Denis Smith worked in the charter office of the Ohio Department of Education until he retired in 2011. He continues to be amazed by the growth and scale of charter fraud, waste, and abuse, which the legislature ignores. Of course, the charter industry has been shielded because charter lobbyists wrote the law!
In this post, he describes some of the most flagrant abuses, several of which involve real estate and exorbitant rentals and leases that allow the charter company to pocket taxpayers’ dollars.
Here is one of the most flagrant abuses:
“The Columbus Primary Academy, part of the Imagine Schools charter chain, is saddled with a lease that requires exorbitant rent to Imagine’s for-profit real estate subsidiary. In two other states, federal courts deemed the leases “self-dealing’’ and ordered Imagine to pay $1 million fines. The latest state audit shows the academy’s current lease extends to 2033, while the latest state report cards shows the school continues to fail our kids.”
An inflated lease that runs through 2033 for a failing Charter School!
Why do Ohioans tolerate this misuse of taxpayer dollars?
How many more scandals will be exposed before the legislature stops waste, fraud, and abuse in the charter industry?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane We are looking at a picture of what Russia is like: But WITHOUT voices like your own.
There is a direct relationship between what’s going on in education and the power struggle that the DEA is losing (has lost?) with the opium/iod industry as was aired on “60 Minutes” last evening.
The industry couldn’t fight the DEA and the law, and so they attacked the DEA by going “over its head” to Congress through–guess what–the use of lobbyists, money, Pass-the-Buck strategies, and the revolving door where they hired experienced DEA people to write their briefs and lobby Congress for the drug industry. The use of double-speak and diversion by certain Congresspeople is really exemplary. DEA people who were trying to enforce the law and to lessen the problem that, BTW, is burgeoning in all States, were relieved of their power and positions and some finally left their employment at DEA.
It’s a train wreck.
LikeLike
They “reformed” the charter system in Ohio. The legislature spent months on it, part of their approach to public education in general, which is “let’s ignore the public schools 90% of families use and work exclusively for the schools we prefer”
I think they”re devoting this session to vouchers, because God forbid anyone in Columbus should support a public school- they’ll get kicked out of the ed reform club. You can’t pay these people to work on public schools- I know because we are paying them and they’re not interested.
This is Charter Schools Specialists:
http://www.charterschoolspec.com/
They’re a for-profit entity who operate charter schools.
I’m curious- are the adults who work for Charter Schools Specialists as “self interested” as the adults who work for public schools?
Why are the people the charter industry employs exempt from accusations of self interest from ed reformers? What is this measure they’re using to determine “self interest” and why does it only apply to public schools?
The more charter schools there are the more money Charter Schools Specialists pull in- true or not true? The employees of Charter School Specialists are somehow immune from the “self interest” that drives the ordinary, lesser mortals who work in public schools?
LikeLike
“Gulen schools in Ohio took center stage more than three years ago when a panel of teachers who worked for the Horizon Science Academy of Dayton testified before the State Board of Education about problems they personally witnessed: widespread test-tampering; a teacher who encouraged an in-class groping game; teachers who openly referred to African-American students as “dogs;’’ a “Science Academy’’ with no working labs.”
It’s even worse when you compare the treatment of public schools to charter schools.
The State of Ohio sent a team of auditors into Columbus Public Schools when it was alleged they were manipulating enrollment numbers. Front page news- our VERY political auditor staged raids to promote his career but he raids ONLY public schools.
They do absolutely nothing when these charter abuses are reported over and over and over. The one and only time White Hat has been held accountable was when they landed in a court. The executive branch did nothing and the legislative branch did nothing FOR YEARS. A judge was the single individual willing to regulate these schools.
They’re captured. Utterly and completely. There is one functioning oversight entity for charter schools and it’s the judicial branch- which is supposed to be and IS the absolute last resort.
LikeLike
Here’s a dirty little secret Ohio’s charter cheerleaders won’t tell you when they’re lobbying for more and more schools- charter enrollment is DOWN in this state, not up.
That’s because we still have local newspapers in all the urban centers and they do investigative reporting on local schools, and that includes charters.
The “clap louder!” strategy no longer works here.
LikeLike
How many more scandals will be exposed before the legislature stops waste, fraud, and abuse in the charter industry?
There will be no limit as long as the people don’t vote out this legislature and replace them with candidates who do not belong to Alt-Right billionaire oligarchs and/or Christian fundamentalists.
LikeLike