#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
Former charter school official sent to prison for embezzling funds
The former superintendent of Houston Gateway Academy has been ordered to federal prison after taking more than a ¼ million dollars, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Richard Garza, 61, Houston, pleaded guilty Sept. 20, 2019.
Termination Hearing Set For Epic Charter School District After Board Shake-Up
The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board set a termination hearing for the Epic One-on-One Charter School district to review alleged violations of its operating contract.
On Tuesday, the board, which has not met since January, denied Epic’s motion to dismiss the allegations and scheduled the hearing for May 12 and 13.
Minneapolis nonprofit may face ‘corrective action’ for flawed supervision of 21 charter schools.
Pillsbury United Communities, a nonprofit organization that provides oversight to 21 charter schools in Minnesota, faces possible corrective action from the state Department of Education. That prospect follows low performance ratings for its processes and decision-making, as revealed in Pillsbury’s routine five-year authorizer review with the state.
Pillsbury United announces intent to close landmark Cedar Riverside Community School
Pillsbury United Communities plans to close Cedar Riverside Community School, one of the first charter schools in the country, school board chair Janet Youngers announced at a board meeting on Thursday. Unless the school wins an appeal, it will close as soon as June 30.
Questions raised about how Washington County charter school is managed
Tuacahn Center for the Arts, known for its impressive amphitheater and its renowned “Broadway In the Desert” series, also runs Tuacahn High School for the Arts, a charter high school.
Student Body President Gabriela Merida said recently the dance students were told, without warning, that the arts center had rented their studio to a professional production, and that students would not have access to it for the rest of the year.
State Board of Education discusses possible action against Epic Charter Schools
The State Board of Education is having a meeting where they’ll discuss possible action for Epic Charter Schools.
In October, a report by the state auditor found that Epic Charter Schools owed the state $11.2 million, most of it for overpaying administrative costs.
Epic Charter Schools Misses State Deadline For $11.2 Million Repayment
Epic Charter Schools missed a state deadline to pay an $11.2 million fine handed down to the school in October. Repayment will be discussed at Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting.
Epic was slapped with the clawback of state funds in October. But the virtual charter school behemoth has contested the amo
Lloyd Kennedy Charter School to close this summer, pending Aiken County school board vote
A local charter school will close its doors in June due to its director’s upcoming retirement, pending a vote from the Aiken County Board of Education at Tuesday’s meeting.
Keisha Lloyd Kennedy, director of Lloyd Kennedy Charter School, wrote to Superintendent King Laurence on Jan. 28 to notify the school district of her intent to retire at the end of the 2020-2021 school year due to health reasons, according to a board agenda attachment.
Ex-CEO at Goodyear charter school gets prison in fraud case
A former CEO at a now-closed Goodyear charter school has been sentenced to four years in prison in a fraud case.
State prosecutors said Daniel Hughes also was ordered to pay restitution for his role in the theft of more than $2.5 million from the Arizona Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Communications Commission.
NOLA Public Schools: Two charter networks violated state law on background checks
James M. Singleton Charter School failed to conduct criminal background checks for some of its employees and employed someone ineligible to work at the school because of a criminal conviction, according to a Wednesday letter to the school from the NOLA Public Schools district warning that the school’s practices on background checks violated state law. The district letter also said that the Louisiana State Police could not confirm the validity of a number of background checks in the school’s files.
WWL-TV’s ‘Taken for a Ride’ investigation leads to criminal charges for school bus owners
The former owners of a charter school bus company and their insurance agent have been charged with insurance fraud as the result of an exclusive WWL-TV investigation two years ago.
The station’s “Taken for a Ride” investigation in 2019 uncovered insurance documents from school bus provider Scholars First that the state insurance commissioner confirmed had been falsified.
Charter schools cite special topics, flexibility as reasons they hire unlicensed teachers
Several charter school leaders are publicly opposing a proposed bill to require charter schools to hire only licensed educators, but they suggested they could support the bill if amended to provide some flexibility.
Success Academy Charter School Network Ordered to Pay Over $2.4 Million in a Disability Discrimination Case Brought by Families of Five Former Students
Charter school network Success Academy, which touts its commitment to children “from all backgrounds,” has been ordered to pay over $2.4 million on a Judgment in a case brought by families of five young Black students with learning and other disabilities who sued after the children were pushed out of a Success Academy school in Brooklyn.
Theodore Decker: Years after its collapse, ECOT still costs Ohio plenty
The school has not repaid the $80 million, and for the past three years has been engaged in court battles about it on various fronts, with ECOT lawyers arguing everything but, “We shouldn’t have to pay back Ohio because the state would just blow it on something else anyway.”
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.