Sue M. Legg, education director of the Florida League of Women Voters, wrote the following post about the current situation in Florida, which is reaching a critical point. The legislature just passed a bill that showers favors and funding on the state’s charter industry, which has a poor academic and financial record. Scandal and profiteering are commonplace in the charter sector of Florida, yet there is never any accountability demanded by the legislature or the governor.
Legg writes:
Not a surprise that Erik Fresen removed the charter reform measures that Senator Gaetz included in SB 7029. Instead there is a hodge podge of new proposals attacking public schools. It all should finish today. Hopefully, the Senate will stand firm. Perhaps the best outcome is that nothing will pass.
Information is not difficult to find. The Center for Public Integrity ranked states on a corruption index in 2012. Florida received a total grade of ‘C-‘ which was better than that of many states. Internal auditing rules received an ‘A’, but ethics enforcement agencies rated an ‘F’. It sounds like we have rules but we bend and break them.
The legislature must address the problems and dispel the perception expressed in the media that its members are “too cozy with charter schools.” We know where that concern originates:
• Senator Legg, Chair of the Education Committee operates a charter school with his wife.
• Representative Marlene O’Toole is a representative from The Villages whose charter school just dismissed 140 students. While she does not appear to be a board member, she is employed by a private educational foundation Take Stock in Children, and is cited for conflict of interest in voting for millions of dollars in funding for it.
• Rep. Erik Fresen’s sister and brother-in-law operate Academica, a for-profit charter management firm. He is Chair of the House subcommittee for Education Appropriations.
• Representative Manny Diaz and Senator Anitere Flores run Doral College, an online dual enrollment school that is operated by Academica and funded by its charter high schools student enrollments and a transfer of $400,000 from Doral Academy, a charter school.
One of the worst stories involves a $400,000 ‘loan’ from Doral Academy to Doral College, a non accredited college started on the grounds of Doral Academy charter high school. The idea is to enroll high school students in dual enrollment courses at the college, taught by the charter high school teachers. Evidently, only students from these Academica run charters can enroll. Academica is under federal investigation. The students earn credit that cannot be transferred to any accredited school. The college earns money. Who is involved?
• Manny Diaz, Chair Florida House Sub Committee on Choice and Innovation. Representative Diaz is the dean of Doral College in Miami. Bob Sykes alleges there are other conflicts of interest.
• Senator Anitere Flores, Chair Senate Fiscal Policy Committee, member Senate Appropriations Committee, CEO of Academica affiliated Doral College
• Representative Erik Fresen. Chair of the House Education sub committee on Appropriations. Employee of Civica, a real estate company associated with Academica.
Rep. Fresen was named in the federal investigation due to a potential conflict of interest. He served on the board of an Academica charter school and approved a contract to his real estate firm. He currently has added an amendment to the House version of the charter school bill that would allocate part of local taxes for public school capital outlay funds to charter school facilities. No charges have been filed on that measure.
Fresen earns $150,000 from Civica that specializes in charter school construction. Sponsored a bill to share capital outlay with charters
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/fred-grimm/article60512891.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article1963142.html US DOE found that 3 Mater charter schools signed lease payments with Academica while Zulueta was on the Mater Board.
USDOE audit found at least 4 related party transactions while Fresen was employed at Civica between 2007-2012.
Ethics complaint filed against Fresen in 2011 because of a voting conflict on HB 7195 that prohibited cities and counties from imposing stricter building and zoning rules on charters than on public schools
Affect all charter schools not just him. Change in ethics laws ‘class’
2013 refused to pay a fine for failingto file financial disclosure in 2003
http://wlrn.org/post/ethics-commission-refuses-close-complaints-against-miami-lawmaker
2014 Neighborhood Strategies put out of business in 2009, but Fresen reported on his financial disclosure form that he collected $10,000 per year since 2010
In 2012, Ethics Commission found that From 2008 to 2011 Fresen failed to properly disclose his net worth assets and liabilities
2017 Plead guilty to failure to file income tax return for eight years. Was in office 2008-2016. Faces up to a year in prison. Owes $100,000 in back taxes. Financial disclosure forms and income tax owed do not match
Paid a $10,000 fine for failure to report campaign reports in 2008-9
Ethel Fresen was an ESE teacher at Somerset until 2008.
Magdalena Fresen is Academica vice president
George Levesque House General Counsel cleared Fresen of conflict of interest even though he filed the notification form nine days after he voted. HP 7195 http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2011/10/ethics-commission-clears-miami-rep-erik-fresen-of-alleged-voting-conflict.html
Academica lease costs were 16.9% compared to 12.2% of total expenses for other charters. Nine schools’ leases exceeded 20% of revenue of schools in 2010.
Mater Academy Inc. tutoring company received $380,000 from Miami Dade and Broward Counties. Fresen amended a bill in 2012 to protect private tutoring companies and then in 2013 was embarrassed by the fraud exposed and opposed the continuation of funding.
****
The buzz about Florida is that there is more self-interest than public interest than in any other state.
Are such allegations warranted? Information is not difficult to find. The Center for Public Integrity ranked states on a corruption index in 2012. Ethics enforcement agencies rated Florida an ‘F’. It sounds like there are rules, but we bend and break them.
Take the case of former Florida House Representative Erik Fresen who served in the House for eight years. It looks like he will serve in a Florida prison next year. He was Chair of the House Education sub committee on Appropriations, and a property consultant for Civica, a real estate company with ties to Academica. Fresen’s sister and brother-in-law operate Academica, the largest for-profit charter management firm in Florida. Their charter school real estate holdings generate over $20 million per year.
Fresen pled guilty this week for failure to file federal income taxes for eight years. During the same period his financial record disclosures required by the House do not match the IRS income reports.
This is simply a culmination of years of questions about Fresen’s ethical behavior.
For example:
• In 2003, he failed to file a financial disclosure form and was cited in 2013 for non payment of the fee.
• In 2009, he paid a $10,000 fine for failure to report campaign reports.
• In 2011, an ethics complaint was filed in 2011 because of a voting conflict on a bill benefitting charter school building and zoning requirements. The complaint was dismissed by the House attorney, George Levesque. He is married to Patricia Levesque who is the C.E.O. of Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education that promotes school choice nationwide.
• In 2012, the Ethics Commission found that from 2008 to 2011 Fresen failed to properly disclose his net worth assets and liabilities.
• In 2012, Fresen was criticized for a last minute amendment to protect private tutoring companies that included one owned by Academica, and then in 2013 was embarrassed by the fraud exposed and told by House leadership to oppose the continuation of funding.
• In 2014, Fresen reported large income amounts annually from Neighborhood Strategies, Fresen’s business. The State had closed the company in 2009.
• In 2014, he was named as part of a federal investigation of Academica. A USDOE audit found at least 4 related party transactions while Fresen was employed at Civica between 2007-2012. Academica made a $400,000 ‘loan’ from Doral Academy to Doral College, a non accredited college started on the grounds of Doral Academy charter high school. High school students were dual enrolled in the college and taught by their charter high school teachers.
This year, House Speaker Corcoran made a promise to improve ethics. Curbing profiteering in charters is not among his priorities. Bills from the Senate do not make it out of House committees.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Ed reformers were all tweeting a story about how charters outperform public schools in Florida, but they must have not read it because at the end of the piece we see this:
“The report does show some differences in the demographics of student populations. Florida’s charter schools as a whole have a higher percentage of Hispanic students and a slightly lower percentage of white and African-American students than traditional public schools, according to the report. They also have a smaller percentage of low-income students — about 49 percent compared to almost 62 percent in traditional public schools — and a lower percentage of students with disabilities.”
For such rigorous data hounds they miss a lot of “data” when promoting their preferred schools. It’s an echo chamber so expect DeVos and Duncan to be parroting this study.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article148915414.html#storylink=cpy
Ed reform is holding another “public schools suck!” conference and the US Department of Education are more than happy to join in.
Here’s DeVos telling us public schools have failed all children “for a generation”
“3. Our students have fallen behind our peers on the global stage
In the 2015 Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, report, the U.S. ranked 20th in reading, 19th in science and 24th in math. That’s worse than the 2012 PISA ranking which was somewhat higher in reading and math.
And it’s not for a lack of funding. According to their 2012 data, we spend 31 percent more per pupil than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average on elementary and secondary students.
The facts show our system is antiquated, unjust, and fails to serve students. This is flat-out unacceptable.
This isn’t to say that there haven’t been attempts at reform. “Education reform” has been in vogue since the early 1980s, and has produced plenty of studies, conferences and initiatives. We’ve also seen billions of dollars invested by the private sector to improve the system, but with very little to show in return.
Since the 80’s, we’ve made incredible advances in nearly every other sector of our society except education.
For example: who here can pull out their Blockbuster card? No one. You all likely use Netflix, or Amazon or one of the myriad streaming services available.
Think about your cellphone. It used to be that you could only fit your mobile phone in a duffel bag. Now, we carry a device in our pocket that’s more powerful than computers that used to take up entire rooms.
Apple, Uber, Airbnb… the list goes on and on. So much has changed and our lives are better because of it. So why is our education system so far behind the curve?
We can no longer accept this education malaise. The time for simply tinkering around the edges is over.
We already have failed a generation or more of kids, and every year we’re failing another graduating class. In order to prevent repeating this destructive cycle, we need a new generation of education reform.”
Don’t be fooled. They’re pitching ed tech product. They’re selling you something.
Get better advice before buying. Try to find someone who isn’t completely captured and corrupt.
Please, please do not dump public money into what the US Department of Education is selling. Do your own research on these products.
Wow. This is a very lively and rigorous debate ed reform is having!
“DeVos got no pushback; she was questioned by one of her most ardent supporters, Jeanne Allen of the Center for Education Reform, who threw one softball after another, such as: “What would you say to people about technology?”
In case you were wondering, Betsy DeVos definitely supports public schools buying lots and lots and LOTS of tech products 🙂
I’ll blame public schools if they blindly sign onto to this sales pitch.
No one has to accept what these people say. Betsy DeVos doesn’t know the first thing about educational technology purchase and use. Following along like lemmings is idiocy and irresponsible.
Get better advice before buying ANYTHING. Don’t be pushed into purchases you will regret. These are slick salespeople. DeVos is no more an “unbiased government official” than I am.
http://hechingerreport.org/betsy-devos-likens-education-technology-thousand-flowers-yet-bloom/
By the way Matt Gaetz, is no hero. He ran on deportation, building the wall and locking up Hillary. Gaetz is a legacy politician that despite a 2008 arrest for a DUI, never suffered the consequences for his impaired judgment as he is “connected.” http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/lawmakers-talk-of-mug-shot-raises-questions-about-dui-arrest/2166023
Too many representatives in the Florida legislature have multiple conflicts of interests as many of them have invested in the charter industry. We need to clean out Tallahassee.
Retired teacher, Floridians need to get angry and #draintheswamp in Tallahassee.
The DEFORMERS promote FAKE NEWS! It’s about $$$$$$, power, and perks.
I am sick of the DEFORMERS. They are TOTAL slime and don’t give a WIT about other people’s children, just their own. Guess they want SLAVES to do their menial tasks, because they don’t even know how to make hard-boiled eggs for themselves.
ONE EXAMPLE from a nanny: A nanny I know who worked for a RICH family, related to me that their first grade son told her, “YOU WORK for ME!” HUH? Unbelievable…and only 6-years-old, no less. All she asked of this first grader was to please set his bowl of cold cereal on the table while she was dealing with the infant who needed a clean diaper. The “rich” learn young to order others around. SAD.
As some readers of this blog know, the Walton Family Foundation created and endowed the Department of Educational Reform at the University of Arkansas.
Among other projects, that department is operating a School Choice Demonstration Project. Part of the project is devoted to churning out spurious research that shows charter schools are underfunded.
The latest study, “Charter School Funding: Inequity in the City”(May 2017) comes from Dr. Patrick J. Wolf, Professor of Education Reform and Endowed 21st Century Chair in School Choice. The co-authors are Larry D. Maloney (Aspire Consulting), Jay F. May (CPA, founder of EduAnalytics, LLC ) and Corey A. DeAngelis, Ph.D. student in Education Policy, University of Arkansas. http://www.uaedreform.org/charter-school-funding-inequity-in-the-city/
The conclusions in “Charter School Funding: Inequity in the City” are based on data on revenues gathered about charter and public school funding in 15 urban areas as reported in state documents and audited school reports for the 2013-14 school year. The metro areas are Atlanta, Boston, Camden, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Memphis, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland, San Antonio, Tulsa, and Washington, DC.
The authors say: “We selected the locations based on either a high concentration of charters in the metropolitan area or potential for charter school growth there“ (p. 8). The study methodology (p. 9 ) is designed to show that charter revenues are usually less than for traditional public schools’ (TPS). The authors summarily dismiss differences in expenditures and the drain on TPS budgets from charter school enrollments.
The arrogant premise of the researchers is this: “Mandatory spending in TPS is a discretionary policy of decision makers. If it is a cause of inefficiency in TPS operations relative to charters, then policymakers, informed by our research, could reduce it” (p.9).
In other words, all federal, state and local policies that require expenditures by TPS should be disregarded because supporters of this charter school study say so. These self-righteous researchers think that “operational efficiency” matters more than anything else in education.
The message to readers of this research, not peer reviewed, is that privately managed charter schools in many urban districts deserve more funding than TPS because charters are cost-efficient. Of course they are. The charter industry is organized to seek handouts from public funds, and cut corners in their operations while claiming superior outcomes.
For these charter researchers, collective bargaining is an unnecessary and undesirable expense. According to these researchers, TPS are saddled with bad and expensive federal, state, and local policies. Among these are the extra costs of providing for special education services, for teaching learners of English, for transportation, for school lunches with some attention to the nutritional value. These researchers want to ignore TPS expenditures on facilities, maintenance and insurance. They want to ignore expenditures for school furnishings, for communications, for information technology.
Looking only at revenue is a great way to make charter schools look as if they are being deprived funding. It is a great way to say that too much money is flowing to undeserving and expensive public schools.
In addition to the screwy idea that federal, state, and local policies should be dismantled in order to gain the presumed efficiencies in charter schools, these researchers are shameless promoters of deeply flawed research about the superior “outcomes” charter schools.
They cite research produced by CREDO, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. They totally ignore the well-informed critique of that research (see http://nepc.colorado.edu/newsletter/2015/04/review-urban-charter-school).
This study is just one example of the use of deeply flawed ideological driven research financed by the super-rich Walton Family Foundation.
It should be recognized as junk science, but you will find that is widely cited by The 74 Million (Walton supported), Education Week (Walton supported), the Cato Institute (Walton supported along with about 60 other foundations). And the Cato institute has recycled findings from the study twice into Before it is News.com.
Laura,
At the beginning of the charter school movement in the late 1980s, its advocates said that charters would be a huge improvement because they would cost less and be more accountable than public schools. If they didn’t get the results they promised, they would close.
As we now know, they demand equal funding and they try their best to avoid accountability and transparency. They broke their promises. They do not want to be held accountable. And they want more money. Lose-lose.
No, and yes.
Charter schools are set up for fraud. It is too easy – no accountability…free government money…no regulations…you would be a fool not to take advantage…unless, of course, you were a moral person and if you were a moral person, why would you support charters – ed reform charters ?