Michigan blogger “Up North Progressive” describes a clever, underhanded bait-and-switch pulled by a for-profit charter founder.
He needed money for a new school and he showed plans of an expansive campus. Once he got the money, the reality emerged that the new school would be in an industrial office building surrounded by a parking lot, not playing fields.
For-profit Charyl Stockwell Academy likes to call itself a school district even though they don’t have boundaries, an elected school board, nor can they hold elections to approve bonds or millages. Those are methods of funding reserved for real public school districts that have real boundaries and real elected school boards. Charyl Stockwell Preparatory Academy plans to expand their business to a third building just for the middle school aged customers in 2020.
When for-profit charter schools want to expand, they have to either take out a loan or ask for donations. Sometimes, they even embezzle money from one for-profit charter school to pay for another, and then ask the non-elected board of the first for-profit charter school to call the stolen taxpayer’s school funding a loan so they can avoid paying taxes on the money they embezzled.
Last spring Chuck Stockwell, founder of Charyl Stockwell Academy, decided to show parents of children attending the middle school in 2020 designs for a brand new building at their big fundraiser event, the Beluga Ball. Parents were impressed with the plans for the new school Stockwell promised to break ground that spring, and would be completed in time for fall of 2020. The location for this project was “Brighton Interior Drive just around the corner from the present CSPA campus.” Plans shown to the parents with images and a videoconsisted of a new, breathtaking modern school with enough land to provide adequate outdoor space for students.
The catch of course was in order to begin construction this new building for the CSA franchise Chuck needed money to fund the project. Parents believing they were getting a brand new school building dug deep and donated funds to CSA.
Then Up North Progressive explains what really happened and reminds parents that they have until October 2 to enroll their child in a real public school.
That is today! Change now or the charter will vacuum up your child’s tuition money for the entire year even if you withdraw him or her.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
When a waste landfill wants to set up in a community, the corporate employees bring drawings of vast green spaces to the public meetings to hide the reality. Citizens often anticipate the ruse.
People are frequently burned just once and word gets around quickly.
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The founder of Seton Network of Catholic schools was interviewed in 2018, The Network has a big footprint in Milwaukee, “The Seton network vowed to transform Catholic education …four years later, troubles mount”, 5-21-2019. One question that Prince of Peace parents (a school taken over by Seton asked was where the $16,000,000 in taxpayer funding went.) Seton, boasting blended learning, was co-founded by a KIPP pioneer and, Ms. de Garcia, a former TFA’er (32 years old), grad of the Kennedy School of Neo-liberal Government (harvard).
The demographics of the Network’s leadership team are of note as is the background of the head honcho. I’m curious about her salary.
Seton’s TFA co-founder, de Garcia was driven by the belief that, “If you can’t help children know God, you’ll only ever get so far with them”. hmmmm.
If it’s the God of the prosperity Catholics instead of Pope Francis, I think it’s better if Americans seek counsel elsewhere.
Feel the Bern.
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Seton’s CEO was formerly in HR at an electric and natural gas company. The President was a “fundraiser for…Ave Maria”. The Board includes a past V.P. for programs at the Lynne and Harry Bradley Foundation- a group linked to the Koch’s.
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The fraudster had plenty of time to apply for a federal grant to ease the “burden” of expanding facilities. But then the fraudster would be competing for the money.
Even if you are not interested in the money availabe from the TRUMP/Devos budget, this link also gives you a federal definition of a “charter school.”
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/06/05/2019-11725/applications-for-new-awards-expanding-opportunity-through-quality-charter-schools-program-csp-grants
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Charter schools and vouchers are the panacea for America’s richest 0.1%. (1) Profit opportunities for hedge funds and tech tyrants in a trickle down economy with lessening middle class demand
(2) students trained in religious denominations linked to voting Republican and to patriarchal obedience (3) destruction of unions and, (4) teacher pensions driven to the private sector where Wall St. can rake off a bigger cut.
Perfect for colonialism.
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Posted th eorignala trill at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Extorting-Money-The-CSA-Wa-in-General_News-Education-Funding_Education-Laws_Educational-Crisis_Fraud-191002-438.html
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What does IDEA stand for? When I first saw this article I thought it was talking about the federal special education legislation, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do you think others are confused by this name?
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