February, 2020
FEB 29, 2020 – Oklahoma Watch: Epic Charter School grads less likely to enroll in college
In a five-month investigation, Oklahoma Watch found that fewer than 1 in 5 of Epic’s 2019 graduates enrolled in a public Oklahoma college or university last fall. Its rate was lower than rates for all of the state’s 10 largest school districts, according to an Oklahoma Watch analysis of education data.
FEB 27, 2020 – Fraud investigator will comb through Easton charter school finances
The Easton Arts Academy Elementary Charter School board hired a fraud investigator Thursday to review the school’s finances.
Board President Michelle Zattoni said Fraud Forensic Investigations LLC will perform a comprehensive review of the school’s ledgers.
FEB 26, 2020 – Students at Colorado Springs charter school walk out to protest safety concerns
Airing several complaints, a group of students at CIVA Charter Academy walked out of classes Wednesday and called for an outside investigation of operations, finances and practices.
FEB 26, 2020 – Public oversight of Michigan charter schools inadequate, report says
Public oversight of Michigan’s charter schools needs to be strengthened to ensure tax dollars are spent productively and that students are well-served, says a new report by a nonprofit public affairs research group.
FEB 24, 2020 – DC charter school administrator facing sexual abuse charge, placed on leave
According to court documents, an assistant principal at Rocketship Rise Academy in Southeast D.C. has been charged with felony sexual abuse, yet according to sources, he was working inside the school until Monday.
FEB 24, 2020 – Charter school employee pleads guilty of scam
Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Harold Cadiz pleaded guilty Friday, Feb. 14, to reporting false student enrollment at the Bradley Academy of Excellence in Goodyear, also known as Discovery Creemos Academy.
FEB 24, 2020 – Budget turmoil at Philly’s second-largest charter school — but officials keep quiet about why
Philadelphia’s second-largest charter school has a large budget deficit, a CEO on leave, and some sort of problem related to the identification of special education students.
FEB 22, 2020 – OSBI to investigate Dove Charter Schools
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation will open an investigation into Dove Charter Schools officials, which have been accused of illegally accessing and sharing confidential student information.
FEB 23, 2020 – ‘Our kids have become a piggy bank’: Epic Charter Schools shields $50M in taxpayer funds from public scrutiny
On top of a 10% cut of every dollar of revenue, Epic Charter Schools is paying its for-profit management company millions more in taxpayer dollars every year for school expenditures that are never audited and which Epic claims are shielded from public scrutiny.
FEB 19, 2020 – Texas Education Agency closes Cleburne charter school with one week’s notice
Kauffman Leadership Academy was founded four years ago and has around 100 students enrolled.
State leaders said the school is failing both academically and financially.
FEB 20, 2020 – State board says City on a Hill Charter School could be put on probation, consolidated
The beleaguered City on a Hill Charter School, which closed its New Bedford location and reconfigured its two Boston locations midway through this school year, could now shrink even further and be placed on probation, per recommendations from the state education department.
FEB 18, 2020 – Chartered: Florida is No. 2 in the country for charter school closures
10investigates discovered charter schools are closing their doors just as fast as they are opening. As of 2019, 409 charter schools are closed.
FEB 18, 2020 – 3rd Arizona charter school executive pleads guilty in $2.5M enrollment scheme
Joann Vega is the third executive at the now-closed Discovery Creemos Academy to enter a guilty plea for false reporting of student attendance that cost taxpayers $2.5 million. Vega faces up to 8.75 years in prison.
FEB 16, 2020 – Man Pleads Guilty For Charter School Theft
A Sherman Oaks man plead guilty on Friday, February 14 for what has been called the largest charter school theft in California history.
FEB 15, 2020 – Charter School Employee Pleads Guilty To Stealing Close To $2.2 Million From The Government
Harold Cadiz helped the Bradley Academy charter school in Goodyear create more than 450 fake students, in an effort to increase funding.
FEB 14, 2020 Arizona charter school principal pleads guilty in $2.5 million enrollment scheme
Arizona charter school principal pleads guilty in $2.5 million enrollment scheme
FEB 13, 2020 – State Board of Education directs closure of online charter school
The Colorado State Board of Education has directed the Douglas County School District to revoke the charter for HOPE Online Learning Academy Elementary School.
FEB 12, 2020 – Two virtual schools defrauded Indiana of $68 million and funneled more to execs
A special investigation into malfeasance by Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy found that the schools inappropriately received more than $68.7 million collectively.
FEB 13, 2020 – Struggling NC charter school on ‘life support’; state officials could soon pull the plug
That assessment was directed at leaders of Essie Mae Foxx Charter School in the Rowan County town of East Spencer. The school has struggled on all fronts since it opened in August 2018.
FEB 11, 2020 – UPDATED: Epic charter school penalized $530K for excessive administrative costs
Epic One on One virtual charter school has been penalized more than $530,000 for exceeding the state limit on administrative spending, a limit imposed by state statute meant to keep the bulk of state education funding in the classroom.
FEB 11, 2020 – Bank buys Dayton charter school property for $590K
With a go-ahead from a bankruptcy court, a Delaware bank recently bought the property of a Dayton charter school — owned by a bankrupt charter school operator — for nearly $600,000.
FEB 08, 2020 – The inconvenient truth about charter ‘success’: They weed out students; traditional public schools must teach all
Though charters are open to all by lottery, as a group they enroll a significantly smaller percentage than public schools of our neediest children, such as English language learners, special education students or those from the poorest families.
FEB 07, 2020 – ‘Build a wall’: State puts Odyssey Charter under formal review after ‘discriminatory’ remarks
The Charter School Accountability Committee will now be tasked with determining whether Odyssey Charter has violated the terms of its charter and probationary conditions of its charter renewal.
FEB 07, 2020 – Online charter school faces laundry list of violations
Pleasant Valley School District approved a notice of violation last week, giving Peak Prep Pleasant Valley 30 days to fix contractual and legal violations, including leasing teachers from an outside company and mismanaging funds.
FEB 06, 2020 – Epic’s financial web includes related companies, organizations
The connection between Epic and Five Points Technology is just one example of how some of the state funding sent to Epic moves to companies and nonprofits managed by Epic staff or individuals with close ties to the virtual charter school, according to a review of tax records, audits and invoices by The Frontier.
FEB 06, 2020 – Charter school backlash shows why oversight is needed in Texas
IDEA Public Schools recently cancelled a multimillion-dollar lease for a private jet and San Antonio Spurs tickets after a wave of negative backlash. State officials should dig a bit deeper to ensure IDEA and other charter management organizations, or CMOs, operating in Texas are behaving ethically and in the best interest of all Texas students.
FEB 04, 2020 – State will close Jersey City charter school campus, report says
M.E.T.S. Charter School, which has one campus in Newark and one in the Jersey City Heights, has suffered from poor performance, high turnover, and a disruptive classroom atmosphere, according to a letter from state Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet, which was obtained by Chalkbeat.
FEB 04, 2020 – Former Charter School Finance Officer Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud
A Hilo woman pleaded guilty in federal court to wire fraud by embezzling funds from the charter school where she worked. Kelaukila Estabilio, 39, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 19, 2020, before US District Judge Derrick K. Watson.
FEB 03, 2020 – Alabama looks to shut down controversial charter school before it opens
Today’s vote by the Alabama Public Charter School Commission denied a request by Woodland Prep officials to extend the deadline to obtain a certificate of occupancy for the school. That denial opened the door for the Commission to begin revocation procedures.
FEB 3, 2020 – Dehesa says Inspire charter schools corporation appears to be skirting transparency laws
Dehesa says the corporation, called Inspire District Office, is a charter management organization and therefore is subject to such laws. The corporation, which has ties to charter schools around the state serving more than 36,000 students, denies that.
FEB 02, 2020 – Ohio charter-school-bonus loophole needs closing – for good
Left uncorrected, Ohio law seemingly requires that the state — that is, Ohio taxpayers — pay millions of dollars in undeserved bonuses to failing and poorly performing charter schools.
FEB 01, 2020 -Charter network leader apologizes for ‘really dumb and unhelpful’ financial decisions
The head of a Texas-based charter school chain publicly apologized for “really dumb and unhelpful” plans that included leasing a private jet for millions of dollars and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on San Antonio Spurs tickets.
