#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
Epic founders claim for-profit managers ‘earned’ millions being questioned by State Auditor
Attorneys are still battling in court in the state’s legal effort to compel Epic Charter Schools’ for-profit operator to comply with an investigative audit, newly filed public records reveal.
Epic’s founders now claim the tens of millions in question by the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector are “earned” by the school management company they own to provide goods and services.
Choice, Charter Schools Get Big Payday
When the federal government created its small-business loan program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear from the start that public schools would not be eligible for the aid.
But data for Wisconsin released on Monday shows a large number of voucher and charter schools that describe themselves as public schools, and receive public money, have also received millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans meant for small businesses.
Ex-CEO of Lehigh Valley charter school enters plea in $42K theft
The former CEO of Arts Academy Elementary Charter School has entered a plea to resolve criminal charges for allegedly stealing $42,000 from the Allentown school’s corporate bank account.
Jason “Jay” Eitner, 41, of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, pleaded nolo contendere to theft by deception on July 2 in Lehigh County Court, according to court records. With his plea, Eitner accepts conviction as though a guilty plea had been entered but does not admit guilt.
Charter schools may have double-dipped as much as $1 billion in PPP small business loans
Charter schools across the country tapped the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for what could have been more than $1 billion, according to a preliminary analysis of Treasury Department data.
CPS Wants Federal ‘Small Business’ Loans For Charter Schools Investigated
Chicago Public Schools has asked the school district’s inspector general to investigate whether more than a dozen charter schools should have received millions of dollars through federal Paycheck Protection Plan loans designed to help small businesses deal with the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Low enrollment, financial trouble forces Winston-Salem charter school to close
B.L.U.E.–G.R.E.E.N. Academy (BGA), a Winston-Salem charter school, is going out of business after one year because it could not enroll the minimum 80 students needed by Tuesday to remain open.
The school, founded to improve academic outcomes for low-income students in underserved communities, is also without a home after St. Peter’s Outreach Church did not renew its lease.
Millions in PPP money flowed to nine Arkansas charter schools, plus many private schools
As real public schools desperately search for money to operate in the pandemic, charter school — privately run schools operated with public tax money and waivers from state rules governing real public schools — got helped by federal Paycheck Protection Program money.
At the high-ranked Mystic Valley Regional Charter School, a troubling pattern on issues of race
The questions came from parents, from alumni, from the president of the class of 2020. How would Mystic Valley Regional Charter School, known for rigorous academics and ranked a top high school in Massachusetts, address a long and alarming list of concerns about diversity, inclusion, and the treatment of students of color?
Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks’ controversial charter school
Diane Hendricks, the Beloit billionaire caught on film in 2011 urging former Gov. Scott Walker to make Wisconsin a “completely red” “right-to-work” state, has a new project — a charter school that will focus on serving low-income students in her adopted hometown.
Dozens of Pa. charter schools among recipients of federal small business aid
Dozens of Pennsylvania charter schools received PPP loans, including: Pa. Leadership and Pa. Virtual cyber charter schools; an organization linked to Chester Community Charter School; I-Lead; KIPP; Esperanza; and Franklin Towne.
Firing of Principal Raises Concerns for Charter School’s Future
The termination of a principal at The Ethical Community Charter School has outraged parents and students and has many fearing the school may not survive.
Marta Bergamini, who was principal for 11 years, was relieved of her duties on June 29 with several board members claiming they were not able to come up with an agreement on her contract which was due to expire the following day.
APS shuts down beleaguered Aurora Community charter school
Aurora Public Schools opted to shutter a nascent north Aurora charter school this week after a year of uncertainty and — former employees have said — chaos.
The APS school board unanimously voted June 30 to revoke its charter with Aurora Community School, a school that struggled to build its own school location and, in the 2019-2020 school year, was operating out of a Crowne Plaza hotel in Denver and then a church.
EDITORIAL: City schools trapped in spiral
York City School District is trapped in a death spiral.
It’s stuck under years-long state management that limits how money can be spent. Charter schools are annually sucking more than $25 million from its budget. Miserly state lawmakers foist the responsibility for funding public education on local officials, thereby fostering a system that rewards students in rich communities and punishes those in poor ones.
St. Louis charter schools under scrutiny for federal coronavirus relief funds and state audit
At least $6.5 million has been paid out to five St. Louis charter school operators in coronavirus federal relief funds through the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to the schools’ records.
Charters deny ‘cherry picking’ students, but data show special ed disparities
Pennsylvania’s charter schools are “gaming the system” to maximize special education payments and then using the money to subsidize their regular operations, costing Pennsylvania taxpayers millions, according to a new study by the advocacy group Education Voters of Pennsylvania.