The IDEA charter chain is one of the largest and most aggressive in Texas. Betsy DeVos showered more than $200 million on IDEA to help it grow faster and to expand in other states. But IDEA, with so much state and federal money coming in, developed a taste for luxury. Its executives and board planned to lease a private jet for $2 million a year, but the publicity put the kibosh on that plan. The company also had box seats for professional basketball games in San Antonio. In the wake of bad publicity, the founder of IDEA decided it was time to mosey on, and he did so with a $1 million golden parachute. The corporation was taken over by the other co-founder and a new chief financial officer, but the board asked them to resign and they did.
Recently, Texans learned that IDEA bought a hotel for about $1 million. The state Attorney General was looking into this, and the press wanted more information about why a charter chain bought a hotel. A local newspaper–the Progress Times in Mission, Texas– reached out to IDEA and asked for copies of the documents involved in the purchase of the hotel.
IDEA claimed it had identified 56,386 documents responsive to the request.
To process the request, IDEA asked the Progress Times to pay $5,830.60. The total included $5,638.60 for copies, $160 for labor and $32 for overhead.
To avoid paying thousands for copies, the Progress Times asked to view the documents. IDEA responded by requesting a decision from the Attorney General’s Office.
The Attorney General said that some of those documents could be released to the newspaper. But now IDEA is suing the Attorney General to block the release of the documents.
Do you know of any school districts that bought a hotel? Business as usual for IDEA.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Ah, Texas My Texas … It’s Enronucation All Over Again …
Charter chains are leeches on the common good. They are never satisfied and always push for a greater piece of the pie.
What would IDEA want with a hotel? First of all, it can’t be much of a hotel for $1 million dollars. I have been to the Rio Grande Valley which is very poor and mostly Latino. If I had to guess, I would speculate that perhaps IDEA plans to use the hotel to house “teachers” they will import from Mexico. The US has been allowing Mexican nationals to get work visas in areas where there is a need and a shortage of workers. The US recently issued work visas to Mexican truck drivers to help resolve supply chain issues from the pandemic. It is possible the US will offer work visas to teachers as well. If IDEA can pay a little better than Mexican wages and claim it pays a higher wage, it could easily pocket the difference.
Interesting idea. When I was just out of college, there was a shortage of math teachers. Universities scoured the world for people who had degrees who could teach college math classes. By the time I got a teaching job (in math, there was a shortage, remember?) many of these people were in university positions. My students regularly reported being taught by the guy from India or China whose English was broken. A near University had one instructor who was notoriously difficult to understand and gave impossible tests.
Back to the future?
I assumed that IDEA would turn the hotel into a luxury retreat for their executives. You know, the ones who were going to use the private jet and the season tickets for the San Antonio Spurs games.
That is a possibility. I doubt IDEA executives would hold a “retreat” near Mission, Texas. They might go to South Padre Island unless the lower Rio Grande Valley.has been transformed since I was there about seven years ago. Maybe Elon Musk is buying up all the real estate there to build some something to do with SpaceX.
Not content with destroying the public school system. the charter moguls go after the whole city.
“Do you know of any school districts that bought a hotel? Business as usual for IDEA.”
I do not.
What I know is that we are so under-funded that our school, like so many, has to have multiple classes far too populated with dysfunctional students who need small classes and personal attention. I would blame this on the charter schools, but I know they are but one fly that contaminates the ointment. Testing sucks huge amounts from our budget. Programs that require bookkeeping loads do their part, making necessary a staff of people who have to create a paper trail to prove our money is not going to hotel purchase. Extra curricular priorities mean that some teaching positions are filled with those whose priorities are extra-curricular.
When Davy Crockett left Tennessee, he did so angry at the process of Indian Removal and rejected by voters. He famously said: “You all can go to Hell, I’m going to Texas.”
I sort of feel that way. Davy was obviously not safe when he got to Texas. Nor would I be, so I take it all back. I will not be going to Texas. I will stay in Texas lite. After all, it is time for the festival of lites.
The festival of lites!!!! LOL!
So, you spent $400 million in taxpayer money to buy the Hope diamond?
Yes. We show it to students during our 7th-grade Earth Science course.
Oh, OK. Now that you have passed the audit, we’ll be recommending that you continue receiving your per-student allotment for the coming year.
Next story: Just international brinksmanship, or will IDEA actually invade Ukraine?
They’ll probably open a “Savings & Learn” —
Un-fortune-ate-ly, the Public Never Does Either …
And an Extra Credit Union.
Here’s a link to that piece by the Progressive Times.
“IDEA purchased the Inn at Chachalaca Bend from a nonprofit organization called To Every Tribe Ministries, according to documents filed with the Cameron County Clerk’s Office. The Cameron County Appraisal District valued the hotel and surrounding property at more than $1 million. How much IDEA paid remains a mystery.Oct 29, 2021”
https://www.progresstimes.net/2021/10/29/idea-sues-texas-attorney-general-to-keep-hotel-purchase-records-secret/
I then jumped to the last paragraph. Here it is. To save time, I often read the lead paragraph and the last one.
“IDEA’s Board has been forthright about the reasons for its actions in May 2021 to install new leadership at IDEA and for the policy changes the Board implemented in 2020 to ensure that every resource entrusted to IDEA is directed toward our mission of supporting students to and through college,” according to the statement. “Members of the news media and public have requested certain records from IDEA that would shine further light on the Board’s reasons for those decisions and actions. IDEA is seeking judicial approval to withhold some of these records at the request of law enforcement and because they are part of an ongoing internal investigation, which triggers an exception of the Texas Public Information Act. It is in the public’s interest that law enforcement’s investigation and any resultant actions be able to be completed before these records are released.”
Interesting.
Is IDEA a profit-making corporation? Or a non-profit?
When a non-profit spends an enormous amount of money to purchase something with absolutely no relationship to their mission, that purchase needs to be examined with a fine tooth comb.
Are there a number of independent appraisals of that purchase to make sure the non-profit paid only market value and didn’t overpay for a property? Was anyone with any remote association with that non-profit involved in any way, shape or form with this? (for example, did a real estate broker who was related to anyone with an association with this non-profit earn a commission on the purchase?)
Was anyone with any remote connection with the seller — the nonprofit organization called To Every Tribe Ministries — have any connection to anyone at IDEA? Even the remotest connection — for example a cousin of an IDEA board member’s spouse — needs to be examined very closely.
Because when a non-profit spends an inordinate amount of money to purchase an asset that has absolutely nothing to do with its mission, then there is often some questionable practices going on that benefit someone other than the children that IDEA is supposed to be helping.
I saw the speculation that it could have been bought for teacher housing, but unless there was an independent analysis of why it would be more feasible to purchase a property (possibly providing a large profit for the owner) and spend money to get that property in shape (possibly providing a large profit for the people hired to renovate it), I would question it. If the board and administration is regularly making financially losing deals using non-profit money, that is a problem.
Ah, the records can’t be released until the investigation is complete. Will it ever be complete?