#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
City schools in turmoil: District closes buildings, charters open
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.
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.
NEPA educators question cyber charter spending of pandemic relief money on gift cards, cellphones
Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools used federal COVID-19 relief funds to purchase technology and cleaning supplies and send Target gift cards and phones to families.
Many of the expenditures, revealed through Right to Know Law requests by The Sunday Times, have traditional public school educators questioning why cyber charter schools require the funding when their students already learn from home.
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.
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.
Report: California ‘wasting’ millions of dollars funding online charter schools
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.
Charter school broadly overstates its ‘brick and mortar’ offerings, must pay $300K, state says
The Indiana Agriculture and Technology School has wrongly described itself as operating as a “brick-and-mortar” school and improperly receiving thousands of dollars in state support while operating almost entirely online, according to the investigation. And, SBOA said, the school owes the state more than $300,000 from payments it received during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years.
Cyber, charter schooling may cost Jersey Shore School District $3.2M this year
If the number of students from the Jersey Shore Area School District attending cyber/charter schools holds at about 200 for the rest of the school year, the district will spend $3.2 million for their education, according to figures compiled by Dr. Brian Ulmer, superintendent.
Ulmer’s data showed that figure compares to the $628,000 that will be spent to educate approximately the same amount of students in the district’s cyber program, JSOL
$11.2 million repayment from Epic Charter Schools to state is delayed; public records lawsuit stalls
Epic Charter Schools’ deadline for repaying the state $11.2 million has been pushed back a month, and the State Auditor’s Office has reportedly identified additional administrative payroll cost violations, the Tulsa World has learned.
Meanwhile, the State Auditor and Inspector’s lawsuit in pursuit of public records to account for Epic’s previous use of another $79 million in taxpayer dollars for something Epic calls its “Learning Fund” appears to have stalled.
The Steep Price of Charter Schoos
We’ve all heard how overly complex accounting systems at the Pentagon led to $400 hammers and $7,000 coffee makers. Well, Texas has something akin to that: charter schools.
Under the current charter school funding scheme in Texas, charter schools receive on average $1,150 more per student compared with the traditional school district in which the charter school is located. That’s right: The state pays charter schools more to do the same job as your local school district.
Schuylkill County School District Business Managers Speak Out on Charter School Funding
Recently the United States Department of Education awarded a five-year $30 million grant to Pennsylvania Brick and Mortar Charter Schools to increase their academic success. All the while, many Pennsylvania Public Schools are cutting programs in order to continue to pay for charter school costs, some even becoming financially distressed due to this burden.
Charter schools receive taxpayer dollars. Should their board members follow state ethics laws?
The Mississippi Ethics Commission says charter school board members are subject to state ethics laws, which prohibit conflicts of interest that could lead to the misspending of public dollars.
But several operators and advocates of Mississippi charter schools, which receive taxpayer funding, say they should be exempt from those laws.
Orlando charter school principal accused of failing to report abuse
The principal of Orlando Science Charter School was arrested Tuesday on two counts of failing to report child abuse.
Investigators said Abdulaziz Yalcin, 35, sent text messages and emails saying he did not want police to be notified of allegations that a school employee, Jaelen Alexander, had sent inappropriate pictures to students and offered at least one of them $50 to take inappropriate pictures of himself.
KIPP educators call for removal of executive director
A group of educators at KIPP Memphis charter school network want to replace their executive director, citing a lack of transparency in personnel decisions, low teacher retention, and unexpected school closures.
Yes, some charter schools do pick their students. It’s not a myth.
A group of educators at KIPP Memphis charter school network want to replace their executive director, citing a lack of transparency in personnel decisions, low teacher retention, and unexpected school closures.