Carl J. Petersen, writer and public school parent in Los Angeles, writes here about a Los Angeles charter schools that took millions from the federal Paycheck Protection Plan, then laid off employees anyway.
The purpose of PPP was to help small businesses and to ensure that they did not fire employees because they couldn’t afford to pay them. But charter schools, which had suffered no economic harm, cashed in on the program…because they could.
Petersen writes:
With unemployment rates reaching levels unseen since the Great Depression due to the problems caused by the failed response to COVID-19, every dollar from the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) should be going towards helping small businesses survive. Unfortunately, the charter school industry found a way to double-dip into the government trough to supplement the money they are diverting from public schools with funds from this program.
Despite acknowledging that they could be taking money away from small businesses that needed it to survive the crisis, the governing board of Palisades Charter High School voted last month to accept a $4.606 million dollar loan from the PPP. They admitted at the time that they did not have an immediate need for the money and they failed to articulate a plan to spend the money or to pay it back. They simply felt that it was important to “get the money while the getting’s good.” Discussion of the moral and financial costs of receiving this money was swept aside.
Ignoring the reason for their $4,606,000 windfall, the governing board of Pali voted this month to lay off five members of their staff and reduce the hours for 18 other employees. Even as students throughout the country struggle to transition to distance learning, these cuts included an IT Tech assigned to helping parents, students and teachers navigate the technology needed in this new learning environment. They also eliminated a Tutoring Center Coordinator whom a member of the public and a board member credited with “helping hundreds of kids pass classes and graduate from Pali during e-learning”. A Library Media Technician, Copy Clerk, and Office Assistant will also join the unemployment line in 60 days.
The federal government should “claw back” the wasted $4.6 million.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“They simply felt that it was important to “get the money while the getting’s good.” Discussion of the moral and financial costs of receiving this money was swept aside.”
This is what students are being taught these days by people who are responsible for setting example for our nations future leaders, corporate executives, military officers/NCOs, future parents, religious leaders of all faiths, law enforcement, etc. It is not surprising that we have a leader in the White House who has the same lack of MORALES and ETHICS as the people running this and many, many other charter schools.
Get what you can, when you can, and to hell with everyone else.
Catholic church leaders are in league with Charles Koch to implement his libertarian economic plot that harms the 99%.
Noting the hypocrisy that Americans allow them, church leaders were first in line to get paid back for their Trump support. e.g. one city’s Catholic diocese- $5-$10 mil. (Huffpo this morning)
The Kristin Biel v. St. James Catholic school SCOTUS decision could allow churches to violate civil rights employment law which we should fully expect to guarantee wealthy, white male privilege, their continued feeding first from the trough and scraps left for the rest, just as the system was established by men like Charles Koch with the Catholic church hierarchy.
Why doesn’t Pope Francis replace Timothy Dolan and Carl Anderson? He’s scared to do so and, that should “woke” all who oppose Trump.
It is amazing how the churches across the United States are some of the first to jump in line for the PPP handout but are also very quick to send in their tax forms to the local, state and federal IRSs with no tax due stamped on the forms. These mega churches, regardless of the faith, are worth billions in property values and pay tremendous amounts in salaries to their leadership. We have Mom and Pop business that are closing yet the churches of every brand getting more than their share.
I am a Catholic but I must say that I am really disappointed how the church has gone after the PPP. I am also very disappointed on how the church leadership are bending over to kiss the ground that Trump walks or kissing other places. Take your pick.
I am very happy that I was born in the United States but right now with what has gone on the last four years I am not proud to say I am an American.
These are soul-crushing times because so many in positions of privilege have robbed the American people of any power. Leo Leonard’s SCOTUS provides example.
“while the getting’s good” — boy does that also sum up our almost 20 years of NCLB/RttT invasions. Things many not be needed, things may not be useful and things may even be harmful, but let’s get on board while the getting’s good.
Carl is the best. He has been keeping an eye on the corruption and malfeasance in Los Angeles education circles, and his efforts are deeply appreciated by many.
This brings up so many mixed emotions for me, my disabled son is a survivor of the Palisades Charter Cluster. I’ve spoken with the local newspaper about how they’ve covered this. As Pacific Palisades became a “charter cluster” when the law first went into effect, the paper is a booster for neighborhood businesses, schools, churches and activities.
I was misrepresented at a contentious school board meeting by the paper many years ago when speaking against the granting of a charter for New West Middle School – appearing as a mad loon in their description. A representative of the paper had left the meeting long before I spoke (the meeting didn’t end until after 10 pm) and took the word of the charter booster who basically slandered me and attempted to threaten me. He and a handful of cohorts followed me out of the board room, approaching me menacingly as a form of intimidation. I’m a small woman and the approach of this group was truly frightening. At the time we could still park underground at Beaudry. I was afraid to enter the elevator bank to parking with them surrounding me. Carefully avoiding eye and physical contact, I walked over to the LAUSD police officer posted outside the board room and requested an escort to my car. He saw the situation and understood. When the group of angry men saw me with police protection, they broke up and went their own ways.
The paper comes out on Thursdays and the meeting was on a Tuesday. Apparently the New West booster called the paper to have them include more dirt. I saw myself described in the paper as “an unknown, deranged” woman when the angry man knew full well who I was. (Both of our children attended the same grade school. He was passing out petitions to create the middle school when I asked him how it would serve our disabled kids. His reply, “We don’t WANT your kids.” Spoken like a true charter cheater founder.) He reported me as a crazy, uninformed detractor of his righteous cause. I called the paper when the article came out demanding a retraction as I was identifiable, he knew my name when he called, they could’ve contacted me to verify his account, and I had a copy my public comment for their information. They refused to take my information or print a retraction.
Ironically, I have to thank the Palisades schools for their lack of understanding and failure to teach my autistic child. I became an advocate for my son and others due to their mismanagement and callous disregard for IEP procedures. One of their grade schools he was enrolled in refused to honor IEP requirements or allow service providers to help him and drove my son to clinical depression to the point that there was no placement for him in LAUSD due to the “behaviors” that they created. I was told by one elementary school teacher that my IEP would be considered my “parent conference”, treating me differently (against the law) and denying me a normalizing process that our family so desperately needed at the time. She even said in that same IEP; “I didn’t go to school to do THIS!” (meaning work with disabled children) and refused to work with an LAUSD provided behaviorist who was well-regarded in his field.
When he was damaged to the point that he could no longer attend daily in class, we were “counseled out” – the principal even trying the trick of “we need an emergency IEP right away” (he wanted to just pull one out of his hat the next day). I refused based on laws and need to call my outside support folks. We were still screwed. The LAUSD nonpublic schools office “forgot” my son and I found my own placement – then they refused to honor it and I had to go through Due Process to stay there after I had him at home for three months without a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). I drove a 75 mile round trip for 7 1/2 years to a small school in Ventura that gave my son an education that the Palisades charter clusters refused to provide. We returned when my son was a sophomore to their high school where they took credit for his high academic scores.
I’d walk my son back to the resource bungalow the first several months as we transferred from a tiny 30 student school placement to a huge high school campus. The special needs kids are WAAY in the back of the campus and not shown on regular tours unless they grudgingly accept your child with an IEP. If his aide was late, I’d wait until he arrived. Whenever I walked back to my car a nasty security guard would grill me about not having a visitor pass (I’d arrive before the office was open or needing one). This was daily. Rather than recognize me and start greeting me, I’d be harassed. Even after reporting him, I was told he was a “good” employee.
When first transferring to Pali High from the nonpublic school, I went into the attendance office to enroll. The first comment wasn’t “welcome to our school”, but “are you a housekeeper?”, as if that mattered. Apparently they resented the “live-in” housekeepers who would enroll THOSE kids with their employer’s address. The main office had three administrators at the time, anyone who could look up and help you. I timed how long I was ignored one day by all three – purposefully – for almost two minutes, then walked into the principal’s office without appointment (her office door was adjacent to the main office reception area). THAT got their attention and they were reprimanded after my talk with the principal, but even thought I was acknowledged quickly after that, I was never, ever greeted warmly in the process. They carry a grudge. The school did not use LAUSD’s Student/Parent Handbook, but instead created their own version. I had to go through every page and delete then rewrite areas that were violations of IDEA and his rights as a disabled student. I wrote a detailed letter to administration about how it needed correcting and a few minor changes were made, but not all. The handbook also failed to include the full parent involvement legal language at the time – leaving out the portion regarding their obligation to provide translation for parents who needed it.
For the three years my son attended, I’d hear staff talk of how they were “better than” LAUSD, but I never really saw it. To be fair there were a few wonderful teachers who were kind and understanding to my son. However some administration & staff were, if not outright hostile, practiced what I had labeled back in elementary school as “benign neglect” – appearing to smile sadly when explaining why they’d refuse to help.
When Pali High decided to stop being an affiliated charter with LAUSD support and go independent, that’s when things really got interesting as special needs kid, who were already getting the short end of the stick, would have even more roadblocks to service. I had difficulty with proper transition services because going independent caused them to lose the Department of Rehabilitation support provided by the district. The school couldn’t even do a decent transition assessment and I requested a Beaudry Transition Office administrator to intervene for decent data. I was told in that following IEP that Pali “couldn’t afford a representative” after going independent in 2003 so were unable to take advantage of important programs.
These are just a few of the many frustrating stories I have about Pali High. I’m only one parent. How many, especially those who are bused in from throughout the district have experienced even worse? At least I was not counseled out to Venice High in my IEPs as had been reported in this article: http://www.perdaily.com/2010/10/palisades-charter-hyph-school–a-microcosm-of-lausds-master-plan-part-1.html
Ethics is indeed lacking in this community if anyone speaks against the status quo. They don’t get it – they never will.
By the way, my son managed to graduate with high honors, go on to Community College where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and is currently one term away from his BA in Urban Planning Studies at California State Northridge. (College proving to be a whole new set of discrimination issues we fight through). I’ve told people that he’s done well in spite of the system. Some day I hope our children will be able to thrive because of the system.
Thanks for telling the blog’s readers about your experience.
I just saw a channel 2 evening news report on Palisades and several other charters taking PPP, but they didn’t mention the layoffs.