March 2019
MAR 31, 2019 – Mass. has a message for Roxbury Prep: Lower your suspension rate
The charter school has the second highest out-of-school suspension rate in the state, with 21.1 percent of students receiving that punishment during the last school year. That’s far higher than the state average of 2.9 percent.
State education officials are also troubled that Roxbury Prep appears to be subjecting some student groups to more discipline than others, according to a memo released last month.
MAR 28, 2019 – Charter schools are starting to look a lot like payday lenders and for-profit colleges
The growing charter school industry is so scandalous there’s a daily hashtag for its problems: #AnotherDayAnotherCharterScandal.
But this week has been more of a doozy than usual.
MAR 27, 2019 – 2 Osceola County charter schools may close after superintendent finds ‘blatant mismanagement’
Two charter schools in Osceola County could have to close because of financial issues.
The superintendent is warning Avant Garde Academy that its charter agreements may not be renewed.
MAR 29, 2019 – Federal court rules Leland charter school’s dress code violates Constitution
In 2016, the parents of three students ages 5, 10, and 14 and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a filed a lawsuit against the school.
The lawsuit stated that wearing skirts restricts the students’ movement, inhibits them in school situations such as playing at recess or sitting on the floor, and causes them to feel uncomfortably cold during winter.
MAR 28, 2019 – Parents left looking for options after charter school closes
Parents are now seeking other arrangements for this fall.
“It’s challenging to find the right school for your kids, especially with the charter school system,” parent Elizabeth Behrens said. “If you have a child with special needs, a lot of the charter schools in the area don’t provide those things.”
MAR 28, 2019 – Small districts reap big profits by approving charter schools with little oversight
Court records detail how — methodically and rapidly — the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District began approving new charter schools. The first year, there were two. The next: 11. By 2017, the district, which operates only three schools of its own, had authorized 17 charter schools.
MAR 27, 2019 – Betsy DeVos calls for more charter schools even as they spark investigations across the country
After charters spread rapidly for a generation, under few rules or little oversight in many states, the pace of growth is slowing. Politicians call for more regulation for the schools, which use taxpayer money but have private operators. The political winds have shifted as well, killing the kind of bipartisan agreements that allowed charter schools to blossom.
MAR 26, 2019 – Six Memphis charter schools agree to morality clause with the Catholic Church in lease
The Compass Community Schools network signed a lease agreement that contains a clause agreeing not to teach anything that goes against the teachings of the Catholic Church.
MAR 27, 2019 – How a couple worked charter school regulations to make millions
But the couple have, in fact, made millions from their charter schools. Financial records show the Parkers’ schools have paid more than $800,000 annually to rent buildings the couple own. The charters have contracted out services to the Parkers’ nonprofits and companies and paid Clark Parker generous consulting fees, all with taxpayer money, a Times investigation found.
MAR 25, 2019 – Basis Charter Schools tells lenders it could tap parents’ donations to pay mounting debt
Basis Charter Schools Inc., the high-performing chain with long wait lists of students, each school year asks parents to contribute $1,500 per child to its teacher fund.
Those tax-deductible gifts — billed by Basis as a way to reward good teachers and raise pay overall — generate more than $5 million annually, records show.
MAR 22, 2019 – Easton charter school loses its third principal in less than two years
The first principal, Kenneth Hudlow, said he left for personal reasons. His resignation is noted in the minutes of the school board meeting Dec. 14, 2017.
The second principal, Susan Bostian, claims she was fired in retaliation for whistleblowing. Her lawsuit accuses Easton Arts Academy administrators of rigging grades, throwing out her employee evaluations and ignoring safety protocols.
MAR 22, 2019 – Polk charter school with troubled past in another controversy
A public charter school that is pulling a trail of troubles from its previous incarnation as a private school is now considering doing away with daily therapeutic services for the severely handicapped students it serves.
MAR 24, 2019 – In charter-renewal fight, Philadelphia School District ‘paying for both sides’
One of the city’s charter-school operators has moved money from one account to another without explanation: no loan agreements, no signatures — “a shell game,” in the words of a Philadelphia School District auditor.
MAR 21, APS says new evidence shows Vega charter school officials pressed teachers to lie about special ed troubles
Aurora Public Schools officials say the principal of a popular but embattled charter school told an employee to lie to district investigators in an attempt to get past a dispute over special education instruction endangering the school.
MAR 22, 2019 – Parents call for head of charter school to resign, allege mismanagement
A large contingent of parents and former parents of students at Coastal Preparatory Academy gathered to speak during the public comment period at the school board’s meeting Thursday.
MAR 21, 2019 – This Boise charter school faces risk of closure after years of mounting debt
Idaho’s Public Charter School Commission, responsible for regulating most Idaho charters, recommended The Village board plan for how to close the 490-student school in an orderly fashion, if they can’t rectify a perilous financial situation.
MAR 20, 2019 – Acclaimed BASIS charter schools nearly $44 million in the red, audit shows
The international charter chain, whose first campus opened in Tucson in 1998, lost nearly $12 million in net assets last fiscal year alone, according to an analysis from Arizonans for Charter School Accountability. BASIS rejects the report’s findings.
MAR 13, 2019 – St. Louis College Prep charter school to close after attendance investigation
The closure follows an investigation into falsified attendance records and a resulting drop in state funding. The school has some of the lowest test scores among St. Louis charter schools, with 24 percent of students proficient or advanced in English and 15 percent in math.
MAR 18, 2019 – Who Are the Students Attending Charter Schools With Low Graduation Rates?
The unexplained departure of a French language teacher who was related to the director of the Monument Academy and has a criminal record has some parents questioning the school’s hiring decisions.
In nearly 1,000 public high schools, less than half of all students graduate on time, according to a recent Education Week analysis of federal data.
MAR 13, 2019 – Former Employee Sues Olive Grove Charter School, Alleging Wrongful Termination
A wrongful-termination lawsuit filed by a former Olive Grove Charter School employee alleges the school’s leader misused public funds, had a romantic relationship with a school contractor, improperly hired one of her daughters, and changed another daughter’s grades.
MAR 14, 2019 – Parents And Teachers Fleeing Chicago Virtual Charter School Over Questionable Spending, Missing Curriculum
A charter school in College Park, Georgia, conducted an investigation after a teacher allegedly cursed at an eighth-grader and told her that if they were out on the “street,” she would “beat the f*** out of” her.
MAR 15, 2019 – Monument charter school’s hiring decisions questioned after unexplained departure of French teacher
The unexplained departure of a French language teacher who was related to the director of the Monument Academy and has a criminal record has some parents questioning the school’s hiring decisions.
MAR 15, 2019 – Southwest Key, Known for Migrant Shelters, Cashes In on Charter Schools
The operations of the charter schools, serving about 1,000 students, show how Southwest Key profits off public money, boosting compensation for charity leaders and stockpiling tens of millions of dollars.
MAR 15, 2019 – Teacher allegedly threatened honor roll student: ‘I would f*** you up’
A charter school in College Park, Georgia, conducted an investigation after a teacher allegedly cursed at an eighth-grader and told her that if they were out on the “street,” she would “beat the f*** out of” her.
MAR 13, 2019 – A virtual charter school ‘divorce’ leaves 2,400 students caught in the middle
More than 2,400 students are caught in the middle of a fight between one of North Carolina’s two virtual charter schools and the for-profit education company that receives millions of dollars a year to manage the school.
MAR 13, 2019 – St. Louis charter school to close
St. Louis College Prep, which operates a public charter middle school and high school, will close at the end of the current academic year.
MAR 12, 2019 – Singleton charter violated special education law again, school district says
The Orleans Parish school district has issued its most severe warning to James M. Singleton Charter School for the third time this school year for again violating federal and state special education law, officials say.
MAR 11, 2019 – A new story of school segregation in North Carolina: A private white-flight academy is turning charter
Last summer, the North Carolina legislature passed legislation permitting four towns with mostly white populations to create their own charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately operated.
MAR 11, 2019 – Syracuse may get 2 more charter schools as district sweats over costs
Two new charter high schools have been proposed in the Syracuse City School District, which says growth of the independent, publicly funded schools is hurting its finances.
MAR 11, 2019 – Embattled charter schools face new allegations from ex-teacher
A former teacher has sued Richard Allen Schools and their former management company, saying they withheld paychecks while “fraudulently” blaming the state, and failed to pay insurance premiums causing coverage to lapse, among other allegations.
MAR 07, 2019 – Charter school employee accused of charging $75K on school credit card at casino
A former business director at the Bradenton charter school Team Success is pleading not guilty to charges that she stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school and its management firm, according to a notice filed with the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court.
MAR 08, 2019 – Utah charter school ‘pillaged’ by fees after pursuing unusual path for financing
School board bond discussions are typically boring, but not when the person who handles all of Utah’s money drops a bomb.
State Treasurer David Damschen recently addressed the Utah State School Board. He told the members, when referring to a charter school who recently received a $12 million bond to buy its building it was leasing, “just right down the line, a little bit of a pillaging.”
MAR 09, 2019 – Sackler family opioid fortune backed CT charter schoolsTeachers Say DC Charter School Is Closing Over Union Efforts
Jonathan Sackler, one of the eight defendants listed in Healey’s lawsuit, donated millions to local charter schools and charter school advocacy groups, dating back at least 15 years but predominantly since 2013, through his private family foundation he has with wife, Mary Corson.
MAR 07, 2019 – Nashville charter school closing leaves 158 students without school, parents scrambling
Thursday afternoon, parents picked up their children from New Vision Academy Charter School in Nashville for the last time.
It’s closing leaves more than 150 students without a school in the middle of the year, and many parents scrambling for a new plan.
MAR 06, 2019 – Greeley charter school Salida del Sol Academy’s director resigns
Paul Kirkpatrick, former director of dual-language Greeley charter school Salida del Sol Academy, submitted his resignation to the school last week.
He is the third director to leave since the school’s opening in 2014.
MAR 08, 2019 – Teachers Say DC Charter School Is Closing Over Union Efforts
Teachers at the only unionized charter school in Washington, D.C., say the charter network is closing the school as retaliation against their unionization efforts.
The Washington Post reports the teachers filed a complaint Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board about the planned closure of Chavez Prep Middle in Columbia Heights.
MAR 06, 2019 – South Nashville charter school to close after violating fire codes
A Nashville charter school will be closing soon after officials said they have been investigating overcrowding issues.
New Vision Academy, located in south Nashville, has a maximum capacity of 94. There are currently 158 students enrolled.
MAR 06, 2019 – Ohio: Two-Thirds of Charter Schools Are Rated D or F, But Charter Industry Wants More Money
Would you put more money into a failing business?
If you were in charge of the charter industry, the answer is yes.
MAR 07, 2019 – At Arizona charter schools, parents with complaints or objections find nowhere to turn
The athletic director inappropriately touched their son, they said. And the school suspended Evan without proof he had been vaping, even though their son’s only prior disciplinary issues were for wearing torn jeans and chewing gum, they said.
MAR 06, 2019 – A new divide between charters and traditional public schools? | Editorial
Charter schools can be viewed through multiple lenses when comparing them to traditional public schools: academics, innovation, cost.
MAR 03, 2019 – Editorial: When charter schools shut down, home districts deserve what’s owed
There may be valid reasons for the lack of accounting for the funds in the budgets of some of Buffalo’s defunct charter schools. But with hundreds of thousands of dollars – all public money – at issue, there’s some explaining to do.
MAR 04, 2019 – Keys teachers protest over public school funds diverted to charter and private schools
Monroe County teachers stood outside their schools Monday morning to protest plans by the governor and Republicans in the state Legislature to divert more money from public schools to private and charter schools.
MAR 04, 2019 – Fate of Vanguard Classical charter school hinges on success, allegations of financial mismanagement, conflicts of interest
Aurora Public Schools board members are considering potential conflicts of interest and unaccounted for funds at a local charter school ahead of a vote next week deciding whether the school will remain open for two more years.
MAR 03, 2019 – State wants $2.2 million from superintendent and others; no audits of Richard Allen Schools filed in years.
The Richard Allen charter schools in Dayton and Hamilton are still being run by a person who was sued by the state attorney general 18 months ago for her role in misspending $2.2 million in school money.
MAR 01, 2019 – Potential Pulaski charter school provider under scrutiny in Oklahoma
The Pulaski County Special School District Board voted earlier this month to contract with Epic Charter Schools of Oklahoma to provide online K-12 schooling that would produce some dough for the district and charter operator, too. Oops. They are under investigation in Oklahoma.
MAR 01, 2019 – Dozens of students forced out of Nashville charter school after fire code violations
The Nashville charter school New Vision Academy has been violating city fire code by enrolling more students than the capacity allowed at the south Nashville church building where it rents space.
MAR 01, 2019 – Report: Philly charter schools serve more affluent, advantaged students than rest of district
Philadelphia’s charter schools serve a more affluent and advantaged population than do its traditional public schools, according to a new report
February 2019
FEB 27, 2019 – Investigation into Epic Charter Schools: Seven key points you need to know
As a new investigation has opened into Oklahoma’s statewide virtual charter school, lawmakers are also taking notice as an estimated $18 million in state and federal funds flow from virtual charter schools to for-profit management companies.
FEB 28, 2019 – Times² leader lost ‘hearts and minds of the school community,’ says R.I. League of Charter Schools
The Rhode Island League of Charter Schools said that the leader of Times² STEM Academy has lost the hearts and minds of the charter school’s teachers, students and parents. Although the league stopped short of calling for Rudy Moseley Jr.’s resignation, it said he no longer has credibility with his school community.
FEB 27, 2019 – State faults Success Academy, NYC education department for violating civil rights of students with disabilities
The charter network failed to provide required services to students, changed the special education placement of children without giving parents the opportunity for input, and refused to follow orders issued at special education administrative hearings, according to the state.
FEB 27, 2019 – People who regulate charter schools also make millions off them
State Sen. Lincoln Fillmore (Dist. 10) is one of the foremost experts on charter schools in the state legislature. That makes sense given that he runs Charter Solutions, a company that from 2015 to 2018 has collected $5.7 million in fees from charter schools.
FEB 17, 2019 – Bridges Public Charter School Dismisses Well-Loved Teacher Who Spoke Out
Koenig, one of the most highly-regarded teachers at her school by both parents and colleagues, says administrators told her they made the decision not based on her teaching quality or her dedication to students—both of which they acknowledged were strong. In 2016, Koenig was voted by Bridges teachers as “Best of Staff.”
FEB 26, 2019 – Former Toledo charter schools owe state $2 million
Two former Toledo charter schools owe the Ohio Department of Education more than $2 million combined for reporting incorrect student attendance data, according to the Ohio Auditor of State’s office.
Phoenix Academy owes ODE $2,099,555, and Polly Fox Academyowes $49,962.
FEB 25, 2019 – Troubled Indiana virtual schools poised to lose charters amid claims thousands of students weren’t put in classes
Two of the state’s largest, most troubled virtual schools were put on notice Monday night that their charters could be revoked after their authorizer alleged that thousands of enrolled students went semesters or sometimes years without earning any credits or even signing up for classes.
FEB 21, 2019 – Pasco County school superintendent moves to close charter school
Pasco County schools superintendent Kurt Browning has followed through with his plan to shut down Pasco MYcroSchool, informing the charter school’s leaders he intended to terminate its operating agreement for cause at a May 21 School Board meeting.
The key failures listed by Browning included a lack of progress in attaining adequate student achievement and reckless misuse of public funds.
FEB 23, 2019 – Cyber charter school costs are under the microscope
Tiffany Nix, superintendent of Leechburg Area schools, watched in frustration for years as hundreds of thousands of dollars went out the doors of her small, cash-strapped district with families who enrolled their children in cyber charter schools.
“We were paying $13,000 to $24,000 a year for each of them. It comes to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year out of a budget of $15 million,” Nix said.
FEB 19, 2019 – Audit: Former Columbus charter school overstated attendance
A short-lived Columbus charter school improperly over reported its attendance and could not document a cash withdrawal of $806, according to an audit by the office of Ohio Auditor Keith Faber.
First Time Learners Academy, which operated for less than five months in 2013, was ordered to repay $7,735 to the Ohio Department of Education for claiming state funds for more students than enrolled, the audit found.
FEB 22, 2019 – Arizona charter school founder spent school money in Hawaii and on ‘spiritual healers’
“Too numerous to list.”
That’s how a federal trustee described the number of suspicious purchases an alternative charter school founder made with taxpayer funds.
Trish McCarty ran StarShine Academy, a Phoenix alternative charter school, up until last year when the Arizona State Board For Charter Schools shut it down for “egregious” financial mismanagement.
FEB 18, 2019 – R.I. charter school Times² failing to deliver, state finds
A local charter school with STEM in its title has come under fire by the state Department of Education for not offering a rigorous and well-designed selection of science courses.
The acronym stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
FEB 19, 2019 – Aurora school board votes to close new charter school, saying it failed students with special needs
Vega Collegiate Academy must close at the end of the school year after the Aurora school board determined the charter was failing to educate properly students with special needs.
The board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the district’s recommendation to revoke the school’s charter.
FEB 19, 2019 – A top D.C. charter school faces federal review over discipline practices
One of the District’s highest-performing charter schools is under federal investigation amid allegations it more harshly disciplines African American students.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights launched a probe into potentially biased discipline practices at BASIS DC — a middle and high school in downtown Washington with a long waiting list.
FEB 19, 2019 – Arizona charter school chain racked up big debt to expand. Now 5,600 kids face uncertainty
The Arizona charter school chain Edkey Inc. began eyeing expansion in 2013.
In addition to schools that focus on the arts, dual-language learning, college prep and online education, Edkey executives wanted to keep serving more of the students other big charter operators were overlooking: deaf students, those in rural areas, homeless kids and refugees.
FEB 19, 2019 – Charter schools exploit lucrative loophole that would be easy to close
While critics charge that charter schools are siphoning money away from public schools, a more fundamental issue frequently flies under the radar: the questionable business practices that allow people who own and run charter schools to make large profits.
Charter school supporters are reluctant to acknowledge, much less stop, these practices.
FEB 16, 2019 – A top D.C. charter school faces federal review over discipline practices
One of the District’s highest-performing charter schools is under federal investigation amid allegations it more harshly disciplines African American students.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights launched a probe into potentially biased discipline practices at BASIS DC — a middle and high school in downtown Washington with a long waiting list.
FEB 14, 2019 – Camden Academy student told to remove Nigerian head wrap
A student at Camden Academy Charter High and her mother are enraged after the school told the girl to remove her Nigerian head wrap because it was in violation of the school’s uniform policy.
Geniah Miller says that she was approached by the school’s principal and was questioned about the head dress. When she explained the meaning behind the garment she was told to remove it.
FEB 16, 2019 – State pulls charter of troubled Little Rock school
The state Board of Education on Friday voted to immediately revoke Covenant Keepers College Preparatory School’s state-issued charter after learning that unauthorized withdrawals from the school’s bank account had left the school’s sponsor without enough money to operate.
FEB 14, 2019 – Surprise: Add missing money to woes of problem-plagued charter school once run by Valerie Tatum
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports today that a would-be charter school operator in Little Rock says his job’s been made more difficult by the discovery that Valerie Tatum, the former leader of Covenant Keepers College Preparatory Charter School had, in recent days, drained more than $188,000 from an account necessary to operate the school.
FEB 13, 2019 – Man extradited from Spain faces charges in Santa Ana charter school embezzlement case
More than a decade ago, an audit uncovered that the executive director of a Santa Ana charter school had funneled millions in state funds to several businesses he owned.
After being extradited from Spain, Emilio Vazquez arrived in Orange County recently to face decade-old felony charges that include misappropriation of public funds, forgery and grand theft, the Orange County district attorney’s office said Wednesday.
FEB 13, 2019 – PiSA charter school administrator Dan Neddo addresses dozens of allegations in Kuna
Close to 30 allegations ranging from inappropriate conduct to not fulfilling job duties have been brought up against a Kuna charter school administrator. Dan Neddo, who was put on administrative leave for a second time in December, addressed those allegations Thursday, Feb. 7, in a hearing.
FEB 11, 2019 – SYVUHSD says charter school funding could bankrupt the district
One Santa Barbara County school district says keeping a local charter school open could cause them to go bankrupt.
California’s Department of Education recently decided the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District has to help fund Olive Grove Charter School, a public school with six different locations.
FEB 07, 2019 – Arizona’s charter school board spends $4K a month on crisis PR expert
After a year of stunning revelations about charter school owners who are making millions off of their publicly funded schools, we now know how the state board that (sorta) oversees charter schools has responded.
FEB 06, 2019 – Number don’t lie on charter schools
The argument that Alma is academically superior just doesn’t hold water; it is simply attracting and accepting students who require fewer resources while failing to teach them effectively and depriving our starving public schools of vital funding.
FEB 07, 2019 – Investigation into local charter schools
The Blackfoot Charter Community Learning Center and Bingham Academy are being investigated for allegations of financial mismanagement. The state charter school commission was in town Thursday asking questions.
FEB 07, 2019 – Former Alma d’Arte employees and ex-business manager charged with embezzlement
Two former employees of the Alma d’Arte Charter High School were charged Monday with multiple felonies stemming from a New Mexico State Police investigation last fall into fraud and embezzlement at the school.
FEB 07, 2019 – Charter Schools Are Pushing Public Education to the Brink
When striking Los Angeles teachers won their demand to call for a halt to charter school expansions in California, they set off a domino effect, and now teachers in other large urban districts are making the same demand.
FEB 05, 2019 – Pittsburgh Christian Academy Tries to Become a Charter School to Cash in on Taxpayer Funding
The line between public and private school is getting awfully thin in Pittsburgh.
City public school directors received a request from Imani Christian Academy, a religious school in the East Hills, to be allowed to transform into Imani Academy Charter School for the Fall term of 2019.
FEB 04, 2019 – Charter Schools: The Issue is Not Student Scores on High-Stakes Standardized Tests Produced by Big Business
Charter school supporters and promoters have long been severely obsessed with comparing charter school and public school students’ scores on expensive curriculum-narrowing high-stakes standardized tests produced by big corporations.
FEB 04, 2019 – Second thoughts about charter schools
Initially, charter schools appear to be exactly what is needed to correct problems facing Kansas’ schools, and some school reformers advocate for the 2019 legislature to approve broadening the charter school statute.
Yet, examination of the effects of loosening charter regulations reveals genuine flaws that need restraint.
FEB 04, 2019 – Charter school parents press for details on director’s departure
Two weeks after the sudden departure of the Coastal Montessori Charter School director Nathalie Hunt, parents and staff asked the school’s board this week for details. About 30 people attended the charter board’s meeting.
FEB 02, 2019 – Charter Schools Are Not Public Schools
Why do charter schools and their boosters insist on using the term “public”? Here’s what Todd Ziebarth, senior vice president at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, told Emma Brown of the Washington Post as he argued that charters are public schools.
FEB 01, 2019 – Charter reform? Bill to rein in charter operators has big exemptions for major players
Legislation introduced by an influential Republican state senator would require charter schools to disclose more about their finances. But the bill contains a large loophole that would allow the state’s biggest chains like Basis Charter Schools and Great Hearts Academies to avoid revealing how they spend their money.
FEB 01, 2019 – Taken For a Ride: Charter school bus firms cutting corners to save money
Public records the station collected from 90 New Orleans area charter schools showed the independent charter school operators generally lack control over their school bus vendors, leading to major safety violations and disturbing incidents.
January 2019
JAN 28, 2019 – Utah college has no record it sold modulars to Idaho charter school administrator
Salt Lake Community College has no documentation of modulars sold to Idaho charter school administrator Fred Ball, though Ball’s Blackfoot-based school reimbursed him $16,000 for their purchase.
JAN 31, 2019 – How Do Arizona’s Charter Schools Get Away With Swindling Students and Fleecing Taxpayers?
Do you know how many charter schools have come and gone over the past 25 years? Don’t feel bad; the State of Arizona doesn’t know, either.
JAN 30, 2019 – Why aren’t Montgomery’s charter schools following the rules?
There is a process in place to approve charter schools in Alabama.
And somehow, Montgomery continues to get charter schools approved without following it.
JAN 22, 2019 – St. Louis College Prep Under Investigation For Fraud
St. Louis College Prep has lost tens of thousands of dollars in state funding amidst an investigation into whether the charter school’s founder over-reported attendance records.
JAN 28, 2019 – Nonprofits allege charter school faked their support
The state education department is investigating whether the director of a charter school proposed for a former mill building on Merrimack Street faked letters from several local nonprofit agencies professing their support for the state license needed to open the school.
JAN 27, 2019 – Pennsylvania’s failure to oversee cyber charter schools has wide consequences
The majority of cyber charter schools in the state are operating with expired charters. This is the latest black mark in a history of “reform” in the state designed to expand educational choices but, despite some bright spots, has been marked by large-scale indifference and neglect from the state.
JAN 21, 2019 – Are charter school building leases fleecing Ohio taxpayers?
For-profit management companies are receiving rents from the Ohio charter schools they operate that are significantly higher than rents of comparable buildings in the same area, according to a report released by former state auditor Dave Yost.
JAN 25, 2019 – LA teachers make the case that charter schools are an existential threat to public education
Latona teachers I spoke with described competition from surrounding charter schools as an existential threat to their school and an undermining influence on the public system.
JAN 24, 2019 – Bradenton charter school bookkeeper suspected of theft
Melissa Tapia, the former bookkeeper at Team Success charter school, is suspected of stealing more than $340,000 from the school and its management firm, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
JAN 25, 2019 – Langston Hughes Academy Ordered Closed By State
The State Board of Education voted Thursday to close a troubled Tulsa charter school at the end of this school year. In mid-2018 the State Department of Education received a tip that administrators at Langston Hughes Academy were tampering with students’ grades.
JAN 22, 2019 – State audit closes book on $44,000 theft by DECA charter school worker
The state audit released Tuesday found $44,725 in improper credit card purchases between January 2010 and February 2017 by Cynthia Shoemaker, the former assistant to the schools’ treasurer.
JAN 23, 2019 – Unusual framework leaves Utah charter school in financial trouble
The audit discovered that almost half of AISU’s transactions — $125,000 worth — didn’t have backing receipts, purchase orders or invoices.
JAN 22, 2019 – Michigan online charter school founder charged with embezzling more than $100,000
Embezzlement charges were issued against the founder of an online charter school with offices in Saginaw and Grand Rapids after Michigan State Police launched an investigation into fraudulent practices.
JAN 22, 2019 – Catasauqua schools must be reimbursed for defunct charter school’s pension obligations, court rules
Catasauqua Area School District is not liable for a defunct charter school’s unpaid pension payments for teachers and must be reimbursed, a state court has ruled.
JAN 21, 2019 – What Happens When A Charter School Closes?
Eight year-old MacKenzie Whistler had a rough start to her Christmas break. She had just found out that she would not be returning to her new school, Global Achievers School in Rocky Mount, this January.
JAN 19, 2019 – Second executive at L.A. charter schools network Celerity charged with conspiracy, making false statements
The former chief executive of the Los Angeles-based charter school network Celerity Educational Group has been charged with conspiracy to misappropriate and embezzle public funds
JAN 18, 2019 – Beyond the Books: Charter schools spend millions on advertising
Trent Young says he was stunned on a Friday afternoon when the director of the school for which he worked, Utah Career Path High School, asked he and other teachers to hang up a bunch of glossy posters advertising the school.
JAN 17, 2019 – Principal of New Haven charter school quits after video surfaces
One of the top rated charter schools in the country, New Haven’s Achievement First Amistad High School, is under scrutiny again for going too far with discipline.
JAN 17, 2019 – Tulsa World editorial: Time to scrutinize funding to virtual charter schools
Virtual charter schools continue taking up a larger share of the overall public education budget at the expense of traditional brick-and-mortar schools.
JAN 15, 2019 – Ethics probe: Charter school leader wanted to hire family members
In the October settlement agreement, Gilbert-Mosley admitted that she violated ethics laws by authorizing employment contracts with her daughter and mother.
JAN 15, 2019 – Chancellor of shuttered Española charter school facing new sexual misconduct lawsuit
The chancellor of a now-shuttered charter school in Española is facing a second lawsuit in less than a year alleging sexual misconduct.
JAN 14, 2019 – In Pa., most cyber charter schools operate with expired state agreements
Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School enrolled nearly 2,600 students last year, several hundred more than it did in 2012. That’s the year the cyber school’s charter expired.
JAN 13, 2019 – Lower state report card grades open door for massive expansion of vouchers, charter schools
Tougher state tests and lower grades for schools and districts across Ohio have opened the doors for a potentially massive expansion of vouchers and charter schools.
JAN 07, 2019 – Charter school reacts to sending students to unlicensed tutoring facility
Turns out the center which had been operating out of a row home on Minnesota Avenue, SE for at least a year never had business license.
JAN 10, 2019 – Charter school hired principal with criminal past, then fired him for sexual harassment
The allegations against Green include a shocking audio recording, made by former William J. Fischer social studies teacher Lindsay Garcia, who claims Green is the man in the recording telling her he wants to “snatch up, kidnap, subdue… someone we both know.”
JAN 10, 2019 – 2 Goodyear charter school employees indicted in $2.2M fraud case
Two former employees of a now-closed charter school in Goodyear were indicted for fraud Wednesday, months after the former director pleaded guilty to conspiracy and theft.
JAN 10, 2019 – Report: More than 100 Arizona charter schools are in danger of closing
More than 100 charter schools in Arizona are in danger of closing, due to financial mismanagement, declining enrollment, and mounting debt.
JAN 09, 2019 – Ex-basketball coach at Chicago charter high school charged with sexually assaulting 2 girls
A basketball coach at a charter school on Chicago’s West Side has been charged with sexually assaulting and molesting two underage female team members on repeated occasions at the school and elsewhere.
JAN 08, 2019 – Many SC charter schools are racially imbalanced, triggering investigations
Most South Carolina public charter schools do not reflect the racial makeup of the school districts where they are located, according to student headcounts from the 2017-18 school year.
JAN 07, 2019 – UPDATE: Three Northwest Indiana charter schools warned of financial concerns in state audits
A series of independent audits made public at the end of 2018 by the Indiana State Board of Accounts warned of financial stress in three Lake County charter schools.
JAN 05, 2019 – Chino Valley Unified: County school board had conflicts of interest in charter school vote
According to Chino Valley Unified staff, at least two county school board members had conflicts of interest that should have kept them from voting on the proposed charter school on Dec. 3.
JAN 02, 2019 – This Indiana virtual charter school graduated just 2 percent of its students in 2018
One of the state’s largest and most controversial virtual charter schools graduated a smaller percentage of students than nearly every other public school in the state in 2018, new state data shows.
JAN 03, 2019 – DC mom blows whistle on unlicensed business serving charter school students
Questions remain unanswered on how an unlicensed alternative charter school was able to operate in D.C. while taking in special needs students from at least six different charter schools.
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