Oracle Charter School

MORE SCRUTINY FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS IN DEBATE OVER EXPANSION, May 25, 2010, The New York Times

The Oracle Charter School in Buffalo, for example, will make more than $5 million in payments to a real estate partnership called KBSD to eventually own a building that sold for $875,000. The annual interest rate, according to loan documents, is 20 percent. Two years after the transaction was arranged, a KBSD partner joined Oracle’s board…

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A $2 BILLION DECISION: THE CASE FOR REFORMING NEW YORK’S CHARTER SCHOOL LAW, April 2010, New York State United Teachers report

…Records show the charter school, through its related Oracle Building Corporation, purchased a historic Buffalo building in February 2005 for $875,000.130 The Oracle Charter School pays rent to the Oracle Building Corp, which in turn pays the mortgage on the building to KBSD, LLP – a partnership that includes the board president. The school’s building corporation has also paid KBSD, LLP at least $267,352 in developer fees. Oracle’s 2008 audit filed in November 2009 with SUNY’s Charter School Institute confirms, “The building owner entered into an agreement with the developer, KBSD, LLP, who holds a mortgage on the building. KBSD, LLP is also a related party, as a trustee of the school has a direct ownership interest in KBSD.” Documents filed with the SUNY Charter School Institute indicate the charter school – through its building corporation -- will pay more than $4 million to the partnership over the course of the school’s lease. In addition, Oracle – and KBSD – has received more than $400,000 in state grants to renovate Oracle’s building, a historic mansion on Buffalo’s Delaware Avenue…

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Folks, you don't know the half of it! The school, while in theory is ultimately under the control of a Board of Trustees, has time and time again, abdicated it's responsibility to the Head of School who could well be the most unqualified, morally unfit human being ever to have walked God's green Earth. A specific example: A student bathroom was smeared in human feces and was not cleaned for more than 24 hours, all the while students and staff were in the building and the door was not locked. The Head of School was informed of the health and safety issue and chose to leave the bathroom in the condition it was in. The odor was so bad, it permeated the clothing of those on the floor (3rd floor) of the main mansion. If parents were aware of the conditions in the building and the decisions or lack thereof of the Head of School, they would arrive on campus with pitchforks in hand demanding her resignation.

Anonymous said...

Julie Jackson-Forsberg, Head of School of Oracle Charter School, would interrogate faculty after they had met with the accreditation authority (Charter Schools Institute) and would create a counterpoint to head of CSI. She filed false and misleading information with CSI and when confronted, would just make whoever confronted her a pariah and make their lives miserable.

Anonymous said...

Oracle just received a new 5yr charter thanks to the class of 2013 passed performances ,however are preventing the kids getting into the schools of their choice. The grading policy is to give arbitrary grade when the marking period ends. When they see the errors they can't correct it because the person who could make the change is on leave. So the grades cause their