A new report from the California-based nonpartisan group “In the Public Interest” documents systemic fraud and waste in California’s charter schools
Public funding of California’s charter schools now tops $6 billion annually. ITPH finds that, despite this substantial investment, governments at all levels remain unable to proactively monitor the private groups that operate charter schools for fraud and waste.
In the report, Fraud and waste in California’s charter schools, In the Public Interest reveals that total alleged and confirmed fraud and waste in California’s charter schools has reached over $149 million. Yet this is likely only the tip of the iceberg, as the state lacks the oversight necessary to proactively identify fraud and waste.
The report highlights several instances of fraud and waste, such as:
The entrenched culture of self-dealing at the Bay Area’s Tri-Valley Learning Corporation, whose CEO misappropriated tax-exempt public bonds totaling over $67 million.
The founder of Celerity Education Group who allegedly used public funding for personal expenses, including nearly $1,700 on meals at restaurants in one month in 2013 alone.
The recent spectacle at Partnerships to Uplift Communities, in which cofounder and former director—and current Los Angeles school board member—Ref Rodriguez, allegedly authorized $285,000 in payments to nonprofit organizations he oversaw during his tenure.
Fraud and waste in California’s charter schools also includes an analysis of flaws in existing oversight, recommendations for reform, and an appendix of instances of fraud and abuse from 1997 through 2017.
In the Public Interest is a nonprofit research and policy center committed to promoting the values, vision, and agenda for the common good and democratic control of public goods and services.
I doubt many charter schools think about PUBLIC GOOD. After all, charters take money away from PUBLIC Education … this is the ultimate GOAL. Sad, but true.
Racism is a huge part of the problem. Sometimes I worry going back to the Jim Crow days.
I’ve been opposed to Charter Schools for years. My belief is someone’s making a profit.
OMG, say it isn’t so.
Oh, don’t be silly. It’s going great! Just listen to any of the ed reform lobbying groups.
Privatization is fabulous. Miraculous. So vastly superior to public systems I don’t know why every state doesn’t privatize everything.
This is SC:
“A public feud between the state’s publicly funded charter-school district and four of its low-performing schools is drawing pointed criticisms from lawmakers, asking whether charter schools, granted more freedoms in exchange for better results, are working.
“It appears to me like the charter school program is in a state of chaos,” state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, told S.C. Public Charter School District superintendent Elliot Smalley during a state budget hearing Thursday.
“Frankly, anyone connected with it at this point has not a lot of credibility and that includes your agency,” Sheheen said. “The picture out there in the public is that there are disputes, lawsuits, legal matters going on, chaos.”
At the heart of the “chaos” is the effort by four charter schools, deemed failing by the statewide charter school district, to leave the state district for a new boss: a newly formed charter-school authorizer at Erskine College, a private Christian college in the Upstate.”
Maybe they should have regulated the schools BEFORE establishing them?
Who writes these laws? The Walton heirs?
These are LOUSY governance systems. They’re garbage.
http://www.islandpacket.com/latest-news/article202891014.html
Elected officials in Arizona can’t do a thing about this, because they wrote lousy charter laws:
“The abrupt closure of a Goodyear charter school in January left hundreds of parents scrambling to find a new school and teachers without jobs.
An Arizona Republic analysis of charter-school finances statewide shows dozens of other schools could be on the brink of similar financial ruin, and the state has little power to intervene.
Charter holders of 40 schools were labeled as “going concerns” by their auditors in the 2016-17 school year, a subjective measure meaning there was concern that they could close within a year due to their finances, according to The Republic’s analysis.”
Forget “schools”. It’s bad government:
“Unlike with Arizona’s district schools, the state cannot shut down a charter school’s operation for financial reasons alone, regardless of whether its own metrics indicate poor financial standings that would merit attention.”
The state can’t shut them down so they literally stay open until they suddenly run out of funds. Ed reformers wrote these laws. This is the governance system they crafted.
They’re really not in a position to criticize public school governance. They’re terrible at governance. They craft lousy systems.
Here’s Utah:
“Sen. Howard Stephenson, sponsor of the laws that launched charter schools in Utah, said Tuesday that the alternative schools have fallen short of their mission to improve education through innovation and competition.
The Draper Republican said he’s looking for a “fresh start” for charter schools, as their average performance on statewide tests is no better than that of their school district counterparts. ”
You won’t read a word about this in the national ed reform echo chamber. The cheerleading continues, although state after state after state are finding problems with privatization.
Clap louder, and maybe this unfolding disaster won’t matter.
trib.com/news/education/2018/02/28/the-performance-of-utahs-charter-schools-has-been-a-grave-disappointment-according-to-the-republican-lawmaker-who-created-them/
DO NOT BELIEVE Howard Stephenson, who is the enemy of public schools in Utah and serves on at least one charter school board. He’s the main author of the charter school laws in Utah, and does everything in his power to destroy public schools in the state.
Whatever Stephenson is suggesting, it will destroy public education in a state that already spends FAR less per pupil than any other state in the nation.
A publicly funded privatized, for-profit [even when labeled a (fake) non-profit] education system is legalized kleptocracy at work.
Since 1973, for 45 years, the Koch brother’s ALEC organization, another fake non-profit, has worked extremely behind the blackout curtains to achieve this sorry state.
I would not be surprised if it was ALEC that was behind “A Nation at Risk” report that was released in 1983.
Lies, misinformation, manipulation, and secrecy is the hallmark of the Koch brothers and their extremist allies.
It ‘s all the mind set of DeVoss , corrupt family. She’s profiting from her position in the government and that’s against the law. WTF are the FEDS doing about it? Nothing. All the money stolen by those corrupt charter schools is gone and could have been used in the public school system for the kids. Follow the money and get all those involved in this fraud in prison and if they can get that money back. I don’t care if it’s offshore accounts, their kids accounts that they set up to hide it, whatever, get it back.
nonprofit research and policy center == think tank
whenever a think tank is promoting an “agenda for the common good and democratic control” its actual agenda is most likely to benefit its members and funders
For example, their report on virtual schools in California is not against them in principle: “This bold new experiment in education, the virtual, self-paced model, has the potential, around the world, to be a valuable resource to certain student populations. However, if left unchecked, the model being advanced by CAVA will continue to negatively impact the educational outcomes of a large number of California children. This is not what virtual education in California should look like.” Seems to me like he wants a piece of the virtual school pie.
He asks for donations and does not list his funders.
His organization is owned by Partnership for Working Families, which is supported by the following foundations:
AFL-CIO
Alki Fund of the Rockefeller Family Fund
The Arca Foundation
Ford Foundation
General Service Foundation
Hidden Leaf Foundation
Insight Center
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
James Irvine Foundation
Open Society Foundations
Peggy Browning Fund
Public Welfare Foundation
Rockefeller Family Fund
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Does anyone think that Rockefeller, Ford or Kellogg will support something without trying to benefit themselves?
Yes. Rockefeller, Ford, and Kellogg have long histories of supporting programs for the Common good.
Do you have any idea of what the Common good is?
Chicago Boys?