FEBRUARY 2021
FEB 28, 2021 – Marin charter school regulator sidelined amid state probe
Two weeks ago, state education official Craig Heimbichner provided pivotal testimony to help Ross Valley Charter stay in business.
Now Heimbichner’s credibility is under scrutiny after he was linked to anti-Semitic writings and conspiracy theories about the government.
FEB 27, 2021 – Online charter school renews resistance to repaying $60M in state subsidies
Three years after going dark, what was once Ohio’s largest online charter school on Tuesday will urge the Ohio Supreme Court to save it from a $60 million claw-back of state support for students it couldn’t prove it had educated.
FEB 26, 2021 – Accused A3 charter school ringleaders plead guilty to conspiracy
The two men accused of crafting an elaborate statewide charter school scheme to funnel tens of millions of public school dollars into their own pockets pleaded guilty Friday to felony conspiracy charges.
FEB 24, 2021 – Police investigating alleged embezzlement at Warren Easton Charter High School
Warren Easton Charter High School’s annual financial audit has revealed a $70,000 discrepancy in the school’s student activity funds, and the New Orleans Police Department is investigating the matter as a theft by a former employee.
FEB 25, 2021 – NC charter schools get federal loans earmarked for small businesses
Forty-five public charter schools in North Carolina obtained a total of $28 million in forgivable federal loans last year in the early weeks of the pandemic that traditional public schools couldn’t access.
FEB 23, 2021 – Defunct online charter school fights order to repay $60M
In 2016, the Ohio Department of Education determined that the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow could not back up its student participation claims for the 2015-16 school year when it received $108.9 million in state funds. ECOT was ordered to repay $64 million — a figure that was later adjusted down to $60.35 million.
FEB 23, 2021 – Milton School District Facing $2 Million Deficit, Tax Hike
That’s because all districts are facing more cyber school costs, but state funding towards that has stopped despite the unfunded mandate continuing, “For a student in the Milton Area School District to attend an external cyber school, we have to pay approximately $15,000 a child. If that child receives special education services, it can cost up to $25,000 a child.”
FEB 17, 2021 – $11.2 million repayment from Epic Charter Schools to state is delayed; public records lawsuit stalls
Incito Schools and co-founders April Black and Amanda Jellson have been indicted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office after allegedly committing fraud to steal more than $500,000 from the Maricopa County Superintendent’s Office.
FEB 11, 2021 – NH Attorney General Eyes Financials At Concord Charter School
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office has an active review of a Concord charter school after an audit found tens of thousands of dollars in unsupported grant reimbursements and other financial issues with court documents revealing that two connected to the school, its founder and a trustee, also had financial problems and cases in courts around the state.
FEB 11, 2021 – NJPP: NEW REPORT: The “Whitening” of Camden’s Teachers
Over the last twenty years, the teacher workforce in Camden, New Jersey has shifted from majority Black to majority white, according to a new report by New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP). The change in demographics coincides with the proliferation of charter schools in Camden, which hire fewer Black teachers than the city’s public school district.
FEB 11, 2021 – Charter Schools Invaded Our Neighborhoods Without Public Input
Several years ago the privatization machine turned on. Charter schools invaded our community with no public input, no public meetings, and no robust environmental reports. They charged in and did it fast. At every neighborhood event, they promoted their schools with flashy marketing presentations and shiny colorful brochures. With the arrival of each new charter school, every mailbox was flooded with mailers echoing the same empty promise: “We can get your child to college.” Time has proven that those mailers were nothing more than propaganda as the charters performed no better than our existing public schools and in some cases the outcome for their students was even worse.
FEB 10, 2021 – Connecticut charter schools are not delivering
The latest research into Connecticut’s charter schools found that, in general, charter schools have not delivered on the promise of better outcomes for students and that some charter schools are perpetuating practices that harm Black and Latinx students. This research is especially relevant now that several bills related to school choice and charter schools have been introduced for the 2021 legislative session.
FEB 09, 2021 – Valley charter school charged with fraud, theft, forgery and conspiracy
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office filed criminal charges against a Valley charter school and its executive director.
Court documents say prosecutors believe Incito Schools and April Black stole more than $25,000 from the Maricopa County Superintendent’s Office. Former teachers tell 12 News they forged teacher’s paystubs at the school.
FEB 08, 2021 – State orders Utah charter school to pay back $3 million in misspent special education funds
After months of reviewing the ledgers at American Preparatory Academy, the accounting team at the Utah Board of Education reported that it was unable to find any system that showed the money was “being properly expended.” And the board voted last week to accept the team’s recommendation to require the misspent allocations be returned.
FEB 08, 2021 – Concord School Surrenders Charter After Financial Accounts Probed
State education officials are navigating through unchartered territory after one of New Hampshire’s charter schools fell out of compliance with financial reporting — with nearly $154,000 in unsupported federal grant reimbursements found, leading to the school surrendering its charter.
FEB 08, 2021 – Parents at Utah charter school drop requests to let their children opt out of Black History Month lessons after backlash
Parents who sought to opt out their children from learning Black History Month curriculum at a charter school in northern Utah have withdrawn their requests.
Maria Montessori Academy in North Ogden experienced a public backlash after announcing plans to make participation optional, the Standard-Examiner reported Saturday.
FEB 07, 2021 – Defunct St. Louis charter school founder gets a year in prison, must repay nearly $2.4M
The founder of the defunct St. Louis College Prep Charter School was sentenced Friday to 366 days in prison and ordered to repay nearly $2.4 million in state funding obtained by falsifying student attendance.
In the 2016-2017 school year alone, Michael Malone reported about 10,000 extra hours, his plea says. The next year, he reported 13,255 extra.
FEB 08, 2021 – City schools in turmoil: District closes buildings, charters open
Clay Elementary School in the Hyde Park neighborhood will shut down this summer, displacing 128 children from the school built for three times as many. One-half mile away, just 89 students attend The Arch Community charter school.
At least two new charter schools plan to open in fall of 2022 to serve the same 63107 ZIP code, with a third trying to launch there two years later.
FEB 05, 2021 – Lake Wales Charter District investigating former Hillcrest Elementary principal
The Lakes Wales Charter School District has launched an investigation into the administration of Hillcrest Elementary School to determine whether recently removed Principal Jennifer Barrow created a hostile work environment for teachers and staff at the well-regarded school, which would constitute a violation of Florida administrative code.
FEB 03, 2021 – LA Charter Schools Struggle To Serve Certain Students: UCLA Study
Charter schools In Los Angeles County are less successful at serving homeless students than public schools, which are more frequently held to account for their homeless students, a UCLA study concluded.
FEB 02, 2021 – Report: California ‘wasting’ millions of dollars funding online charter schools
A new report on California’s online charter schools says that the state is “wasting hundreds of millions of dollars a year by funding these schools at a level far above their costs.”
