#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
Financial ties between HISD charter, founder draw scrutiny before renewal vote
A trio of intertwined charter school networks operating within Houston ISD have paid or lent at least $17 million during the last five years to a company owned by their highest-ranking employee, an unusual arrangement drawing criticism from some HISD school board members ahead of a vote to renew their contracts.
Promesa: Worst Charter Chain or Just the Tip of the Iceberg?
In December 2018 the New York Times published an expose on Southwest Key. The Texas company is notorious for operating inhumane border shelters for incarcerated migrants hoping to secure refugee status in the United States. Its four immigrant shelters include Case Padre, a detention center located in an abandoned Walmart.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
Charter schools are starting to look a lot like payday lenders and for-profit college
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.
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.
New Jersey kept sending tax money to troubled charter school and its building project
By 2010, four years after it opened, the Central Jersey Arts Charter School in Plainfield was in trouble.
The state had just put it on probation for a host of deficiencies, ordering it to limit spending, develop a curriculum and address problems with its board and student achievement.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Several demanded Head of School Jamie Getz resign, while others accused fellow parents of “cyber-bullying” and spreading rumors. Emotions ran high, leading to a tense confrontation while the board was in closed session to discuss personnel matters.