More about the indictments in the $80 million California charter school scam
At least three individuals that were indicted in the California charter scam have connections with the STEAM charters in Ohio. Diane Ravitch
called our attention to Mercedes Schneider’s investigation of the California fraud.
It is of interest that one of the counts against those involved is securing funds for students not receiving services. Ohioans are very familiar with that kind of scam. ECOT and other Ohio charters scammed Ohio taxpayers and students in a similar manner for a couple of decades.
If the California-based scammers had carried out their scam in Ohio, would they have been indicted?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
They both smoke a lot of weed?
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Ohio, not so much as CA
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No, it’s more opioids there in Ohio.
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And Oklahoma and Arkansas:
“Good report last week from the AP on the developing scandal around Epic Youth Services, the Oklahoma for-profit virtual charter school company that was previously slated to provide online education for the Pulaski County Special School District.
In an affidavit filed last week, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation alleged that the founders of Epic used “ghost students” to artificially inflate their enrollment numbers in order to embezzle state funds. The founders, David Chaney and Ben Harris, allegedly split illegal profits of more than $10 million.
In February, the Pulaski County district board voted to contract with Epic to provide online K-12 schooling. Epic would have raked in $6,700 in state money for each student enrolled in its virtual “school”; under the proposed deal, Epic would get 90 percent of the cash with the PCSSD nabbing a 10 percent cut.”
https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2019/07/22/embezzlement-scandal-hits-virtual-charter-school
Having learned absolutely nothing from ECOT, Ohio ed reformers are now promoting online “career and technical” education, because that’s the latest fad.
At one point do Ohio lawmakers start doing their own work instead of farming all of it out to national ed reform lobbyists? Why are national ed reform lobbies drafting all of our state law and policy? They give BAD ADVICE. They do poor quality work. Stop taking direction from them.
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Has anyone asked the Father of Ed Reform, Jeb Bush, if he has anything to say about the fact that he pushed these garbage online schools for a decade?
Are any of the people who sold cheap junk to the public this ever going to be held accountable? I want my money back.
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It is important to read the manifesto that Jeb Bush wrote with Bob Wise of the Alliance for Excellent Schools. It is called DIGITAL LEARNING–NOW!
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Public employees (SETDA) are using their positions to promote digital learning and public-private partnerships. Gates funds the association. A prior association director described the association as “lobbying”. The question that should arise in a democracy – who are the public employees lobbying for? The funder, Gates, or SETDA’s private business partners or, the public employees?
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yes, key misconception: “PUBLIC” employees
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Fordham are bragging on social media that they wrote Ohio’s new graduation requirements.
Can any elected official in Ohio explain to Ohio citizens why a Right wing, anti-public school DC lobbying group are drafting the high school graduation requirements for a place where they don’t live, for public schools they don’t attend, and for the public schools they spend a good part of every day lobbying AGAINST?
What am I paying Ohio officials for? If I wanted Fordham running public schools I would have elected them.
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Chiara,
You forgot to ask one other question: Who at Fordham is qualified to write high school graduation requirements for any state?
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Demographic diversity in Fordham management? Of course not, Ohio voted for Trump.
Peggy Lehner is the poster child of Ohio politics.
Ohio’s Republicans, if asked, would be certain heaven’s doors will be open to them- no matter that they enabled the theft of their neighbors, the cruelty of testing and robbed citizens of democracy. It reflects the blindness of entitlement.
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Ohio public school parents and students:
Here’s what the ed reform lobby wrote into your state law:
“Ohio has been battling over graduation requirements for nearly three years. Early versions of the budget from the governor’s office and the House didn’t include a permanent solution. The Senate, on the other hand, offered a comprehensive set of requirements based on a proposal offered by Ohio Excels, the Alliance for High Quality Education, and Fordham. ”
People who don’t support public schools or public school students set policy for every public school student in the state.
Oh, and they also got a bunch of goodies for the schools and students they DO support- tens of millions more for charters and vouchers.
So what did public school students and families get out of this backroom deal between lobbyists and lawmakers? A new set of rules to follow.
Once again, public school students lose. They get the stick and charters and vouchers get the carrot.
Public school students really, really need an adult advocate in Columbus. They don’t have one. I am sick of the ed reform lobby running our schools. They don’t support our schools and students. They shouldn’t be running them. I am also sick of backroom education deals brokered by lobbyists that offer nothing of value to the 90% of students in this state who attend public schools.
https://fordhaminstitute.org/ohio/commentary/heres-where-budget-landed-four-big-education-policies
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I have an honest question for ed reformers and charter and voucher promoters.
If public school advocates wrote the rules for charters and voucher schools, would that be okay with you? Wouldn’t you insist that a charter and voucher supporter be at least at the table?
So why is it okay for charter and voucher lobbyists to write rules that govern every public school? Can’t we get people who actually support our schools and students to write policy that affects our schools and students?
Our kids aren’t important enough to have an actual advocate at the table? Charter and vouchers get one, but our kids don’t? How is that fair to public school students?
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There is nothing fair about so-called reform. The ideology does not cut it, and there is no evidence to support it. Evidence and ideology rarely stops it. Reform is a tactical, hostile takeover of public education designed to move public money into private hands. It is the 1% draining public money out of the middle, working class and poor. The wealthy will not stop with the poor if they prevail. There is no honest, logical argument to defend it. Lord knows the brainwashed zombies have tried to appear like civil rights advocates. That argument is looking more like a joke every day.
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No one cares less about fairness and democracy than Bill Gates.
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Wish people would remember: The DARK AGES and why that happened … FASCISM.
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