The Gulenists must think that people in Alabama are easy marks. They proposed to open a charter school in a rural county with good schools that didn’t want a charter school. Everyone warned Alabama officials to reject the proposal, even the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, hired by the state for $100,000 to vet charters.
Not only did Alabama approve the charter, but the guy brought in to run in will have a base salary of $300,000 in one of the poorest states in the nation.
This is a story you have to read to believe. Follow the money. It was written by Josh Moon and posted at the Alabama Political Reporter website.
“Located in rural Washington County, Woodland Prep, which will open as a K-7 school this fall and add a grade level each year, is everything state leaders assured us could never happen under Alabama’s charter school laws.
“Its land is owned by a shady Utah holding company. Its building is owned by a for-profit Arizona company. It will be managed by a for-profit Texas company that doesn’t employ a single Alabamian. It will pay the head of that management company around $300,000 per year — up front. Its application was rejected by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, which Alabama pays a hefty sum to review and approve charter applications. Woodland’s management plan failed to meet basic standards for approval in any of the three plan areas reviewed by NACSA.
“Woodland also is not welcome in Washington County, where residents turned up at a 10-1 ratio to speak out against it last year during community meetings. And maybe most importantly, the school is not needed in the poverty-stricken county, where not a single school is failing, most exceed state averages and students are free to attend any school in the county they wish.
“We never thought this school would be approved,” said Betty Brackin, an employee of the Washington County school system and an outspoken opponent of Woodland. “Before we knew any of the things about who was running it or all of that, we knew that only a small number of people in this county — people who were upset for personal reasons … with the public school system — they’re the only ones who wanted it. The rest of this county is not for this, and we’ve let everyone know it.”
“But Woodland was approved by the Alabama Charter School Commission, which appeared to violate at least three of its responsibilities in doing so.
“The Commission ignored the community outcry against Woodland and failed to even discuss the need — or lack thereof — for a charter school in the county. Both of those are specific requirements within Alabama’s charter school law for the Commission to consider during its public meetings.
“Additionally, charter schools approved in Alabama are, according to Alabama’s law, required to meet “national standards.” To assure those standards are met, Alabama lawmakers assured a concerned public that a “top-notch” national body — to quote two state representatives — would be contracted to review every application before those applications would be considered by the Commission. NACSA is that group, and Alabama pays it nearly $100,000 per year to review applications, and then the Commission ignores its advice.
“Woodland Prep’s was at least the third charter application that NACSA rejected for very specific, very detailed reasons. For example, in questioning Woodland’s operational plan, the NACSA reviewers had concerns about its hiring of Unity School Services to perform management and education services. It was unclear why USS was selected, if the company — which had just eight total employees, none of which were in Alabama — could even do the job, and what expertise it had in such areas.
“NACSA also noted that Woodland’s education plan included very few details, especially for a school scheduled to open the next school year, and had failed to identify key partnerships or assign key roles.
Commission Failings
“None of that mattered to the Commission, though. It approved Woodland’s application, and from what I can tell, the application was never reviewed by any other outside entity. (Other charter applications rejected by NACSA and later approved by the Commission were at least approved by a different entity.)
“I asked the Alabama State Department of Education, which has oversight responsibilities of the Charter School Commission, to explain why the application was approved after being rejected by NACSA and/or to provide me with an approval of an amended application by NACSA or another group. There was no response.”
Please read the rest of the post. The story gets worse as the details of the deal are explained.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The whole story is nuts, but this is insane:
“But there’s more. Under the terms of his contract, he also is allowed to keep all profits from any school programs, such as pre-K or after-school trainings, and he is free to use Woodland Prep to apply for any grants.”
The sky’s the limit! “Profits” here just means public funding he doesn’t spend. He keeps that. Personally.
Alabama will soon have their first charter school millionaire, if he isn’t there already. Every dime is public funding.
Another work day in DC spent bashing public schools and pushing private school vouchers:
“Listening to @BetsyDeVosED talk about her tax credit plan to expand choice. So far it’s a lot of her greatest hits, with an emphasis on how choice can challenge the “status quo.”
Do you think they denigrate, neglect and ignore public schools because none of them attended one? Private school graduates promoting private schools over public schools, and all of it on the public dime. What a racket.
Here’s a story about LeBron’s public school in Ohio:
It’s a public school, so don’t expect any of the echo chamber to promote it. Any discussion of public schools is expressly forbidden, unless the phrase is prefaced with “failing”.
I hope the public schools go on the defensive. Supporters of public schools should visit black and white churches and encourage parents to stick with their public schools. The community needs to understand that democracy itself and local control are under attack. Their public schools are the life blood of the community, and they are a tremendous public asset that enhance property values. They should also discuss Gulen’s dismal record and shady dealings.
This town needs to take a strong stand against this!
As many a Vichy collaborator EduPundit learned in the past 20 years, the Ed Deform gravy train is first class. Sign on, and the lucrative jobs and consulting contracts come pouring in.
Wow. There are a lot of contenders out there, but I’m tempted to say this one takes the cake in terms of ignoring laws, good business practices, the public good and the public’s voice. And stay tuned, it’s not even in operation yet!
One wrinkle I hadn’t picked up on before was the Utah connection:
“Woodland Prep’s local school board isn’t the owner of the land. Instead, a holding company in Utah holds the deed.That company has one registered agent — Jennifer Lind of Utah. According to online records, Lind is the agent of record for at least two dozen charter holding companies in Utah — most of them tied to charter schools thousands of miles away from Utah.
“Forming a holding company in Utah, where banking laws are particularly lenient, allows for the investors — American Charter Development, in this case — to set up a financial buffer between it and the debt incurred by Woodland Prep. If the school goes broke and has to close, it’s the holding company left on the hook, not ACD.
That means that ACD has relinquished its ownership of the Woodland Prep school to a holding company that ACD owns, and now ACD will charge itself rent and interest — paid for by the tax dollars that were once flowing into Washington County schools.”
Utah is the Land of Shysters.
The lax government regulations are an open invitationbto all sorts of fraud and con artistry.
Having lived there for a decade and a half, I am well aware of what goes on.
It’s actually the main reason I left. It’s one of the most corrupt states in the nation.
Why is Lebron’s school being judged by test scores?
Because that is the “coin of the realm”, a coin made of pyrite that is.
Would this “shady company in Utah” that owns the property have any connection to the Gulen Operation in Utah “Beehive Science and Technology School” this school was scheduled to close down in 2010 but the Gulen Movement hired an attorney who at the last minute intimidated the state of education to give a 1 year probation which turned into 9 years.
On another note, Gulen charter schools thrive on lying about fake “waiting lists” but the facts are many of their schools struggle with dwindling enrollment. They need “butts in seats” to make the ADA money, to obtain the huge bucks (Bonds & Grants) If I was the community in this area try to block the enrollment and keep it low., have town hall meetings to inform the parents what to look for when enrolling your kids in a charter schools. Gulen movement are pros at fake advertising “100% graduation rate” “High performing schools” “Blue Ribbon School” “US News and World Report ranked school” then there is taking photos of local lawmakers that tour their schools and occasionally a “first lady” may stop by for a visit.
Follow the money. Someone in the government is getting kickbacks.
Sounds like the Ala. Dept. of Edu. did to the citizens of Washington County just as Kay Ivey and the Legislature did to they whole state, crammed something down our throats we didn’t want.
900 students n Washington County do not attend public school. Some are home schooled and some attend private schools. A charter school gives everybody another option regardless of race and income. What is Washington County so afraid of if they are such an excellent school? Also the money will follow students who go to charter schools so the public schools will need less money.