CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

A compilation of news articles about charter schools which have been charged with, or are highly suspected of, tampering with admissions, grades, attendance and testing; misuse of funds and embezzlement; engaging in nepotism and conflicts of interest; engaging in complicated and shady real estate deals; and/or have been engaging in other questionable, unethical, borderline-legal, or illegal activities. This is also a record of charter school instability and other unsavory tidbits.

Showing posts with label **Managed by School of Excellence in Education. Show all posts

Summit Charter School

ORLANDO-AREA SUMMIT CHARTER SCHOOL MUST FIX PROBLEMS OR CLOSE; April 08, 2008; Orlando Sentinel (FL)

A Maitland charter school paid four administrators more than $520,000 last year and, even though the school was deeply in debt, allowed lavish and uncontrolled spending by two of those administrators, according to an audit by the Orange County school district.

The six-page audit, completed last month, found that Summit Charter School had defaulted on credit-card payments and almost ran out of money to pay its teachers and other bills…

According to both the audit and Claire Olds, a co-founder and the chairwoman of Summit's board of directors, none of the spending -- including the salaries, the travel and other irregularities -- had been approved by the school's eight-member board…

On March 4, the board suspended with pay three of the school's top officials, including Summit's president and co-founder Alan Smolowe. Also suspended were Steven Palmer, the principal; and Holly Wilkey, an office manager. Wilkey is Palmer's sister.

The audit showed that Palmer's salary was $217,654. Smolowe, who is also president of consulting firm Rothschild Development Corp., was paid $175,000. By comparison, according to school district attorney Frank Kruppenbacher, the average Orange County principal earns $83,000 a year...

Palmer's salary more than doubled since 2004, according to the audit, although it is not clear why. Palmer, identified by the school's Web site as an award-winning educator and former Holiday Inn food-and-beverage director, earned an average of $206,000 during the past three years.

The school also paid Wilkey $45,500 a year, while a bookkeeper, Yashmin Moledina, earned $122,000…

*Smolowe and Palmer bought two cars through the school -- without board approval -- and later traded them in for a $47,000 truck.

*The two men racked up "questionable expenditures" of more than $15,000 for meals, hotels, airlines and other travel expenses. Because there were no receipts, the auditors said, "we could not determine if any of the trips were for the benefit of the school."

All of this information, school district officials said, was difficult to ferret out because bookkeeping records were altered and Summit's tangled finances included eight accounts in four banks…

Summit's troubles are not unique among the state's 300 charter schools. A 2007 Orlando Sentinel investigation showed that many operate with little oversight and accountability. The stories showed, among other things, that about half of the state's charter schools had operating deficits or questionable business relationships with founders or board members. Florida authorized charter schools in 1996 as an alternative to public schools. Charter schools operate under a contract with local school districts and are funded with state money…

School of Excellence in Education charter school district

TEA TAKES CONTROL OF CITY'S LARGEST CHARTER SCHOOL DISTRICT, March 3, 2010, Brian Collister blog, San Antonio Express-News

…The city's largest charter school district is now under the control of the Texas Education Agency.

Dr. Jack Cockrill began work Monday as the state appointed conservator and will oversee the troubled district to make sure it spends your tax dollars properly.

I first uncovered problems at the school back in 2008 when I interviewed then Superintendent Ricky Hooker about his misuse of district funds (your tax dollars) for his personal use.

I uncovered Hooker was using his district-issued credit card to buy airline tickets for him and his wife for a personal trip, to purchases self-help books for an outside business he was involved in and a slew of other questionable expenses that appeared to have nothing to do with educating disadvantaged children…

Because I questioned those expenses, Hooker quickly coughed up a check for several hundred dollars to reimburse taxpayers for those expenses we could prove were not school related.

After my report, the TEA released an audit of the school's finances and confirmed what we found. It showed Hooker used the charter school's credit card for himself and a relative to travel, and for other questionable charges.

Hooker was fired by the board last June, the same board members who turned a blind eye to his misspending despite complaints from some within the district.

Now the TEA should look at canning the school board members that allowed the School of Excellence to fail taxpayers and students.

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SUPERINTENDENT OUT, SCHOOL FUNDING ON HOLD, June 19, 2010, News 4 WOAI

A San Antonio charter school superintendent was forced out of his position, partly because of what the News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters first uncovered.

Ricky Hooker was the head of the city's largest charter school, The School of Excellence…

"There has been a separation between the School of Excellence and Mr. Hooker," said interim Superintendent Ernesto Tijerina. "Effective Friday, June the 11th. It is a personnel matter between the board and Mr. Hooker."…

But school board members who initially fought to keep Hooker, despite the problems, tried to spin the fact that they eventually had to show him the door. They released this statement:

"The Board of the School of Excellence appreciates the years of service from Mr. Hooker and wishes him well in his future endeavors. The TEA audit is ongoing, and consequently, we are not at liberty to comment until the audit is completed. However, we do want to make it clear that Mr. Hooker's departure is not related to the TEA audit."

Well, that may be somewhat true, because misspent money is not the only problem Hooker left behind.

The TEA also sent the School of Excellence this notice that its funding has been put on hold.

Turns out, the district has not filed its annual financial audit with the state. A move that could close the school…

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SUPERINTENDENT MISSPENT $139,000 AT SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE, July 31, 2009, News 4 WOAI

SAN ANTONIO -- A year-long News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters investigation comes to this -- more than $100,000 of your money was misspent at the School of Excellence in Education by then superintendent Ricky Hooker…

That's what an audit released by the Texas Education Agency found.

The audit also shows Hooker used the charter school's credit card for himself and a relative for travel and other questionable charges…

He paid back some of those charges after the News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters caught him.

Also in the report, he used his district-issued cell phone for his personal business.

When we spoke to him last year about the allegations, he denied doing anything wrong.

"What I do know is this: There was never any intent to defraud anyone. I am trying to run a school, do I know everything about finance on the other side? No, I do not," said Hooker.

Hooker was eventually fired…

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Ricky Hooker is now the principal at the E.L. Broady Academy.

After six years at the School of Excellence, Hooker believes God has placed him in a position to have an impact on the 13,000 high school dropouts in San Antonio and the hundreds of thousands nationwide. He is now principal of the San Antonio campus of private school, E.L. Broady Academy.

This private school is able to help students get a high school diploma without taking the TAKS test, which private school students are exempt from. They also fill out all of the college paperwork and assist with career development as a means of changing the trajectory of young people’s lives.

More about the E.L. Broady Academy: "Earn Your Private High School Diploma From Home!"

E.L. Broady Academy wants to help you unlock your ability to earn a higher wage and achieve financial freedom by providing you an amazingly low-priced private school education that will earn you your high school diploma.

For $275 dollars or less, you can begin a personalized course of study that will put you back on the road to success.

If you dropped out of high school, we want to help you.
No matter how many credits you have, we can help you.
If you failed your state mandated test, we want to help you…

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Pastor Rick Hawkins is the founder of School of Excellence in Education and Rick Hawkins High School. He and his schools have been embroiled in a series of scandals.

SAN ANTONIO PASTOR ACCUSED IN SEX SCANDAL, November 7, 2010, News 4 WOAI (San Antonio, TX)

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Inform yourself about the Gulen movement!

1. WATCH KILLING ED, Mark Hall's feature-length documentary about charter schools, corruption and the rise of the Gulen Movement in America
2. READ the "Expose the Gulen Movement" report.
3. WATCH the Gulen Movement 101: Session One webinar presentation (1/22/2014)
4. WATCH the 60 Minutes segment "U.S. charter schools tied to powerful Turkish imam" broadcast. (5/13/2012)
5. READ my response to the 60 Minutes piece.
6. READ my guest article about Gulen charter schools published by The Washington Post. (3/27/2012)
7. WATCH my interview talking about Gulen charter schools, or my presentation at LaborFest (segment between 49:18 min. & 1:07:36 min.)
8. READ my postings labeled "Gulen movement" HERE.

As one observer tweeted, "U.S. media have focused too much on the Islamic nature of the Gulen movement. Real concern is its shady dealings and improprieties."

Please be aware that Gulenists have created a large number of anonymously-operated damage control websites. They started to appear a few months after publication of Greg Toppo's article in USA Today (August 2010).

Remainders

1. Bruce Baker's excellent analysis of whether charter schools are public or private.

2. Jim Horn's Top 10 reasons for why 1%ers support urban charter schools.

3. What reporters covering charter schools need to know about miracle schools, vouchers and all that educational flim-flam (i.e. be skeptical and always follow the money).

4. As of May 2013, only eight states do not have a charter school law: Alabama, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia.

5. Balkanize: "to break up (as a region or group) into smaller and often hostile units" (Merriam-Webster dictionary)

6. *Phrase coined by John Thompson: "educational civil war"

7. "A system that allows school operators to donate to the officials that regulate them is pretty sorry." h/t "X"

8. Re the Gulen movement. Two important psychological principals of which to be aware: the Backfire Effect and the Black Swan Theory.

Pleas for charter school oversight

AS U.S. AID GROWS, OVERSIGHT IS URGED FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS; February 24, 2010; New York Times

…The president of one influential charter group told the House Education and Labor Committee that the federal government had spent $2 billion since the mid-1990s to finance new charter schools but less than $2 million, about one-tenth of 1 percent, to ensure that they were held to high standards.
“It’s as if the federal government had spent billions for new highway construction, but nothing to put up guardrails along the sides of those highways,” said Greg Richmond, president of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers…

CHARTER BACKER SAYS HOUSE PROPOSAL WEAKENS OVERSIGHT; April 30, 2011; Columbus Dispatch (OH)

A leading school-choice supporter says the sweeping changes proposed by House Republicans would weaken oversight of charter schools severely and threaten to turn Ohio into a "laughingstock of the nation's charter-school programs.

"It's hard for me to say that," said Terry Ryan, vice president of Ohio programs and policy for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which sponsors seven charter schools in the state, including two in Columbus...

It was just last year that Mr. Ryan said, "The charter movement must police itself."
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"The idea of regulating charter schools makes no sense because deregulation is the justification for the policy." -- Jim M., retired teacher

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Perhaps it's finally dawning on some charter school supporters that the whole business is a huge can of worms.

Message to readers

With the systematic privatization of public education being conducted via the rapid expansion of charter schools, I regularly receive messages from teachers and parents who have charter school horror stories they want to share, and/or are in need of advice about a charter school situation in their community (e.g., "The charter school I attended has been closed. Do you know how I can get a copy of my transcript?). I also hear from journalists who are seeking information.

Just so you know, this site is a one-woman volunteer operation. Sorry folks, I'm DEFINITELY NOT union-sponsored.

Welcome

Charter School Scandals (CSS) was launched on May 14, 2010 to provide the public with a source of independently collected information about U.S. charter schools.

For instance, compare what you learn from my entry for the 3,500 student CATO School of Reason to the information provided by the pro-charter Center for Education Reform in their compilation: "Closed Charter Schools by State: National Data 2009" (63 page pdf). In the CER's document, the closure reason is "Management" explained as "Inadequate record keeping, suspect relations with private and sectarian schools," but the true story is much bigger and dirtier than that.

CSS is a non-billionaire funded (and un-bought off!), non-union affiliated (!), one-person operation in the name of transparency and public service to our democracy. I post the information as quickly as I can, but have a massive backlog due to the sheer number of stories. Please check back periodically for new additions.

And as you scroll through these stories, be sure to keep a running tally of the estimated legal costs.

Gulen Movement MUST READS!

Under the radar of the American public, the Gulen movement has been quietly advancing its presence in the U.S. via the establishment of charter schools, "cultural centers", and "interfaith dialogue" centers. Politicians, reporters, academics, community leaders, and charter school families have been strategically targeted, influenced, and given gifts, as the Gulenists have steadily built up their political cover. But how many of these Americans have an understanding of the controversies which surround this secretive movement and its worldwide political ambitions? And how would the public respond to finding out that such a movement is opening more and more charter schools, supported by their tax dollars as part of the GM's primary global project, without being willing to admit the connection?

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LEARN MORE

1. Read about the federal investigation into the Gulen Movement's charter schools.

2. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Islam, Secularism and the Battle for Turkey's Future, 23 August 2010, STRATFOR Global Intelligence

3. Video of Joshua Hendrick of the U. of OR and Y. Alp Aslandogan discussing the Gulen Movement. Here are the first 24 pages of Hendrick's 2009 thesis.

4. Charter School Watchdog

5. Gulen Charter Schools (don't miss the entry HERE.)

6. A Guide to the Gulen Movement's Activities in the U.S.

7. Gulen in the International Press

8. "Turkey's survival of the fittest: The Islamic anti-Darwinism movement in Turkey is being helped by an unlikely source - US Christian conservatives," 12 March 2008, ISN Security Watch)

9. "Religious movements in Turkey," 20 December 2010, OpenDemocracy

10. "First Class Revolution: From Medina to Mecca" and "Fethullah Gulen's Missionary Charter Schools Coming under Increasing Scrutiny in the United States and around the World," 24 January 2011 & 26 February 2011, Kurdish Aspect

11. "Turkey: Politics of Identity and Power," 13 August 2010, Congressional Research Service

12. "Turkey's pivotal role in the international drug trade," July 1998, Le Monde diplomatique (more background info)

13. EXTRA CREDIT: Check out the animated Imperial History of the Middle East and this Middle East geography game.

Bad apples, tips of icebergs, and cans of worms

In 2000, the Center for Education Reform wrote:
"A few bad apples shouldn't sour the public on the promising charter school movement, but when a bad apple does turn up, critics of charter schools pounce on it. Charter opponents are quick to claim that "more than a few" schools have closed and even quicker to characterize the movement as one that invites unscrupulous, fly-by-night operators to set up shop.Those mean ol' charter opponents. Isn't it curious how the reformers don't have any problem at all with building up a few negative public school stories into an anti-public teacher-bashing movement of national proportions in order to destroy teacher unions and public schools as a whole?"

But are charter schools really so innocent?

- In 2009, 83 percent of 145 Minnesota charter schools were found to have at least one financial irregularity in their audit.

- In February 2009, a New Mexico state audit found financial problems with 36 of the 44 charter schools in Albuquerque.

- Philadelphia City Controller Alan Butkovitz (April 2010): "The fact that there were significant issues at 13 out of 13 [schools] raises the likelihood you would see many of these same issues found in a much larger sampling of the schools.By May 2010, his probe had widened to 18 charter schools."

Relationships terminated

Charter school promoters live in an abstract world where it's perfectly fine to shutter a school when the "need" arises. This reveals a profound detachment and utter disregard for the emotional lives of the children and families who, as a result, end up being subjected to tremendous disruption, stress, termination of meaningful relationships, loss and grief. Kids need security and dependability.

A school going "out of business" takes a very different emotional toll on families and children than when their local gas station or Denny's restaurant does.

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The demise and death of our institutions of social support:

Family............check!
Church............check!
Neighborhoods............check!
Schools............check!

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"It comes down to what ultimately is in the best public interest here -- supporting the growth of charters or not. Does that support ultimately weaken the rest of the school district? You bet it does." (Fred LeBrun, Albany, NY)

Observations

There is no doubt but that an increasing number of inspectors, auditors, investigators, prosecutors and court rooms (and a lot of time and money) will be needed as more state charter caps are lifted.

Part of the problem is that too many people running charter schools see them as their own little fiefdoms. After all the effort and money put into setting up their schools -- and with political leaders and the mainstream media shining their bright spotlights on charter schools -- the stakes are inordinately high for them to be able to show "success."

Another problem I've discovered by doing this research is that the unmonitored access to millions of public education dollars is drawing unscrupulous people into the "business." At other times, new-found access to funds is proving to be too tempting for some people who were perhaps less criminally-minded.

Additionally, I've now discovered that, in this era of high-stakes testing, the education security business is booming. As one company put it, "Cheating on tests isn't the exception anymore; it has almost become the rule."

On competition

From "Deregulation and Charter School Swindles" by Gary Clabaugh (Educational Horizons, Winter 2009):

Two main ideas inform the charter school movement. The first is that competition is an essential ingredient in school improvement. Charters are said to provide that.

The trouble with this argument is that competition doesn't select the best, only the most popular. McDonald's doesn't produce the best-tasting or most-nutritious food, for instance, but its heart attack specials certainly are popular. A second-rate school might prove similarly competitive if it provides a tawdry but reassuring education to the children of the low-information crowd. Fearful your kids will discover you are an ignoramus? Send them to Alpha Charter where they will never learn to doubt.

Dedication

This Web site is dedicated to Eli Broad, Bill Gates, the Walton family, Arne Duncan, Whitney Tilson, Joe Williams, Reed Hastings, Ted Mitchell, Jack O'Connell, Tom Vander Ark, George Miller, Joanne Weiss, Randy Ward, Arnold Swarzenegger, all Milton Friedman-lovers, and any other free-market, pro-school choice, minimally-regulate-what-goes-on-in-charter school supporters who are also proud self-stated "DISRUPTORS" of public school communities, who have almost never, EVER been part of a public school community or local neighborhood, or who rejected being part of any public school community or local neighborhood long, long ago -- but have ended up deciding to help tear apart the tapestry of basic local human connections anyway.

Visitors

A variety of people have been looking at my blog, probably because of the great Gulen charter school information I've posted. This site is regularly visited by readers from Turkey. I get periodic visits from dhs.gov, doj.gov and ed.gov. I've had visits from house.gov and ed.gov, and at least one visit from someone at eop.gov (? Executive Office of the President). I've had a few visits from a couple of mystery IPs that are supposedly associated with the State Department, specifically the CIA. Hmmmmm...

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Summit Charter School

School of Excellence in Education charter school district