#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
Aspire ERES students, staff say goodbye to their shuttered Fruitvale charter school
After trying and failing to secure a more permanent location for Aspire ERES Academy to allow for expansion, the charter school’s leaders made the decision this year to permanently close the kindergarten through eighth grade school, which has been housed in a small, run-down church building in Fruitvale for 12 years.
Former charter school operator owes nearly $1 million, New Orleans school district says in suit
The Orleans Parish public school district has sued the nonprofit organization that ran Mary D. Coghill Charter School for years until its charter was canceled, claiming the organization’s board misappropriated public funds and still owes the school district nearly $1 million.
The lawsuit was filed in Orleans Parish Civil District Court last month against the Better Choice Foundation, which operated the F-rated school until NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr. refused to renew their contract and ordered the district to take it over.
Charter commission flags finances at four schools
The Idaho Public Charter School Commission put four of its schools on notice over their finances during a Thursday meeting, including one under investigation for its use of taxpayer dollars.
The seven-member commission voted unanimously to issue “notifications of fiscal concern” for Monticello Montessori Charter, Peace Valley Charter, Bingham Academy and The Village Charter.
Frederick Classical Charter School put on probation amid governance disputes
The Frederick County Board of Education, during a meeting filled with emotional testimony Wednesday, voted to put Frederick Classical Charter School on probation, aiming to curb what community members described as a hostile and dysfunctional governance system.
Despite the school’s high academic performance, parents and administrators said issues with its governing body, the Board of Trustees, were hindering its basic functions. More than a dozen community members attended Wednesday’s work session, most speaking in favor of the probation and punctuating the meeting with murmurs of agreement.
NC charter school closes after ‘financial irregularities’ found
On Friday morning, the board voted to terminate the school’s charter in an emergency meeting “after painstaking reflection and deliberation.”
That same day, Board Chairwoman Kristis Edison and the Interim Head of School Tom Miller, informed the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Office of Charter Schools of the decision.
St. Paul charter school loses $4.3M with illegal investment in New Jersey hedge fund
A St. Paul charter school last school year invested $5 million in a New Jersey hedge fund, in violation of state law, and most of that money may be lost forever.
Auditors working to close the books on Hmong College Prep Academy’s 2019-20 financials disclosed the mistake to the school’s board during an emergency meeting in December.
The school on Nov. 30 asked the hedge fund, Woodstock Capital Partners, to liquidate the investment, according to board meeting minutes. But multiple deadlines were missed, the hedge fund’s agent never showed up to board meetings, and the school ultimately received just $684,762.
Ammon charter school violated eight special education laws, according to state investigation
Issues at the school include violations of both the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Idaho Special Education Manual. The report outlines a range of “corrective actions” for the school in the coming months.
The SDE’s report surfaces amid a months-long investigation into the embattled charter school’s finances by the Idaho Public Charter School Commission, which includes questions over some $11,500 in unexplained payments and purchases at the school.
Is the Charter Schools Program financing white-flight academies?
North Carolina’s private Hobgood Academy opened its doors in September of 1970. For decades, the overwhelmingly White private school, located near a public school whose students are overwhelmingly Black (90 percent), served as a haven for White families willing to pay tuition rather than send their children to an integrated public school.
However, the privilege of segregation came with a cost — $5,000 a year in tuition that parents decided taxpayers should assume.
Many Unanswered Questions Linger Over PACE Career Academy Closure
Some members of the board of trustees for PACE Career Academy announced its closure last week citing staffing, lack of fundraising, and operational and financial shortfalls. The school was founded a decade ago as PACE, an acronym for the towns of Pembroke, Allenstown, Chichester, and Epsom. It offers an alternative pathway to graduation to assist students in designing their own academic, career, and personal growth path with individualized instruction and small educator-to-student ratios.
Bridges Academy closing, investigated by SBI
Bridges Academy in State Road is closing amid “financial irregularities that threaten the financial well-being of the school,” stated a press release issued by the charter school Friday.
Meanwhile, State Bureau of Investigation spokesman Angie Grube said Friday that the agency is investigating allegations that Bridges fraudulently obtained excess funding from the state.
Grube said the investigation began in March and that no additional information from the SBI is available at this time.
Audit confirms findings of FOX 13 investigation into public school with ties to polygamous sect
Vanguard Academy in West Valley City continues to receive millions of dollars in public funds, despite the fact that its students and teachers almost exclusively belong to the same polygamous religious organization known as the Kingston group, or Davis County Cooperative Society.
Public schools are not allowed to discriminate on the basis of race or religion, thanks to the separation of church and state established in the United States Constitution.
Commentary: Scandals show need to boost oversight of charter schools
Charter schools in Texas are granted autonomy from many state regulations so they can create innovative programs that promote student achievement — but a lack of public oversight has too often led to fraud, waste and abuse.
Texas needs to create a strong and proactive system of oversight: Instances of mismanagement of public funds within the state’s charter sector are well-documented.
Inside a bruising battle over a new charter school on Nashville’s west side
A proposed new charter school in affluent West Nashville has stirred up the echoes of the city’s most brutal public education battle in recent history and provided yet another test of a new state law that watered down local control.
Nashville is just under nine years removed from Arizona-based Great Hearts Academy’s failed bid to build a charter school that would have appealed to the families who enroll their children in private schools. The Great Hearts fight created a dividing line between left-leaning politicians protective of traditional public schools and education reformers, who are politically backed mostly by Republicans.
Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools cost taxpayers and businesses
As the superintendent of the Wattsburg Area School District, I often get asked why school property taxes go up every year. One of the primary reasons is growing cyber charter school costs. The state’s charter school law funds privately-operated cyber charter schools by involuntarily taking taxpayer money from school district budgets.
Monticello board chair resigns amid investigation
The board chair of an Ammon public charter school has resigned in the face of a state investigation into the school’s finances.
Ken Glodo on Saturday submitted his resignation as both board chair and a board member of Monticello Montessori Charter School’s governing board, effective immediately, according to an email obtained by Idaho EdNews through a public records request to the school.