians were instrumental and indispensable to him gaining a foothold into the American public education system?” Those individuals should be held severely accountable.
Also, there is an abuse of Visas for Gulan’s Turkish teachers and administrators. Why is the US Government ok with that?
The question remains: Why are taxpayers allowing foreign nationals to take control of their neighborhood public schools?
This just proves beyond a doubt that charters are investment opportunities – period. But I agree, I find it astonishing that taxpayers are fine with this. Why aren’t parents outraged? Why is the union silent on jobs going to foreign nationals? I know it happens in other sectors which claim there is a dearth of qualified American professionals – but teachers? Who buys that?
If you’re not outraged; you’re not paying attention.
Wait a second. Those charter schools have no connection to the Imam Fetulleh Gulen whatsoever.
Indeed, Caprice Young, the California head of the allegedly Gulen-controlled schools, said so:
———————–
The Strange Case of Caprice Young & the Imam Fetullah Gulen
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Caprice Young is the CEO of the Magnolia Schools charter chain here in California, which are allegedly under the control of an Islamic cleric in exile in Pennsylvania, the Imam Fetulleh Gulen.
In that position, Young has always steadfastly denied any connection of the Magnolia Charter schools, or of herself to the either the Islamic political-religious Gulen Movement operating in Turkey and in the United States, or any ties to to its Islamic cleric leader, the Imam Fetullah Gulen living in the U.S. in exile, or to any internal matters in the country of Turkey.
————————–
“I haven’t seen a connection (between the Magnolia schools and Gulen / Turkey),” she (Caprice Young) said.
————————–
For that quote, go here:
http://laschoolreport.com/new-chief-of-troubled-magnolia-ive-done-this-work-before/
… or for another Gulen-connection-denying quote form Ms. Young:
————————–
“Absolutely, categorically, Magnolia has nothing to do with the Gulen movement as an institution,” said Caprice Young, Magnolia’s CEO and superintendent.
————————–
For that quote, go here:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/schools-707539-magnolia-school.html
However, as a non-Turkish American, Caprice Young sure does tweet a lot — and make a lot of public comments to the press — about about the minutiae of internal Turkish politics, even to the point of drawing a contrast between Magnolia Charter “staff” and those Turkish politicians currently in power whom Young views as not “value(ing) human rights.”
————————–
“The president of Turkey is busy shooting down Russian planes and smuggling arms to Syria. Doesn’t he have better things to do?” Young asked rhetorically. “The members of my staff are folks who value human rights.”
————————–
For that quote, go here:
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/mar/04/magnolia-charter-schools-caprice-young/
Hmmm … a Khomeini-like Imam-in-exile (who controls over 100 U.S. charter schools, including the Magnolia schools managed by Ms. Young) , the Imam Fetullah Gulen, is attempting a coup in the country of Turkey, with the Imam Gulen’s ultimate goal to impose a brutal Islamic theocracy and dictatorship like the one imposed on neighboring Iran in 1979 … yet Ms. Young prattles on about her and her Magnolia Charter Schools’ staff’s commitment to “human rights,” in a condemnation of human rights violations of those serving in the democratically-elected government that the Imam Gulen — again, Caprice Young’s alleged boss — is now on the verge of overthrowing.
What-ever.
From the comments section on the above article:
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/mar/04/magnolia-charter-schools-caprice-young/
—————-
Tina Andres ·
CSUF, National University, UCI
“For someone who vehemently denies that her schools are even associated at all with Gulen, Young sure has quite a lot to say about Turkey.
“I suppose it is just a coincidence that the Magnolia schools hire Turkish teachers on VISAs. She literally denied any connected to Gulen charter schools in a school board meeting in CA, saying that she doesn’t know anything about it.
“The jig is up, Caprice. These schools have also charged for more for their building rents to the state of Oklahoma than they have paid.
“This (proliferation of Gulen-controlled charter schools) is a scam and it is being perpetrated in many, many states under multiple names but the connection to Gulen is very clear and easy to find.”
—————-
I agree with Ms. Andres.
… as well as with this other commenter:
——————-
Thaker Bil ·
Tucson, Arizona
“(Ms. Young stated): ‘The members of my staff are folks who value human rights.’
“Obviously Caprice Young does not keep up on current events. She is a sock puppet for the Gulen-controlled schools and repeats back like a parrot what the Imam Gulen tells her what to say. This is hardly something people that value human rights do when Gulenites ran the parallel state in Turkey. Officials under the control of the Gulen Movement regularly arrest journalists and suppresses freedom of speech:
————————
Also, as a non-Muslim, Young also sure does tweet and write a lot about the coup in Turkey, and also about “Islamophobia” towards certain Turkish people currently living in the United States. (Tweets BELOW)
Given Ms. Young’s repeated and steadfast denials of any connection between the Magnolia schools and the Islamic Imam Fetullah Gulen, or with Islam, or with the country of Turkey, this tweeting of hers — and the subjects of these tweets — seems a very odd avocation on her part.
Once again, Ms. Young claims no ties or interest in the Gulen movement that originates in Turkey, but out of the 200 or so countries on Earth, she spends so much time tweeting and talking about Turkey, and Islam … more perhaps than she does about her own country of origin, or her own religious persuasion, whatever that may be …
Weird.
Also here she is cheering on the coup — just as it was breaking — retweeting a couple tweets by Congressman Brad Sherman, a Gulen ally who was flown to an expensive junket in Turkey the Gulen folks. Sherman tweets that is his hoping that the coup is successful and the anti-Gulen prime minister is deposed. (the following were re-tweeted by Young just after the news of the coup broke)
https://twitter.com/BradSherman/status/7540643143074119
The first one of Sherman’s tweets got this snarky response:
Back to Caprice.
Hmmm … for someone who vehemently claims to have no dog in this Gulen fight, it seems kind of odd of Ms. Young to be apparently spending her Friday night (when the coup began) monitoring this coup in a Middle Eastern country — with the outcome determining the future status or survival of the Gulen movement — and re-tweeting Brad Sherman’s tweets cheering on the coup. You know… the Gulen movement that her charter school chain has no connection whatsoever, as she “categorically, absolutely” claimed in a newspaper article.
Here are some more examples: (NOTE the picture of two Turkish politicians in this first tweet of Ms. Young’s:
————————-
Caprice Young:
“Freedom of religion is a core value in the US https://t.co/8y7BGp2qwL @magnoliascience @laschoolreport @edsourc…
————————-
Here’s more of Caprice tweeting away about Turkey and Islam:
————————-
CAPRICE YOUNG:
“Please oppose Islamophobia in all its forms.”
https://t.co/NElGJ4gKEO via @ocweekly”
————————————–
Oh, and here’s Ms. Young tweeting about internal Turkish politics, and its effects on Turkish people in the United States. (She’s referencing and condemning a U.S. Congressman from Texas who is calling for an investigation of the Gulen charter school conspiracy.)
——————–
CAPRICE YOUNG:
“Texas rep does bidding of Turkish Pres = US students suffer.”
State Rep Investigates Top Charters
https://trib.it/29zlq08 via @TexasTribune
——————–
Wait, Caprice.
I thought those charter schools of yours had no ties to Turkey of Gulen. Why would any such investigation be any bother to you at all or cause your “students” to “suffer” … as the claims of your schools’ connections to Turkey and the Imam Gulen are all a hoax perpetrated against your chain of charter schools? You sure are quite upset about something that you otherwise claim is a total canard.
Here’s another pre-coup tweet from Caprice Young. In contrast to her claim that her Magnolia Science Academy Charter Schools have no connection to Turkey or to Islam, or to her alleged master, the Imam Fetulleh Gulen, Young tweets about internal affairs in Turkey — yet this time, she makes the claim that these matters “hurt” Magnolia charter schools.
How can they, if the Magnolia charters are not connected in any way to Turkey?
——
CAPRICE YOUNG:
“Unceasing Media Crackdown in Turkey; harassment of American public schools too.”
QUESTIONS: How often does the representative of a foreign government show up to testify at a local school board hearing on a charter school application? In the U.S., how many public school outreach meetings are held at a mosque?
On that score, here’s something else refuting Caprice Young and her claims that the Magnolia Science Academy charter schools that she runs are in no way connected to Islam, to the Gulenist cult, or to anything related to the country of Turkey.
At a recent hearing in Fremont, California, a representative of the government of Turkey showed up in person at a hearing held to possibly approve a proposed Magnolia Science Academy charter in Fremont. He was there to refute Young’s claims in his testimony before the Fremont School Board:
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/breaking-news/ci_29430451/turkey-wants-fremont-school-board-reject-charter-school
“John Martin of Amsterdam & Partners in Washington, D.C., also alleged that Magnolia was not factual in its application.”
Martin, the attorney representing the Republic of Turkey wondered, if the Magnolia charters truly have no connection to the Gulenists Islamic cult, why there was only one outreach meeting for a proposed Magnolia charter in Fremont, and why the-hell did that meeting take place at a mosque, “The Islamic Center of Fremont” ?
———————————
“Martin, the attorney, questioned why Magnolia has only had one local meeting, with parents at the Islamic Center of Fremont. The staff report also noted the single gathering.
” ‘Despite asserting the intent to target Latino students, its single outreach effort did not result in signatures reflecting meaningful interest in enrolling Latino students,’ the report said.”
———————————
I mean, really, was a mosque frequented by the local Turkish Moslem community the only venue available for a charter school community forum?
http://www.icfbayarea.org/
You aren’t going to find many prospective Latino students parents or families — the target community as cited in the charter application — at a place like that.
True to form, Caprice Young doubled down on her denials:
——————————
“In a bizarre twist, an attorney representing the Turkish government spoke against the Magnolia Public Schools charter application at a recent Fremont school board public hearing, saying it has ties to Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. John Martin of Amsterdam & Partners in Washington, D.C., also alleged that Magnolia was not factual in its application. (in other words, Caprice lied. JACK)
“Magnolia’s chief executive officer (Caprice Young) called the accusations strange and baffling.
” ‘He seems to believe that we are associated with a religious group, which we are not,’ Magnolia CEO Caprice Young said at the Jan. 13 school board meeting.
” ‘We’re not affiliated with anything but educating public school students in California,’ Young said Friday.”
——————
Oh yeah? Then why was your / your school’s one and only legally required community outreach meeting held at a freakin’ mosque? During the meeting, did the participants have to periodically kneel down and bow to Mecca? WTF???!!!
With all the accusations of Islamic affiliation thrown at your schools during the last ten years, choosing to hold your meeting at a mosque seems a truly tone-deaf, and monumentally stupid move on Young’s part.
Then again, Young needed parent signatures to accompany the Magnolia charter application, and these were probably the folks in Fremont with whom the Islamic Magnolia people had some sort of a prior connection.
Oh, one more thing. The application was rejected.
Jersey Jazzman just posted some interesting stuff on Gulen:
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2016/07/what-we-dont-know-about-gulen-linked_98.html
While the Gulen-backed Magnolia Science Academy CEO Caprice Young and other well-paid front people for the Gulen schools claim no connection to Gulen — Young “absolutely, categorically” denies any such connection — Gulen himself, when it served his purpose to remain in the United States, eagerly contradicted this.
Indeed, he, through his lawyers, cited his involvement in those same schools — again, the same involvement so vehemently denied by Young and other Gulen front people — as justification for the U.S. government allowing him to stay here.
His lawyers enthusiastically claim to Immigration authorities, “Look at what Gulen’s done for U.S. education. Let him stay!”
(From a 2011 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer (which has, over the years, done some really excellent reporting on charter schools
http://articles.philly.com/2011-03-20/news/29148147_1_gulen-schools-gulen-followers-charter-schools
This excerpt shows the Imam Fetulleh Gulen eagerly claiming credit for all those U.S.-based charter schools, to bolster his efforts to remain in the country:
————————————————-
“Fethullah Gulen is a major Islamic political figure in Turkey, but he lives in self-imposed exile in a Poconos enclave and GAINED HIS GREEN CARD BY CONVINCING A FEDERAL JUDGE in Philadelphia that HE WAS AN INFLUENTIAL EDUCATION FIGURE IN THE UNITED STATES.
“As evidence, his lawyer pointed to the charter schools, now more than 120 in 25 states, that his followers – Turkish scientists, engineers, and businessmen – have opened, including Truebright Science Academy in North Philadelphia and another charter in State College, Pa.
“The schools are funded with millions of taxpayer dollars. Truebright alone receives more than $3 million from the Philadelphia School District for its 348 pupils. Tansu Cidav, the acting chief executive officer, described it as a regular public school. [emphasis mine]”
“The national Gulen charter school network has been confirmed by Gulen’s own lawyer.”
————————————————-
Except elsewhere, when it suits Gulen and the operators of the Gulen charter schools, they claim no connection to Gulen whatsoever:
————————————————-
“Federal officials declined to comment on the nationwide inquiry, which is being coordinated by prosecutors in Pennsylvania’s Middle District in Scranton. A former leader of the parents’ group at the State College school confirmed that federal authorities had interviewed her.
“Bekir Aksoy, who acts as Gulen’s spokesman, said Friday that GULEN KNEW NOTHING ABOUT CHARTER SCHOOLS or an investigation.
“Aksoy, president of the Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center in Saylorsburg, Pa., where Gulen lives, said Gulen, who is in his early 70s, ‘HAS NO CONNECTION WITH ANY OF THE SCHOOLS,’ although he might have inspired the people who founded them.”
————————————————-
So Gulen WAS involved in founding the schools, except he WASN’T.
Errr … except he WAS … again, when it suits Gulen and the leaders, they claim the credit:
————————————-
“The (Gulen’s) American charter schools were A CENTRAL PART OF GULEN’S ARGUMENT THAT WON HIM A GREEN CARD card after the Department of Homeland Security ruled that he did not meet the qualifications of an “alien of extraordinary ability” to receive a special visa.
“In a lawsuit Gulen filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia in 2007 challenging the denial, his attorneys wrote:
” ‘In his position as the founder and head of the Gulen Movement, MR. GULEN HAS OVERSEEN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CONGLOMERATION OF SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT the world, in Europe, Central Asia, AND THE UNITED STATES.’
“His attorneys also referred to a letter of support from a theology professor in Illinois who described Gulen as ‘A LEADER OF AWARD-WINNING SCHOOLS FOR UNDERSERVED CHILDREN around the world, including many schools IN THE MAJOR CITIES OF AMERICA.”
“On July 16, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell ruled that Gulen met the requirements for a green card.”
———————————————–
Except he WAS. Hmm …
The public doesn’t know about this.
Some parents know and fight these schools when they try to enter their communities but it is costly for the district and taxpayers, especially urban districts. It is time for all parents to have knowledge of these schools and full disclosure of how they operate.
https://dianeravitch.net/2013/02/18/parent-leaders-in-lancaster-pennsylvania-oppose-gulen-charter-school/
To everyone interested or concerned about Gulen charter schools:
Please promote the tugg.com screenings of the Gulen charter schools documentary film Killing Ed on your social networks, email lists, bulletin boards, etc. More people need to buy tickets or the pending screenings of this important film will not happen.
https://www.tugg.com/titles/killing-ed
(scroll down to see the list of pending screenings)
The U.S. has a long history of betting on the wrong horse and losing.
Only little people lose. The 1% always wins.
Lloyd Lofthouse
Betting on the wrong horse, did they miss it or did I? I suspect he will never be turned over. Fifteen years from now we will be able to get a redacted document that explains why.
Meanwhile, protecting Gulen and turning our children over to him to brainwash will cause Turkey to turn to Russia.
They already met. Was that meeting planned before the coup?
While we are on high intrigue. I’m betting there was no surprise in the the State Department, when Russian jets took off from Iran. I can actually complement Obama for something. IRAQ /SYRIA policy which has tried to kept American’s out of harms way. Discounting Orlando for what it was a mass shooting/hate crime relatively safe at home as well. Neither Hillary nor god forbid the orange haired spawn of baboons will do the same.
There might be one or two more, but I can think of only three politicians who have publicly expressed concerns about the Gulen Movement’s charter schools, although some didn’t even have the courage to mention the word ‘Gulen.’
1. OH State Rep Fred Strahorn (D) in 2014, via letter http://www.slideshare.net/GulenCemaat/gulen-operated-schools-state-senator-concerns-of-racism-and-other-illegal-issues
2. AZ Congressman Raul Grijalva (D) in 2015, via letter, https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2015/11/15/grijalva-contacts-feds-on-misuse-funds-by-gulenist-schools/
3. TX State Rep Dan Flynn (R) in 2016, https://www.texastribune.org/2016/07/13/state-representative-asks-ag-investigate-harmony/
On the other hand, tons of local, state, and federal politicians and public officials have accepted gifts, trips, awards, campaign contributions from the Gulenists over the years.
Pressure needs to be placed on our elected representatives to address this issue publicly, not behind closed doors.
I’m shocked that Ohio’s “progressive” Sen. Sherrod Brown, who finally learned (this summer) about the controversy of public school privatization (but, who still wants the US Dept. of Ed.’s $71 mil. to privatize Ohio’s most important common good), isn’t a name on the list.
If we asked Brown, I think he would say give the Gulen (if deported) schools to a Walton-controlled entity (only because Gates’ schools-in-a-box aren’t sold here, yet).
With respect to Mr. Phillis, the premise is laughable. Given the money the Gulen people have donated to both the Clinton Foundation and Mrs. Clinton, she would not extradite him unless it would damage her politically.
Reblogged this on Matthews' Blog and commented:
Quite revealing information
Probably they now are trying to get their members out of Turkey. What better place than teaching in American schools.
I wonder if someone can find out if they met with the state department?
I’d like to know if they’ve met with Ohio’s Speaker of the House, Cliff Rosenberger. He took one of the trips to Turkey.
And here is the newest? latest? Gulan school, opening Sept. 2016, already wreaking havoc on Kearny’s school budget, with cuts and firings to come: http://www.theobserver.com/2016/02/new-charter-school-will-have-30-teachers/
Front page of this week’s Observer – charter school costing firings at KPS. http://issuu.com/kevincanessajr./docs/2016-08-17-obs1/19?e=7293828/37932886
Why are taxpayers allowing any private, unelected individuals or businesses, for that matter, to take control of their neighborhood public schools? Answer: Taxpayers are not in control. Control is usurped by the country club. Democracy is hijacked. I’m sorry to use the following word that makes so many people so uncomfortable, but it’s a bona fide conspiracy. Gulen and the club go way back. Why else would they be protecting him against the nation’s best interests and security?
LAUSD Board Member Monica Garcia, in her past elections, had her campaign bankrolled by the Gulenists — and will likely have her next campaign bankrolled by them as well — so it’s interesting to watch Garcia in this two-years-old LAUSD Board meeting carrying out her Gulenist masters’ marching orders.
The beginning of this video shows what Garcia later dismissively refers to as “groups or something”, as an LAUSD lawyer (southern accent) somewhat sheepishly admits that officials and teachers in the Magnolia Science Academy Charter Schools are, in fact, Gulentist cult members.
However, he also makes the incredible claim that such a connection does not rise to the level that it would mandate denying an authorization of, nor closing any of these Magnolia Science Academy Charter Schools.
———————————————————
( 00:06 – 00:23 )
( 00:06 – 00:23 )
LAUSD LAWYER: ” We have done some … uhmm … looking into that allegation, and and there is some evidence that some members of Magnolia DO HAVE TIES to the Gulen Movement, but we have not found anything, currently, that that would be grounds for denial.”
—————————————————-
Seriously, THAT’S what you think, Mr. LAUSD Lawyer? Did you get your law degree out of a Crackerjack box? What the-hell kind of legal advice is THAT?
Furthermore, the fact that these Gulen connections WERE EVEN MENTIONED in a public school board meeting enrages the Gulen-backed LAUSD Board Member Monica Garcia no end.
Later on, as soon as Garcia can get the floor, she responds with near hysterics. (at the end of those post)
To quote Shakespeare, “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”
Before taking that apoplectic performance in, however, you first have to understand more about the focus of Garcia’s outrage. Pursuant to that end, pay careful attention to the following exchange transcribed below.
LAUSD Board Member Bennett Kayser is asking Jose Cole-Guttierez, the the pro-charter head of LAUSD’s charter division whether or not, and why school boards in other states — and in other California districts — denied Gulen-backed charter schools. He further wants to know if part of that reason for the denials was related to the Gulen connection.
The fox in the henhouse, as it were, Cole-Guttierez disingenuously denies knowing about any Magnolia Charter School applications being denied in other states, or whether those whose charter petitions that WERE denied in California were rejected based on their connection the the Imam Fetulleh Gulen, and to the Gulen movement.
Here’s that back-and-forth:
——————————————————–
( 3:49 – 5:20 )
( 3:49 – 5:20 )
BENNETT KAYSER: “Also, from one of the public speakers, there was a mention of the (Magnolia Science Academy) CMO having applied, or having put in petitions for charter schools in some other states that have been turned down. Is that .. uhh… is that accurate information?”
JOSE COLE-GUTTIEREZ: (flustered by the question) “I can’t … speak … I don’t … from … uhh … ”
BENNETT KAYSER: “And would it be relevant information if it’s … uhh … if it’s alleged?”
JOSE COLE-GUTTIEREZ: “I’m not aware that THIS organization — the California-based Magnolia Science Academies organization — has applied out of state. I AM aware that they have applied in other parts of this state, and we have been in contact with such authorizers, but I cannot speak to out-of-state at this time.”
BENNETT KAYSER: “And the authorizers in other districts, in-state?”
JOSE COLE-GUTTIEREZ: “Yes.”
BENNETT KAYSER: “They’ve accepted or allowed the petitions? Or they’ve turned them down?”
JOSE COLE-GUTTIEREZ: “In the past, there’s been approvals. I know of one in uhhh.. in a different … uhh … county that was recently denied … for a new petition.”
BENNETT KAYSER: “And what was the basis of the denial?”
JOSE COLE-GUTTIEREZ: “I don’t have those findings committed to memory, but I do understand that some of those denials had do with the financial picture … for the school, which is one of the reasons why we have the conditions on these renewals … uhh … as stated.”
(Cole-Guttierrez knows full well that, in addition the the financial concerns, the Gulen connection was a key factor in those charter petitions being denied, but instead of mentioning them, Cole-Guttierez feigns memory loss …
“I don’t have those findings committed to memory.”
Yeah, right. That dodge sounds like something out of Watergate hearings.)
——————————————————–
As to out-of-state charter school denials, while that may be true, Cole-Guttierez knows full well that other Gulen-backed charter groups such as the Horizon Charter Schools have been denied because of their shenanigans related to their connections to Gulen, and their importing teachers from Turkey, using dubious justification for the visas used in these cases, among other reasons.
When it comes to the issue of Magnolia Charter Schools being denied by districts WITHIN California, Cole-Guttierez ducks the question of whether or not the Gulen connection played a role in the denial when he knows full well that the Gulen connection was key to the denials.
This sets the stage for Garcia’s volcanic reaction, and her dismissive, vague reference to the Gulen controversy.
” … (Magnolia charter) people are in groups (related to Gulen) or something.”
Garcia is royally pissed at the idea that any consideration should be given to any denial of a Magnolia Charter School elsewhere, or that the district should be ascertaining the reason for those denials (i.e. the connection to the Imam Fetulleh Gulen, and his Islamic cult) or that any of those reasons should be considered when deciding whether or not to approve a Magnolia charter school.
Along with the earlier admission by LAUSD’s lawyer that Magnolia officials, administrators, and teachers are, in fact, Gulenist cult members, the above back-and-forth between Cole-Guttierez and Kayser provokes Board Member Garcia to blow a gasket.
Observe the anger here.
She calls such comments of conversations “dangerous.” How dare you question Magnolia? How dare you look into any denials elsewhere or the reasons for the denials? That’s not “material” here.
————————————-
( 5:20 – 6:36 )
( 5:20 – 6:36 )
MONICA GARCIA: “Board Members, I’m just a little confused, and I’m concerned about this! So WE’VE turned down charters that other people approve, and then people … the County (BOE) approves charters that we’ve turned down! So I am uncomfortable with the notion that what is happening in other jurisdictions is material here: Number One!
“Number Two: I am also uncomfortable, Superintendent, that in every motion that comes to this board, I should ask if you believe that your team is right on the finances, or that you have neglected or denied or ignored the Inspector General’s reports to us!
“So this idea that we’re uncomfortable with something that we really aren’t clear about, but (HERE COMES HER VAGUE, DISMISSIVE GULEN REFERENCE) people are in groups or something … I think this is … in a dangerous place! I am expecting that when you bring us a recommendation, I can disagree with you, but I’m expecting that when you bring us a recommendation, the work has been done, and I am uncomfortable accepting amendments that direct you to do your work!”
—————————————-
Garcia’s in-the-heat-of-the-moment, Gulen-supporting arguments here are asinine, and in fact, would endanger children.
For example, if, hypothetically, a proposed charter school authorization —- requested by a charter school corporation, or corporate charter school chain — was denied elsewhere in another California school district because of … say … improper response to or rampant and illegal mishandling of child abuse perpetrated by the charter school’s/charter chain’s administrators or teachers… a botched response that later led to millions of dollars of payouts in legal setlements …
… does Garcia REALLY think that LAUSD’s Board should be compelled to ignore such past transgressions or disastrous track record, then go ahead and approve the charter petition anyway, and just hope for the best? (LAUSD’s insurance carrier would just love such an action, I’m sure.)
Of course, not. She truly blew it here.
Put simply, Garcia is under direct orders from her Gulenist masters to do her utmost so that the Gulen connection to Magnolia Science Academies be kept out of any LAUSD Board Meetings or any LAUSD documentation. If any mention does occur, she has to throw out disinformation and hysterical anger to confuse and squelch any such discussion.
Having been feted on luxury junkets to Turkey, ones paid for by the Gulenists, where she was treated with one gala luncheon and dinner after another, first class air & hotel, etc. and having her election campaigns bankrolled by the Islamic Imam Fetulleh Gulen (with campaign funding funnelled through groups that the Imam controls), Ms. Garcia’s loyalty is not to the million or so citizens and voters in the LAUSD School Board District, or to the ones who elected her and whom she represents, but instead her allegiance is to foreign Islamists who use the profits from their charter chains — profits which Garcia enables though her votes to approve those charters, and whose interests she so vehemently fights for elswhere (ABOVE) — to finance a revolution back in Turkey with … to quote Jack above … the Imam Gulen’s ultimate goal to impose a brutal Islamic theocracy and dictatorship like the one imposed on neighboring Iran in 1979.