A former employee of a charter school in Lakeland, Florida, has been accused of stealing more than $100,000 from the school. Don’t expect this to dim the enthusiasm of Jeb Bush or Betsy DeVos for unregulated charters.
“45-year-old Ginger Collins was a former Assistant Director of Academics for the school until her resignation on September 16, 2016. She is accused of stealing more than $100,000 from the organization and creating fake companies and website to make her purchases appear legitimate.
“Collins was charged is facing seven felony charges including Grand Theft, Obtain Property by Fraud, Fraudulent Use of Credit Card, Money Launder Transaction, and three counts of Criminal Use of Personal Identification.
“She took trips to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cancun, Rhode Island, Atlanta, and mark these trips down as marketing expenses, and advertising,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
“According to investigators her spending didn’t end there. The stolen money was used to buy items such as a fat blaster, a portable urine funnel, and an $85 “Nit Wit” brand beanie. A fitting purchase, according to Sheriff Grady Judd. “Well the nit wit hat goes on a nit wit,” he said.
“Despite all of that, it was the purchase of a prom dress and fake eyelashes on a school credit card that finally tipped someone off. “She went on a shopping spree of almost a year,” Judd said.”
Which public school employee has the opportunity to steal $100,000? The motive may be there but there are too many checks to provide the opportunity.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
About the only public employees in the traditional public schools that can steal money are high-ranking administrators, accountants, and advisors for student clubs that raise money for club activities so they have bank accounts, but it is very risky to steal that money because of the transparency involved with that money. Those accounts and that money is monitored regularly by paid employees and by volunteers.
In the corporate charters, without transparency in everything they do, the temptation must be overwhelming, and the fact that there is little or no transparency in most if not all of those publicly funded, private sector schools, the attraction for con me, like Littlefigners with his Trump University, is high
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“. . . a portable urine funnel. . . ”
I wonder if I can get one of those in time for when I go camping (yes, in a tent) next weekend and the temperatures at night drop into the twenties?
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I wrote a number of grants for my class and school district during my career. All of the money went to the business office, and all purchase orders went through the business office. Every penny was accounted for. The system worked well, and the school district held all the purchase records, if there was ever a question.
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This never happens in public schools, or is it not as serious a crime??
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Seldom if ever happens …too many accountability measures. Totally different regulations on charter and put license schools. Financially and academically. Look up Kestral Heights…the News and Observer recently exposed their “alleged” fraud. All fronts it seems…financial, academic and athletic fraud is prevalent in the fly-by-night get-rich-quick opportunities. Sad…underfunded public schools struggle to get copy paper while overfunded charters scam taxpayers. SMH
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What a shame! Fraud everywhere?
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Knowing of people’s legitimate concern about theft, here’s a 2016 story about a “theft ring” operated by long time employees in Brevard, Florida district. The story notes that the Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey “said at the end of the investigation, they believe that the monetary value of the thefts will be somewhere along the lines of $100,000.
“Every time we peel back a layer of the onion, there’s more there,” said Ivey. “…To me it doesn’t matter whether it’s a hundred thousand or five dollars. When you’re stealing from the education system, you’re stealing from our kids.”
http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2016/02/10/breaking-second-school-district-employee-arrested/80190356/
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There’s always the opportunity for sticky fingers to dip into the pot. Individuals working for the grants department in the Buffalo Oublic Schools were convicted of misappropriating funds on two separate occasions..
If that could happen in a public school environment, imagine how much easier it is in a loosely monitored situation.
This one was caught, but the bigger question is “How many more are there out there using the public funds as their own ATM?” Even worse, “How many use the system to legally abscond with the money?”
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Monitoring systems vary widely, across both district & chartered public schools
Here’s a 2016 report on problems in Buffalo, NY Public Schools:
“In April 2012, the district received the investigators’ report, which concluded that Buckley had directed more than $330,000 of federal grant money to benefit people and businesses close to her, including her son, her former stepsister and a tutoring business she had founded with her mother, according to an investigation commissioned by the school district.”
“And even once allegations – and then evidence – against Buckley surfaced, her supporters on the School Board made it difficult for the district to move forward with pressing the case against her, according to some in the district. “It was really the lack of willingness by the board to address it that allowed a situation like this to occur,” one former district official said.”
The 2016 article also points out “In fall 2011, the district hired a law firm to investigate Buckley’s activities. Several months later, when the School Board received the report, it declined to release it publicly – and took two months before deciding to terminate Buckley. When The News requested a copy, district officials refused to release the report. It was not until The News filed a lawsuit that the district provided a copy of the report.”
Imho, Unfortunately whether a traditional district or a charter, we appear to have work to do in insuring that the public’s money is spent appropriately.
http://buffalonews.com/2016/06/01/felony-guilty-plea-raises-wider-issue-in-buffalo-public-schools-theft-case/
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Joe,
Thanks for another example of a scandal. I know you like to play tit for tat. But surely you must know that the scandals in unsupervised charter schools will always outnumber those in closely monitored public schools. With the DeVos approach, where 80% of charters in Michigan operate for profit without accountability or oversight, the thefts and fraud will multiply. DeVos has made clear that she doesn’t wan charters or voucher schools regulated.
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Diane, I detest fraud, whether found in district or charter (or anywhere when public funds are being spent.
I was responding to your assertion: “Which public school employee has the opportunity to steal $100,000? The motive may be there but there are too many checks to provide the opportunity.”
Unfortunately in some districts and some charters, the monitoring is not sufficient. Imho, this is a pervasive problem.
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diaveravitch: how to concede a major point…
If this posting is addressing a “pervasive problem” [Joe Nathan] then it means that “pervasive problem” will be found disproportionately in “unsupervised charter schools” than in the more “closely monitored public schools” [dianeravitch].
And perhaps not just percentage wise but even in absolute numbers.
After all, one of the very few commonalities of private contractor schools aka charter schools—especially the chains and heavy hitters—is their strident insistent on self-governance and self-regulation at the expense of the economy, efficiency and excellence that comes out of public transparency and legal accountability.
No sarcasm or negativity—I appreciate the honesty in admitting to a “pervasive problem.”
😎
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As mentioned, I think it is a pervasive problem in public schools, district and charter. “Pervasive” is defined as, for example, “common” or “all over the place.” I think it can be found “all over the place” in district & charter – and “all over the place” in non profit and for profit business.
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Joe, that was one of the two instances I was referring to, although that sounds more like nepotism than theft. If services were being provided according to the guidelines of the grant, then the Board of Ed might have decided it would be a difficult battle to fight with a lot of bad publicity (at a time of upheaval in the district).
I’m not excusing, just explaining. (Over the years, Paladino hasn’t been the only Board member to have made questionable decisions).
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She took trips to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cancun, Rhode Island, Atlanta, and marked these trips down as marketing expenses, and advertising,
These are what USDE would allow as “legitimate expenses,” except for Cancun (a bit suspicious). I say that because I looked at the applications and reviews of two years of USDE grants for charter school expansion. Cross country recruiting of students and teachers were never questioned by the reviewers. Neither were costs for student backpacks, uniforms, other branding and promotional materials.
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Fraud doesn’t have to be financial. How about 40% of your “graduates” over an eight year period receiving diplomas they did not earn? Sad for them and sad for the long suffering tax payers.
http://www.wral.com/after-durham-school-s-egregious-errors-nc-charter-board-considering-more-statewide-oversight-/16428170/
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