May 2019
MAY 29, 2019 – Charter school CEO ran side businesses out of building while teachers missed paychecks
Knowledge Academies charter school has operated with a large deficit, occasionally failed to pay teachers on time and slipped into financial turmoil while its CEO ran side businesses out of its Antioch school building.
MAY 30, 2019 – California Charter Schools: Costs, Benefits, and Impact on School Districts
The Center on Reinventing Public Education recently released a series of three policy briefs on the financial impact of charter schools on nearby school districts in California.
MAY 30, 2019 – Principal lost his license. Now his charter school’s financial condition is ‘deteriorating’
Known as Lincoln Memorial Middle School before its conversion to a charter last year, the school is now in “deteriorating financial condition,” according to a May 29 memo signed by Heather Jenkins, chief financial officer for the School District of Manatee County.
MAY 28, 2019 – Online charter schools in L.A. and San Diego counties to close after indictments
Eleven people have been indicted on criminal charges of conspiracy, personal use of public money without legal authority, grand theft and financial conflict of interest in connection with a network of California charter schools.
MAY 28, 2019 – Charter school addressing 30 audit findings
An Albuquerque charter school entered into a $5.5 million lease purchase agreement without an appraisal.
It paid $50,000 to the employer of its foundation president.
MAY 26, 2019 – Susie King Taylor public charter school challenged by teacher turnover, parent criticism
Most parents and teachers support the school’s educational ideals, but many have raised issues about the school’s leadership, including Clougherty’s. Several months after over 100 people signed a petition calling for the resignations of Clougherty and school Director Latrisha Chattin, many parents say the problems have continued. Both leaders remain at the school.
MAY 25, 2019 – Monument area residents question developer’s role in new charter school
Monument-area residents are crying foul over plans to build a charter school, saying a developer has leveraged his having served on a local education board to benefit financially.
MAY 24, 2019 – Baker charter school backtracks after telling students they failed, needed to attend summer program
Parents of students attending Advantage Charter Academy are fuming Friday night after being told their kids would be held back and would need to attend a 16-day summer school program in order to advance to the next grade.
MAY 22, 2019 – Another Detroit charter school closes because of financial problems
Yet another charter school is closing in Detroit because of financial problems, forcing parents to find a new school for their children.
Southwest Detroit Community School announced it was closing during an emergency meeting Tuesday afternoon, Chalkbeat Detroit reports.
MAY 24, 2019 – Charter School Housed in Church Modifies LGBTQ Mural
A charter school that rents space from a Roman Catholic church in New Jersey has modified LGBT components in a student-created mural after church officials raised concerns.
MAY 20, 2019 – How a lawsuit against a North State charter school could impact transparency in California
A Siskiyou County public charter school has been sued for not releasing employee salaries and names to an open-records advocacy group, and the group’s executive director said the refusal from Golden Eagle Charter School ties into a bigger issue in the state: charter schools using their quasi-private status to get around California’s sunshine laws.
MAY 21, 2019 – D.C. charter school panel raises safety concerns about boarding academy
The board that oversees the District’s charter schools is raising safety concerns about a prominent boarding academy that educates middle-school students who have extensive learning and emotional needs.
MAY 20, 2019 – Orlando charter school waited 30 days before telling police about employee’s alleged lewd conduct
An Orlando charter school said it did not notify police until after conducting an internal investigation after an employee was accused of propositioning students, leaving a four-week gap before police were notified.
MAY 20, 2019 – Charter Schools Are Quietly Gobbling Up My Public School District
Just three years ago, the Propel franchise siphoned away $3.5 million from our district annually. This year, they took $5 million, and next year they’re projected to get away with $6 million. That’s about 16% of our entire $37 million yearly budget.
MAY 17, 2019 – Embattled Blackfoot charter schools revamp leadership
Two embattled Blackfoot charter schools have revamped their leadership structure following a range of improvement sanctions handed down by the Idaho Public Charter School Commission.
MAY 18, 2019 – Leader’s diploma mill degree raises questions about charter schools
With recent college admission scandals, America seems at an inflection point about fairness in education and integrity in academia overall. But are we as rigorous in making sure our local educators are also held to the high standards we want our children to aspire to? You can imagine my disappointment to learn that this is not the case at one New Bedford charter school, Global Learning Charter Public School at 190 Ashley Blvd., where there’s a terrible fraud hiding in plain sight.
MAY 19, 2019 – The Federal Government Has Poured Millions into Failing Charter Schools in Louisiana
According to a recent report, up to $1 billion of the money given out nationwide by the CSP was wasted on charter schools that never opened, or opened and then closed because of fraud, poor performance, financial mismanagement, and other reasons.
MAY 13, 2019 – Sentencing delayed for LA charter school founder who admitted misappropriating $2.5 million
A sentencing hearing was delayed Monday for the founder of Los Angeles charter school network Celerity Educational Group who admitted misappropriating $2.5 million in public-education funds and using the money for personal expenses.
MAY 14, 2019 – Grievances filed against Shining Rock interim head
As Shining Rock Classical Academy now searches for its third head of school in just four years, Interim Head of School Joshua Morgan has emerged as a leading candidate for the job.
A group of concerned parents don’t think Morgan should be the next head of school, or even working in education at all. They say he’s a bully with anger management issues who physically intimidates students and recently placed one in a martial arts hold.
MAY 13, 2019 – Embezzlement Sentencing Due for L.A. Charter School Founder
The founder of Los Angeles charter school network Celerity Educational Group faces a possible federal prison term when she is sentenced Monday for conspiring to misappropriate and embezzle public funds.
MAY 12, 2019 – Basis charter school’s rapid growth among affluent families in Baton Rouge prompts scrutiny
But in narrowly approving the expansion plans of this nationally celebrated school network Thursday night, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board made clear that it’s not done scrutinizing BASIS, particularly its lack of socioeconomic diversity.
MAY 12, 2019 – School Parents File Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Against Duluth Edison Charter Schools
Three parents of students who are attending or did attend Duluth Edison Charter Schools have filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the school system.
MAY 09, 2019 – Success Academy released psychologists’ notes about a former student. Now, the family has filed a federal complaint.
A former Success Academy parent filed a federal privacy complaint Thursday claiming the charter network violated her daughter’s rights by releasing her education records to a reporter, including notes from psychologists and her special education learning plan.
MAY 09, 2019 – Charter school principal set to lose his license. His job could follow, state says
Principal Eddie Hundley will likely have his state credentials revoked for five years after he endorsed a teacher who was under criminal investigation. The principal is now at risk of losing his job as the leader of Lincoln Memorial Academy.
MAY 10, 2019 – Alma d’Arte hires ‘school improvement evaluator’ but conceals his duties
Alma d’Arte charter high school hired former Deming Public Schools Superintendent Dan Lere as a “school improvement evaluator” on Tuesday, but declined to explain what services or duties his contract entails.
MAY 09, 2019 – Auditor says most cyber, charter schools lacked new child abuse reporting policy
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale says a vast majority of Pennsylvania’s 179 cyber and charter schools did not have an updated policy on reporting child abuse until his office began looking into the matter this spring.
MAY 08, 2019 – NC charter school that would pay millions to an Arizona businessman gets state backing
The N.C. Charter Schools Advisory Board recommended that state approval be given to Wake Preparatory Academy, a K-12 charter school that wants to open in Wake Forest in 2020. It would be the first charter school in North Carolina for Glenn Way, an Arizona businessman who has made millions of dollars building, selling and leasing properties to the charter schools he runs.
MAY 11, 2019 – Execs at Kenny Gamble’s charter school operator implicated in federal bribery probe
In a statement late Monday, Universal officials said it had placed CEO Rahim Islam on leave after the search warrants were executed late last week. The statement did not specify the nature of the investigation, or which agency was running it, but said the probe’s target was Islam, not the nonprofit launched a quarter-century ago by famed music producer Kenny Gamble.
MAY 10, 2019 – How a Washington County charter school failed at every step, and was approved anyway
Woodland Prep is a charter school horror story — and it hasn’t even been built yet.
Located in rural Washington County, Woodland Prep, which will open as a K-7 school this fall and add a grade level each year, is everything state leaders assured us could never happen under Alabama’s charter school laws.
MAY 08, 2019 – Senate lowers performance standards for charter schools, eliminates enrollment cap
Legislation that cleared the Senate on Wednesday would allow charter schools to continue operating in North Carolina even if their students perform worse than students in traditional public schools.
MAY 08, 2019 – Murray charter school to close amid financial troubles
A Murray charter school facing financial hardship will close at the end of the school year.
The American International School of Utah Board voted Wednesday evening to officially close the school as of August 15.
MAY 07, 2019 – CEO of Innovative Arts Academy Charter School submits letter of resignation ahead of charter hearings
The resignation comes just weeks before the school’s hearing before the Catasauqua Area School Board to renew its charter. Dave Rank, president of the school’s board of trustees, said the board is in the process of scheduling a meeting for next week to vote on Taylor’s resignation and begin plans for a transition.
MAY 04, 2019 – Beleaguered charter school board members resign
The State Public Charter School Commission at its general meeting in Honolulu on Tuesday voted to accept the resignation of all of Kona Pacific Public Charter School’s governing board members and establish a new seven-member board.
MAY 06, 2019 – Ex-Milwaukee schools official pleads guilty to bribery
Authorities say 60-year-old Michael Bonds accepted bribes for his votes to help Philadelphia-based charter school company Universal Companies operate three schools in Milwaukee.
MAY 06, 2019 – More charter schools want to open in D.C., but how many can the city handle?
Applicants made their cases last month for 11 new charter schools in the District to open for the 2020 school year. They hope to participate in the education of a city with a growing student population and flush government coffers.
MAY 07, 2019 – CEO of New Beginnings charter network resigns amid falsifying records, grade-fixing allegations
Michelle Blouin-Williams, the embattled CEO of the charter organization New Beginnings Schools Foundation, has resigned amid allegations of falsifying public records and allowing one of the three schools she oversees to engage in grade-fixing, the charter’s board announced Tuesday.
MAY 07, 2019 – CEO of Innovative Arts Academy Charter School submits letter of resignation ahead of charter hearings
Douglas Taylor, the chief executive officer at the embattled Innovative Arts Academy Charter School, has submitted a letter of resignation.
The resignation comes just weeks before the school’s hearing before the Catasauqua Area School Board to renew its charter.
MAY 03, 2019 – Florida’s charter-school sector is a real mess
Mope is not a newcomer to the for-profit school world. He was the owner and CEO of Acclaim Academy, a military-style charter chain. Acclaim’s “cadets,” who were predominantly minority students from low-income homes, wore army fatigues and engaged in drills. The schools’ education director, Bill Orris, had previously led a charter school that was shut down after its management company abandoned it.
MAY 03, 2019 – SE DC residents upset after small renovation turns into two story charter school
A neighborhood in Southeast Washington D.C. is upset because what started out as a small renovation project on a charter school has turned into a giant project and two story building.
“They have totally disrupted our entire neighborhood,” Crystal Patterson – who lives right next door to the project – said. “It’s a monstrosity!”
MAY 03, 2019 – A telling story about a charter school controversy in a rural Alabama county
This is a story about a loud and rather unlikely controversy in a sleepy rural Alabama county over the establishment of a charter school.
While the specifics are unique to Washington County, the narrative is being repeated in states throughout the country.
MAY 04, 2019 – Ignoring the warnings: Charter school closer to closing
An entire school, failing. That’s the unfortunate reality facing the latest casualty among Utah’s charter schools. After years of warnings from state regulators, The American International School of Utah stunned parents and students this week, announcing the school may close in a month.
MAY 03, 2019 – Easton charter school dodging inquiries on fire drills, background checks and more, official says
The Easton Area School District says it’s received complaints about a charter school concerning a lack of fire drills, a lack of employee background checks, inaccurate student attendance reporting and a lack of teacher and administrator certifications.
MAY 01, 2019 – Should charters have to compromise high standards for student behavior?
A few years ago, I attended an education conference in which one of the speakers led one of the most successful urban charter schools in America. In an off-the-record discussion of discipline, he acknowledged his school suspended and “counseled out” more students than its district-run counterparts.
MAY 01, 2019 – Students and parents concerned over possible closure of AISU charter school
Students and parents are worrying Wednesday as the future of the American International School of Utah (AISU) is unknown.
Word the charter school, serving grades K-12, could be closing its doors for good was getting around, according to students.