Yes, you read that right. Those are actual quotes from the minutes of Utah Military Academy, which is under investigation for questionable ethical practices. That charter school received between $1 and 2 million dollars in PPP funds. They are not alone. Charter schools’ board minutes tell the same story time and again–we have enough funds, but we will still use our nonprofit status loophole to take Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) funds intended for small businesses devastated by the pandemic.
Read our story in The Washington Post here and then share it on social media.
Our NPE team meticulously scoured the SBA database and identified charters, state by state, that received PPP funds. The amount that we have identified is staggering. More than 1300 charter schools and their nonprofit or for-profit management companies secured between $925 million and $2.2 billion through the PPP. We provide a range, not from uncertainty but because the SBA chose not to report the exact amounts of the forgivable loans. Even this range is an underestimate. Excluded from our calculations is the sizeable number of PPP loans below $150,000, which the SBA has not disclosed. You can find our state by state list of charter schools and charter management organizations, along with each school’s PPP range on our website here.
How did this happen?
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) informed its members via email in March that it had successfully lobbied for charter schools to receive PPP funds and provided instructions on how such funding could be obtained. The blog that contained the contents of that email has been removed, however, you can find it in the internet archives here. Not only did the amply funded NAPCS encourage its members to apply, but the organization itself received its own PPP forgivable loan in the range of $350,000 and $1 million.
Now it’s time to take action.
Tell Congress to make sure these loans are immediately paid back. Employees of our small businesses desperately need the money. It is time to support our families, not “flush up” the fund balances of charter schools.
Send your email today by clicking here.
Then share our report in The Washington Post with this link:
