Dr. Peggy Carr is Commissioner of the National Center on Education Statistics, a prestigious, major federal agency. NCES preceded the U.S. Department of Education by more than a century, having been created by Congress in 1867 to report on the progress and condition of American education. NCES releases regular reports on education. It also oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the federal testing agency.
T. Keung Hui of the Charlotte Observer reported that Dr. Carr is ensnared in a state investigation of a charter school called Children’s Village Academy and its financial affairs. The school’s charter is up for renewal in 2024.
A North Carolina charter school is being accused of misspending thousands of taxpayer dollars, including funds spent on behalf of a high-ranking federal education official who is a leader at the school.
Staff from the state Department of Public Instruction this week presented reports alleging conflict of interest violations involving the spending of state and federal dollars at Children’s Village Academy in Kinston. Many of the questions revolved around money exchanged between the school and its board vice chair Peggy Carr, who is also commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics.
Specific concerns include Carr getting $155,000 in interest payments on a $188,000 loan she gave the school 15 years ago. Other allegations include the school improperly using taxpayer dollars to reimburse Carr for furniture and utility bills for a home she owns and rents to the school in the summer….
In 2008, Carr gave the school a $188,000 loan that is still being repaid. DPI says there was inadequate documentation of the loan , resulting in misstatement of the school’s finances because it wasn’t listed as being a liability..
McFadden said that Carr has been paid back, with interest, $314,000. But by the time the loan is fully repaid, McFadden said the school will have paid an estimated $155,505 in interest — $109,268 more than it was originally projected to repay.
“DPI is concerned with the legality and validity of the loan payments to date since there is no documentation or evidence that substantiates the CVA Board agreed to or understood the total amount to be paid including interest based on the annual decisions being made,” according to a DPI report.
In addition, DPI has questions about the $894 a month it says Children’s Village is paying to reimburse Carr for small business loans for buildings the school uses…
DPI identified $5,003 in “unallowable costs,” from the summer program, including $4,438 for furnishings that Carr purchased and requested reimbursement for at a house she partially owns in Kinston.
The school leases the home for two months a year for the summer program, DPI says. Items purchased included dining room tables, dining room chairs and decorative items such as a wall mirror, “colorful cows” and pillows. Some of the items were purchased in Maryland, where Carr lives, and shipped to Kinston.
“Per contracts for the property where the furnishings are used, the property is only used for 2 months out of the year,” according to a DPI report. “The furnishings in question are also not a reasonable purchase as they are typically found in a household, they are not furnishings typically found in an academic setting.”
In addition, DPI says the school paid the entire utility bill for the house for two summer months even though part of the property was used by an independent contractor who is related to Carr. That person is the school’s operations manager. A U-Haul business is also in that building.
Even after the summer program ended, DPI says the school paid the utility bills for the home. Altogether, DPI found $3,238 in unallowable utility costs that must be repaid….
DPI outlined a list of other questioned costs, including:
▪ A custodian was paid $17,000 in federal summer program grant month for July through September.
▪ A different custodian/bus driver who is married to the K-5 principal was paid $15,000 in federal grant dollars in July and August. The K-5 principal is also Carr’s sister.
▪ DPI found $8,877 in unallowable costs related to personal expenditures such as a tire replacement for the finance officer’s car, holiday gifts to employees, $500 gift cards to four employees and costs related to a daycare center operating on the campus. McFadden said the daycare owner is related to Carr.
Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article282963048.html#storylink=cpy
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Dr. Carr was a Sept. 2023 commencement speaker at HBCU Howard’s school of education. If the Observer’s report had been posted prior to her speech, a question could have been asked to Dr. Carr about the loss of economic multiplier effect when charter schools are advanced.
When those individuals associated with charter schools are given a platform at which they can promote charter schools, they negatively impact the future of democracy.
Education dollars represent a community’s commitment to children. There will always be those who seek to profit unfairly from the powerless. Systems like public school accountability limit losses to students, to communities and to taxpayers.
Those most responsible for harm caused are policy advocates that include
(1) law and education school faculty advancing charter schools,(2) elitist universities like Harvard where its privatization school of education and its Kennedy School of Government give voice to libertarian billionaires, (3) institutes like Koch’s Manhattan Institute and Fordham Institute, (4) Bill Gates, John Arnold, and the Waltons, and, (5) politicians like Cory Booker.
NPE and Diane Ravitch are American heroes for communities especially for those that are economically and politically powerless.
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TOTALLY AGREE WITH:
“Those most responsible for harm caused are policy advocates that include
(1) law and education school faculty advancing charter schools,(2) elitist universities like Harvard where its privatization school of education and its Kennedy School of Government give voice to libertarian billionaires, (3) institutes like Koch’s Manhattan Institute and Fordham Institute, (4) Bill Gates, John Arnold, and the Waltons, and, (5) politicians like Cory Booker.”
Charter Schools, like Vouchers, are sniveling snakes waiting to grab their preys.
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Will the religious charter schools advanced by Catholic university law professors (some of whom are Fellows at the Koch Manhattan Institute) provide opportunity for the same type of management? Church as recipient of government (tax) dollars intended for the community’s children who are religiously diverse or non-religious?
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Does Dr. Carr have ownership/ residence in 2 homes?
Internet sources describe Children’s Village Academy as enrolling 98% economically disadvantaged students.
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Salary.com- “National Center for Education Statistics…average salary of director, $187,747
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“Children’s Village Academy or ‘CVA’ is a public charter school, operated by the Children’s Village Academy Foundation, which is a nonprofit.
Some examples of the misuse listed in the report include a loan of $188,000 to the school by Vice Board Chair Peggy Carr. Carr, the report estimates, will have received $155,505 in interest from the loan once it’s paid off.”
“There’s also a property owned by Carr called the ‘technology center’ that was being rented and used by the school. DPI went to that property and found there was a top floor being used as a U-Haul business. They couldn’t find any documentation showing that CVA agreed to that. However, they were also paying the city for utility bills for both floors.”
“Another example was a reimbursement of $5,018.62 for loaded backpacks with school supplies. The report said there was no invoice or receipt showing that those items were actually purchased…”
https://www.witn.com/2023/12/14/kinston-charter-school-facing-fraud-accusations/
Peggy Carr has some explaining to do.
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Thanks for the additional information.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that charter schools are not public. In Ohio, that’s where the lies begin.
How many in the US DOE are engaged in similar transactions with charter schools? It would explain the department’s use of tax dollars in support of the indefensible.
Dr. Cardonna has some explaining to do
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Pres. Biden appointed Dr. Carr in Oct. , 2021
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Dr. Carr is a career civil servant. She worked at NCES when I was there in 1991-92.
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When a person advances to a director position in the US Dept. of Education, what he or she does has great impact on the reputation of the Senate-confirmed Secretary of the Department and, on the organization.
Scrutiny is imperative to protect the confidence of the public. If a similar promotion happened under DeVos’ watch, she would be accountable.
A simple question under oath should be asked of appointees. “What, if any, connection do you have to charter schools and religious schools, to non-profit and for-profit firms that provide services to governmental operations, at local, state, national and international levels?” Then, involvement should be investigated. To do less is to fail honest government. It is not the job of the Observer to uncover alleged actions like those in its reporting.
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The misuse and waste of taxpayer dollars that has resulted from this charter stain is profound. Will the American public ever wake up to understand that they are being taken by grifters of all stripes?
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Are charter schools in NC required to take the NAEP tests? My concern would be having someone who oversees the results of public schools but are involved with Charters which may not even take the tests, as commissioner. It seems like a conflict of interest to me!
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Usually, because they are publicly funded, charter schools DO have to administer the state tests to their students. Typically, administering these is a requirement for state funding. There are some exceptions. Private schools do not have to administer the state tests, typically, because they do not (usually, and until now) receive state funding. The Supremes seem poised to change this–to allow state funding of private schools generally and private religious schools in particular. This is unconstitutional, but constitutionality is no bar to decisions by this bunch of partisan hacks in robes. This happened in Nazi Germany, too. The Fascists “legitimized” what they were doing by installing Nazi judges.
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