#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
Don’t Let the Rhetoric Fool You—Understand How Charter Schools Often Aren’t Public
He would be suspended, multiple times in a week, over and over,” an attorney who represents charter school students in Boston said of his client, a six-year-old with ADHD. The student’s school, while not directly rejecting his enrollment because of his mental health disorder, made it difficult for him to attend classes.
This is a trend that we found in charter schools across the country: Although they rarely decline to accept a student, they can, and sometimes do, use a variety of means—such as suspensions, application hurdles, and minimum GPAs—to limit access to their classrooms.
Forensic audit sheds light on allegedly phony background checks by former school official
A forensic investigation into suspicious employee background checks by the Dryades YMCA, which runs James M. Singleton Charter School, specifically names the organization’s former CFO and outlines the process — including an apparent template for producing fake background checks — allegedly used to craft fraudulent background checks.
Former CFO Catrina Reed left the embattled organization in March along with its CEO, amid investigations by the NOLA Public Schools district and the New Orleans Police Department into how Singleton administrators were conducting employee background checks, which are required for school employees under state law.
State officials: Charter school’s ‘grossly inadequate’ financial practices may be illegal and unethical
An embattled Ammon charter school may have intentionally misused public funds, and its former director may have violated several principles of the Code of Ethics for Public Educators, according to a new report from the Idaho Public Charter School Commission.
The 11-page report, dated July 2 and obtained by Idaho EdNews through a public records request, details a range of issues uncovered during the commission’s months-long investigation of Monticello Montessori Charter School.
Indiana suing virtual charter schools accused of defrauding the state for more than $150M
A consortium of virtual schools accused of defrauding the state of Indiana out of millions of dollars are now being sued, as state officials seek to recoup more than $150 million they say was either wrongly obtained or misspent by the schools.
Attorney General Todd Rokita filed the lawsuit against Indiana Virtual School, Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy, Indiana Virtual Educational Foundation and several other related entities and individuals in Hamilton County Superior Court Thursday.
Deposed Lusher principal accused school’s CEO of undermining efforts to heal racial tensions
Seven months before Steven Corbett got a job overseeing Audubon Charter Schools, the former high school principal at Lusher Charter School penned a detailed letter to Lusher’s board of directors asking for an investigation into allegedly discriminatory and retaliatory behavior on the part of longtime CEO Kathy Riedlinger.
Governor McKee, Providence Mayor Elorza clash over location of Achievement First charter
Mayor Jorge Elorza went on the offensive Wednesday, accusing the governor of caving in to the Providence Teachers Union during contract negotiations.
Gov. Dan McKee said Tuesday that he didn’t agree with Elorza’s decision to sign a one-year agreement allowing Achievement First to put a new charter school in Fortes Elementary School.
BRIEFS: Changes expected for state public charter school law
Two Lowcountry lawmakers are among those who weren’t surprised by a new state audit that said one of the state’s public charter school authorizers needed fixing.
NC art teacher shared child porn with undercover agent, feds say. He’s going to prison
A one-time art teacher in North Carolina was sentenced to prison Thursday on child porn charges.
Springfield’s Sabis Charter School Board votes to sever ties with management company
Sabis International Charter School’s Board of Trustees essentially voted to end its 25+ year relationship with its eponymous management company after a meeting often turned hostile and included educators voicing multiple concerns about the company.
Hillsborough County School Board Stands Firm On Charter School Decision
The Hillsborough County School Board on Tuesday stood by its decision to not renew the contracts of four of the district’s charter schools.
There’s A ‘Mass Exodus’ Of Teachers At STEM School In Highlands Ranch. Parents, Staff And Students Say School Leadership Is To Blame
On June 15, a jury found one of the former students accused of a shooting at the school guilty on 46 counts, including murder. Murphy said sitting through the trial and verdict “crushed” her — but that feeling was only compounded in a Zoom meeting that same night where she and others described feeling powerless that no one on the STEM board, the school’s governing body, is listening to them about their deep concerns about the school.
School district could shutter Singleton Charter over $1 million owed by Dryades YMCA
The New Orleans Public School district is considering closing James Singleton Charter School because of lingering questions about how the Dryades YMCA, the organization that runs the Central City school, has used more than $1.1 million in school funds.
The 116-year-old YMCA, one of only four historically Black YMCAs left in the U.S., has run the James Singleton Charter School since 2006. It was founded by former City Councilman Jim Singleton, who is no longer involved with its governance
Staff, supporters picket at Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School in Chicopee after two-thirds of teachers lose jobs
More than 50 people protested at Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School on Wednesday, accusing administrators of “union busting” after the contracts of two-thirds of the educators were not renewed at the end of the year.
Teachers, parents, students, alumni and even educators from other schools joined the afternoon picket in front of theschool. They carried signs that read “Unions=Social Justice” and “Contract Now,” and chanted “Hey Gil, you’re no good, treat your workers like you should,” a reference to the school’s executive director, Gil Traverso.
O.C. Ed Board balks at punishing Costa Mesa charter school for possible violations
A Costa Mesa charter school has until July 7 to demonstrate how it will correct several operational indiscretions being investigated by county education officials as potential violations, even as the Orange County Board of Education hesitates to take punitive action.
OCDE officials allege the school reported to the California Department of Education an enrollment of 150 students for the 2020-21 school year, when a budget submitted to the county for the same fiscal year projected growth of 100 students. The state consequently overpaid the school, based on the inaccurate attendance figures.
Charter schools to create $3 million ‘fail’ fund
When the news broke in December 2019 that the American International School of Utah was under investigation for misappropriating nearly half a million dollars in state and federal education funds, it left a black eye on charter schools that hasn’t entirely healed.
Recently, advocates for charter schools came up with a kind of fix: a “Charter School Closure Reserve Account,” like an emergency rainy-day fund that would ensure that if a charter school closes with outstanding debts, they could be resolved right away.
How much reserve would be enough? They decided on a figure: $3 million.