Archives for category: Gulen Charter Schools
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Dan Mihalopoulos: Two Years After FBI Raids, Gulen Schools in Illinois Still Funded by Taxpayers

By dianeravitch
July 10, 2016 //
15

Dan Mihalopoulos of the Chicago Sun-Times followed up on an important story: Two years ago, the FBI raided the offices of Concept Schools, which runs charter schools in Illinois. They also raided one of its charters.

Chicago Public Schools’ officials were aware of the raid, and they exchanged emails about what to do. They decided to do nothing.

More than two years since the FBI raids brought the still-ongoing federal investigation involving Concept to light, the charter operator has continued to do business with contractors identified in court documents as allegedly having been involved in defrauding a U.S. Department of Education grant program, records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times show.

The charter-management organization — which runs four taxpayer-funded charter schools in Chicago and dozens more across the Midwest — has paid more than $519,000 since the raids to companies federal authorities said were involved in the corruption probe and their subsidiaries, according to documents the newspaper obtained from individual Concept schools.

There has been no correspondence between CPS and Concept Schools — which gets millions of taxpayer dollars a year to operate its Chicago schools — regarding the federal probe, according to CPS and the charter operator.

A CPS spokeswoman declined to comment Friday, citing the ongoing investigation.

Three years ago, Mihalopolous investigated the number of trips to Turkey that Illinois legislators have taken, paid for by the Gulen organization. Michael Madigan, Speaker of the House. is the Gulenists’ best friend in Illinois.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Education Reform, Gulen Charter Schools, Privatization

Jersey Jazzman: Why Does Chris Christie Love the Gulen Schools?

By dianeravitch
July 2, 2016 //
10

Jersey Jazzman noticed that Governor Chris Christie has been visiting Gulen charter schools. Governor Christie once represented Edison Schools, so there is no question that he likes privatization as a “solution” to the ills of urban education.

If you want to get the lowdown on Gulen charter schools, read Sharon Higgins or see Mark Hall’s film “Killing Ed.” (See here).

JJ finds it odd that Christie has an affinity for Gulen charter schools.

JJ writes:

There are times when I am astonished that the press doesn’t pick up on a particular story. For example: according to activists on Facebook, Chris Christie is having a private meeting tomorrow, June 30, 2016, at Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology.

If this is the case, it will be the third time since this spring that Chris Christie has visited a charter school linked to the controversial Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish expatriate living in seclusion in the United States.

On May 16, Christie visited Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School in Franklin. Two days later, he trekked to Bergen Arts & Sciences Charter School in Hackensack. Thomas Edison, Bergen A&S, and Paterson Science & Tech have all been linked by the Gulen Charter Schools website to the Gulenist movement in the US.

As I’ve written previously, the proliferation of Gulenist charter schools is not some wild-eyed conspiracy theory: it’s been reported on by CBS News, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Wall St. Journal. These schools, all linked to Gulen’s movement, have been popping up all over the country and are the subject of concerns expressed by the federal State Department due to their use of H1B visas to admit Turkish nationals into the US.

Given how closely tied Christie is to Donald Trump — who wants a ban on Muslims entering the country (although even he doesn’t seem to understand his own plan) — I can’t understand why no one in the state press has pursued this story. Why is Christie praising so many Gulen-linked charters? Why is he visiting so many of them?

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Gulen Charter Schools, New Jersey, Privatization

Texas: Lawyer for Turkish Government Files Lawsuit Against Gulen Schools

By dianeravitch
May 25, 2016 //
22

Robert Amsterdam, who was hired by the Turkish government to investigate the US charter school chain of imam Fethullah Gulen, filed a lawsuit against the Harmony schools in Texas. The lawsuit calls on the Texas Education Agency to investigate these schools for illegal practices.

 

Gulen charter schools operate under many different names. It is one of the largest charter chains in the nation, with 155 schools, all publicly funded. Typically, a Gulen charter has a board that is made up of mostly Turkish men, as well as many Turkish teachers. It is strange to have “public schools” operated by foreign nationals. How do they teach the duties of American citizenship –a prime responsibility of public schools–when they are not citizens?

 

Amsterdam’s law firm issued the following statement:

 

 

“The law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP has filed a formal Complaint against Harmony Public Schools (Harmony), urging the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to conduct a full investigation into Harmony based on documented abuses suggesting a wide-spread pattern of fraud, discrimination, and abuse in the Harmony network.

 

 

“Harmony – which is financed by over $250 million federal and state tax dollars annually – operates seven open-enrollment charter school districts serving forty-six charter campuses in Texas. The Complaint sets out numerous substantiated violations of laws and regulations designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship of public resources.

 

“According to the Complaint, Harmony engages in illegal employment discrimination on the basis of national origin and gender, preference and selection of affiliated vendors in violation of open and competitive bidding requirements, and misuse of public education funds.

 

 

“The TEA has a responsibility to taxpayers to ensure that public education dollars are used solely for their intended purpose,” said Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP. “Our own limited investigation reveals that Harmony uses taxpayer funds to finance an illegal H1-B visa scheme that places underqualified Turkish teachers into key positions in its schools, while simultaneously underpaying its more qualified non-Turkish teachers. We have also learned that Harmony misappropriates public funds by routinely engaging in improper self-dealing transactions with affiliated vendors, which has the further effect of preventing local businesses from competing for contracts at Harmony schools.”

 

 

“Harmony has been the subject of federal and state investigations in recent years, with findings including poor financial controls, misuse of federal program funds for special education and Title I, and significant underrepresentation of English-language learners and students with special needs in Harmony schools. As those investigations did not examine Harmony’s employment, procurement, or business practices, the Complaint formally requests that the TEA conduct a comprehensive investigation into Harmony to ensure that these past legal violations have been rectified and that its ongoing practices are consistent with the law. The TEA and Commissioner have broad authority to monitor and investigate Harmony, and the Complaint submits that the Commissioner should conduct an investigation now in light of Harmony’s aggressive expansion plans to open up to fifteen new campuses in Texas over the next two years.

 

 

“The Complaint also asserts that Harmony and many of its directors, employees, and related vendors are connected to the Gülen Organization, a network of schools and affiliated businesses headed by Fethullah Gülen, a reclusive Turkish cleric residing in Saylorsville, Pennsylvania. “We believe that Harmony’s ill-gotten gains are funneled to the Gülen Organization, which uses them to enrich itself and to expand its political influence in the United States, Turkey and dozens of other countries around the world,” said Amsterdam. “My firm is submitting this Complaint in its own name, without any of the numerous Texas taxpayers who support the Complaint, owing to the Gülen Organization’s standard practice of harassing and intimidating anyone who speaks out against it.”

 

 

“Amsterdam & Partners LLP – an international law firm with offices in London and Washington, DC – acts for the Republic of Turkey, and is conducting a global investigation into the alleged illegal activities of the Gülen Organization. Additional information about Amsterdam & Partners LLP is available at http://www.guleninvestigation.com.”

 

 

Categories Charter Schools, Gulen Charter Schools

BREAKING NEWS: Lawsuit Filed Against Magnolia Charter Chain in California

By dianeravitch
February 16, 2016 //
11

A lawsuit has been filed against the Gulen-affiliated Magnolia charter chain in California. 
The plaintiffs accuse the chain of significant financial improprieties. 
“The complaint calls for a comprehensive investigation by the State Department of Education. It cites findings made last year by the state in an audit of Magnolia including that 69% of Magnolia’s financial transactions were unaccounted for; that Magnolia routinely awards large contracts to vendors that have overlapping connections with their own employees and board of directors; and that Magnolia has illegally used hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to pay for visas for Turkish nationals.
“The complaint states that all three of these activities are hallmarks of Gülen charters. Magnolia has denied ties to Gülen, an organization under investigation by the Turkish and United States governments.  
“Magnolia is headed by Caprice Young, former president of the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and founder of the powerful lobby, the California Charter Schools Association. Under Young’s leadership, Magnolia runs 11 schools, including eight in LAUSD, and recently submitted petitions for eight more schools in Anaheim, LAUSD, Garden Grove, Fremont, and Oceanside. The complaint states that if all eight charter schools were to be approved, the cost to the state of California would be in the billions of dollars.”

Categories California, Charter Schools, Education Reform, For-Profit, Funding, Gulen Charter Schools, Hoax

Illinois: Gulen Schools Under Investigation for Fraud of Millions

By dianeravitch
December 18, 2015 //
10

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that federal investigators are probing the finances of politically-connected Gulen schools in Illinois.

“A clout-heavy charter-school firm that operates four taxpayer-funded schools in Chicago is suspected of defrauding the government by funneling more than $5 million in federal grants to insiders and “away from the charter schools,” according to court records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

“No criminal charges have been filed in the ongoing investigation of Des Plaines-based Concept Schools, which has built a network of powerful supporters, including Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.

“According to the newly obtained court documents filed by law-enforcement authorities, the company, its contractors and “many” of its privately run, taxpayer-financed charter schools across the Midwest “engaged in a scheme to defraud a federal program….

“Concept has 30 schools in Illinois and five other states, including four Chicago Public Schools-funded campuses with a total of about 2,200 students. CPS funds them under school-choice laws that provide for government funding of certain privately operated schools….

“Concept president Sedat Duman signed E-Rate certification forms for schools, court records show. They also show Stephen Draviam, a computer consultant in Ohio, told investigators he was picked to do grant-funded work for Concept’s schools without having to submit written bids.

“Huseyin “Shane” Ulker, as Concept’s chief information officer, “established an invoicing scheme” involving Draviam’s company, passing along E-Rate funds to three businesses found to be “affiliated with” Ulker, according to the court records.

“Ulker deposited money into the account of one of the three companies before “a wire transfer of $20,000 was made to a bank account at the Bank of Asya in Turkey,” wrote Geoffrey Wood, the special agent from the federal Education Department’s inspector general’s office who filed the search-warrant affidavit.

“Founded in 1999 by Turkish immigrants, Concept has ties to the influential Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who now lives in Pennsylvania and is wanted in his native Turkey after falling out with that country’s leader.”

Remind me why it is okay for foreign nationals to operate community public schools.

Categories Charter Schools, Gulen Charter Schools, Illinois
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