William and Josephine Dorn Charter Community School

“Charter school gets too much state funding.” KOAT (Albuquerque, NM), 12/4/2012

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —Target 7 learned a new charter academy grossly overestimated its enrollment numbers, and now the school will have to pay the state back for money it didn’t deserve.

The William and Josephine Dorn Charter Community School sits at the Eastern Edge of the South Valley. According to the state’s Legislative Finance Committee, the academy received more state money than it was owed for the entire year because it estimated it would have 90 students when it actually had nine...

Manatee School of Arts & Sciences

“Manatee school's offer raises eyebrows.” FOX 13 News, 10/9/2012 -

Sure, most kids love video games, but you don't see many schools encouraging them, much less buying them for students.

But that's just what a charter school in Manatee County is doing. Over the last two years, enrollment at the Manatee School of Arts and Sciences has dropped by nearly 40 percent.

So six weeks into the new school year, they ran an ad in the Bradenton Herald, offering what some call a bribe -- switch schools by Thursday and get a free Nintendo DS, one of the most popular gaming devices for kids...

Birmingham Community Charter High School

“LAUSD issues notice of violations to Birmingham charter school, first step in revoking charter.” LA Daily News (CA), 5/1/2012

Birmingham Community Charter High School has until May 23 to respond to concerns that it mishandled admissions, expulsions and claims of racial bias as it fights to prevent Los Angeles Unified from retaking control of the campus.

Indianapolis charter schools (student dumping)

“IPS superintendent calls for state investigation into charter schools.” FOX59 (IN), 10/24/2011

Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Eugene G. White called for a state investigation Monday.  White called for the state to investigate what he calls an illegal charter schools practice that will cost his district $500,000 in state aid this year.

In a letter to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett, White claims that charter schools are intentionally waiting until after the states average daily membership date to release special needs, homeless and other difficult to place students back to IPS, thereby keeping state aid for the students, while shouldering IPS with the responsibility to educate them...

White said 72 children have come back to IPS because they were homeless and could not be transported to charter schools or the charter school was unequipped to handle their special disabilities or they faced disciplinary expulsion...

White said IPS staff videotaped interviews with returning students and parents about their decisions to leave charter schools and those tapes will be made available to state officials and Mayor Greg Ballard, who sponsors the schools, and Ball State University, which oversees the system.

White said the practice violates state and federal laws and is asking for investigations of 10 charter schools in particular...

Eagle Ridge Academy

Eagle Ridge Academy was established after the closure of Brighton Collegiate High School (formerly Brighton Charter School) which was plagued by a series of sexual scandals involving teachers and students. Read about that HERE. 

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HIGH-FLYING EAGLE RIDGE GROUNDS SOME STUDENTS; STUDENT, PARENT ALLEGE ENROLLMENT NUMBERS, RACE PLAYS FACTOR; Brighton Standard Blade (CO) 29 Dec 2010

BRIGHTON — When Eagle Ridge Academy opened last fall, in place of the defunct Brighton Collegiate High School, the school’s new leadership promised a high-flying curriculum designed to give students a jumpstart on their college careers.

But the school’s new focus isn’t for everyone and at least one former student said he believes students of the former Brighton Collegiate are being pushed out to make room for new, smarter students.

“It’s like they are trying to get rid of us and get new kids to replace us,” sophomore Evin Cook said.

Cook, 16, said he was brought into the office of principal Brian Spinnato, shortly before students adjourned for winter break earlier this month and told he was “no longer a good fit for the school.”…

But [Evin’s mother Margaret Cook] said they were first informed, after the October enrollment count, that Evin wasn’t a good fit for the school and they should examine different options for him…

Spinnato said they expected there would be some difficulties in making the transition, especially for former Brighton Collegiate students, to the new curriculum.

While he was reluctant to comment specifically on Evin’s academic performance at the school, he said he understands some of Margaret and Evin’s frustration.

“I did tell her that the kids that were at Brighton Collegiate do have a rough transition,” he said. “It is tough and it is unfair that, halfway through the game, the rules changed. Unfortunately, it is the scenario that it is…

Cook further alleges there were racial undertones to the students who were spoken to about their academic futures before the holiday break. She said the majority of students were minorities, either Hispanic or African American, and based on their academic standards, Eagle Ridge will end up a “predominantly-white school.”

“They’re trying to have an all-white school over there,” she said.

Spinnato disputes that any of it was based on race. He pointed out that 45 percent of the school’s population meets the minority status and that only a small percentage of the school’s more than 200 students were presented with different options for their academic futures…

NYC charter schools (low ELL enrollment)

CITY CHARTERS DON'T TAKE ENOUGH ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS, STUDY SHOWS; April 25, 2011; WNYC News (NY) 

For years, education advocates have been complaining that charter schools aren't serving all children equally because they take a disproportionately low share of English Language Learners.

That allegation has caused critics to raise questions whenever charters post higher test scores than regular public schools.

In a study last month published in the Journal of School Choice, researchers from NYU found that the schools do serve fewer English language learners. But they used more data than previous studies - by looking at both state enrollment patterns in city schools from 2006 to 2008 and Census Bureau data provided by the American Community Survey…

Des Moines Public Charter School

“Problems continue to plague Des Moines charter school.” Des Moines Register (IO), 3/26/2012

Des Moines Public Charter School faced challenges even before it opened 15 months ago.

And since January 2011, when it finally did open, it has been plagued with problems.

Among the issues:

Enrollment is below expectations. Instead of the 150 seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade students the school was projected to have in its second year, there are 115. The school lost more than 40 percent of the 104 students it originally enrolled in its first year, a report to the Des Moines school board shows.

Lack of accountability to the school board or the public. The Des Moines school board was to receive quarterly reports that include such things as students’ academic progress, attendance and test score data, according to the school’s state charter application. The reports were also supposed to be put on the school’s website. In the 15 months the school has been open, the board has received only an annual report; that report is not on the charter school’s website.

Continuing financial problems. The school opened six months behind schedule because of lackluster fundraising. According to its charter application, the school’s budget was estimated at $602,520. This year’s budget is $1 million, a 66 percent increase from the school’s first-year budget.

Staffing has outpaced original projections. In its second year of operation, Des Moines Public Charter was expected to have 6.5 teaching positions and its director was anticipated to be a half-time administrator and half-time fine arts teacher, according to the charter application. The administrative assistant was also a half-time position. This year, there are nine teachers for an enrollment that has 35 fewer students than envisioned; both the director and administrative positions are full-time...

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"Des Moines parents question charter school's focus." Des Moines Register (IO), 4/22/2011

A new Des Moines charter school created for students who seem destined to drop out is recruiting middle-schoolers from across the district — including high achievers — which makes some parents wonder why the school is necessary…

"My recollection is that they had a very targeted group of students that they were hoping to have a significant influence on," said Charles Edwards, a state board member from Des Moines. "Opening it up to the entire population may be a very justifiable thing to do, but it's not what they originally proposed…

Still, an aggressive recruiting effort took some Des Moines parents by surprise.

Christine Comito was upset that her son, a sixth-grader, was pulled out of class at Callanan Middle School last week without her permission for an assembly that touted the charter school's downtown campus, laptop computers for each student and move to uniforms…

Sheila Mauck, another Callanan mother, said the approach seemed "kind of desperate."

"My suspicion is that they're not getting the numbers or the caliber of student" intended for the charter school, Mauck said. "That really makes me question the money being spent."…

Success Academy (two campuses)

CHARTER SCHOOL LEFT $1.2 MILLION DEBT; SUCCESS ACADEMY IN ST. PAUL LEFT A TRAIL OF FINANCIAL DEBRIS, AN AUDITOR'S REPORT FOUND; December 30, 2000; Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Before losing its charter and closing its doors last spring, the Success Academy charter school in St. Paul racked up more than $1.2 million in debt, according to an independent auditor's report filed with the state Friday.

The academy, which operated two sites serving almost 600 elementary-school children, left a trail of financial debris in its wake. The list of debtors includes staff members, who are owed $301,196 in salary and related expenses; vendors, who are owed $194,000, and taxpayers…

The K-6 school grew rapidly, but not as quickly as the enrollment projections it submitted to the state…

Of the $742,726 owed to taxpayers, $608,000 resulted from the school overstating its enrollment and failing to meet the state's expectations for its extended-year program. In addition, the St. Paul School District's position is that it overpaid the school for special-education costs by $134,000. However, Success Academy officials contest the state and district's claims and will appeal, according to the report…

…auditors found a number of irregularities and highlighted the limitations of their review in their cover letter to the association:

"We were unable to verify the completeness or accuracy of the liability balances as the School did not maintain office staff or an accounting function after July 2000. Also, we were unable to obtain written representations from management of the School as required by auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America," the letter says.

Officials with the state Department of Children, Families and Learning are talking with staff members at the attorney general's office about seeking reimbursement from the now-defunct school. But Katie Shea, the department's director of finance and management services, isn't optimistic about recovering the money.

"There's no clear remedy as far as we can tell," she said, adding that the charter-school law did not anticipate management-company arrangements such as Success Academy's.

New Roots Charter School

ITHACA CHARTER SCHOOL LEARNS COST OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH SUNSHINE LAWS - NEW ROOTS NOW WELL-VERSED IN FOIL; March 11, 2011; Ithaca Journal (NY) 

Two years ago Pat Ehrich knew virtually nothing about the state Freedom of Information Law and Open Meetings Law. But after nightly readings, research and a court case, she considers herself a bit more knowledgeable.

"I am not quite an expert, but I do understand how to write a FOIL, what agencies are required to provide, how long they have to provide it and what I can ask for," Ehrich said. "There is really a goldmine of information out there and once you read that, it is pretty simple."

Ehrich, co-founder of the Coalition for Sustainable Schools, said she was opposed to New Roots Charter School since it opened in fall 2009. She did not believe the school garnered as many students as was reported, Ehrich said, and she decided to get the data to prove it.

Her diligence and New Roots' initial unresponsiveness became an expensive lesson for the school. Over time, several requests were not delivered to Erich in the time required under FOIL and the cost of non-compliance became clear: a court ordered the school to attend training sessions conducted by the state Committee on Open Government and awarded Ehrich more than $20,000 in attorney's fees, she said.

"The message is it is very, very expensive to decide to violate FOIL if someone calls you out on it," Ehrich said. "I thought I had no other choice and I was right."

Ehrich's education on FOIL and open meetings law came from a variety of sources: the Committee on Open Government's website, Google searches on court cases, conversations with lawyers and opinions written by Robert Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government.

In January 2010, Ehrich said, it became apparent to her that New Roots was not going to hand over information she believed she had a right to see under the law. Aware it would be expensive and she might not win the case, Ehrich filed a suit against the school in June…

Ehrich's case claimed the school did not grant proper access to public records and excluded the public from board meetings not permitted to be closed under the law.

Madison County Supreme Court Justice Donald Cerio ruled that New Roots did not respond to FOIL requests in a timely fashion. Under FOIL, a written request for a public record must be acknowledged within five business days. The school failed to respond to the seven written requests from Ehrich dated April 29 within that time limit, according to court documents.

In addition, Cerio ruled that the school's board of trustees did not fully comply with open meetings law with respect to an executive session in April. As a result, the board of New Roots and its executive staff attended training sessions conducted by Freeman last week. It was the first such session ordered by a court in the state, Freeman said…

Flanner House Higher Learning Center

CHARTER SCHOOLS BOARD VOTES TO REVOKE FLANNER HOUSE HIGHER LEARNING CENTER'S CHARTER; October 21, 2005; Indianapolis Mayor’s Office press release (IN)

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indianapolis Charter Schools Board today voted to revoke the Flanner House Higher Learning Center's charter due to numerous problems the school has experienced over the past two years.

The Charter Schools Office first flagged these problems during the 2003-04 school year, and detailed them in the 2004 Charter School Accountability Report of Mayor-Sponsored Charter Schools. Problems also were cited in a recent audit by the Indiana State Board of Accounts.

The revocation was issued today and will become effective as soon as all students transition out of the school, but no later than December 23, 2005. Reasons for the revocation were detailed in a notice sent to the school on September 27. They include:

· Failure to report enrollment. The school failed to accurately report average daily membership for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years in accordance with state law.

· Failure to report student attendance records. The school routinely failed to maintain and report accurate attendance records, in accordance with state law.

· Graduating students who haven't met requirements. Student transcripts show that many students who received diplomas in the last two years did not meet the graduation requirements set out in the school's charter or Indiana law, typically because they either did not have enough credits or had not passed the appropriate courses.

· Poor test scores. In both years of operation, most students failed to successfully complete the required standardized test (Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress) in the fall and spring. Some of those who successfully completed the test actually did worse on the spring test than they did on the fall test and lost ground against both state and national norms in grades and subjects tested in both the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years.

· Lack of certified teachers. In the 2004-05 school year, the school employed only four licensed teachers at the school, which is less than the number of teachers the school's charter requires and less than necessary to adequately staff the school.

· Failure to test students. The school failed to administer the ninth grade Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress Plus ("ISTEP+") examination to any students enrolled in the ninth grade in 2004-05, as required by state law.

· Debt. The school has a debt of $142,076.44 and must forgo more than $600,000 in state money because the school could not account for the students listed in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 enrollment reports…

Gulf Shores Academy

CHARTER SCHOOL LEADER SENTENCED FOR TAMPERING; October 15, 2009; Houston Chronicle 

The leader of one of Texas’ most troubled charter schools was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for tampering with government records.

Linda Johnson was convicted of issuing false high school transcripts as principal of Gulf Shores Academy, a charter approved by the state in 1998.

Prosecutors with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said Johnson granted class credits in exchange for $150 and a few class assignments.

Johnson’s attorney, state Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, could not be reached for comment Thursday. He has previously argued that the Texas Education Agency unfairly targeted the school, which served mostly low-income blacks.

After a decade of academic and financial problems, the Texas Education Agency declined to renew Gulf Shores’ charter in July. The school still owes the state about $8 million for misreporting attendance, officials said.

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CHARTER SCHOOL ACCUSED OF FAKING STUDENT FILES: GULF SHORES ACADEMY ALREADY IN TROUBLE WITH THE STATE; March 27, 2008; Houston Chronicle (TX) 

Leaders of one of Houston's most troubled charter schools are accused of issuing false high school transcripts to undercover investigators with the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Linda Johnson, head of Gulf Shores Academy, and her daughter, Marian Johnson, face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of felony document tampering. Prosecutors say they granted class credits in exchange for $150 and a few hastily completed assignments. They are scheduled to appear in court next month, officials said.

State Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, said the campus, which caters to poor African-American students, is being unfairly targeted by the Texas Education Agency. Dutton, a lawyer, has volunteered to represent the charter school.

"We've been fighting for so long for this school, it would be a shame to give up at this point," he said, adding that the Johnsons did not break the law…

Gulf Shores Academy, which opened in 1998, once had more than 1,000 students and a powerhouse basketball program that produced first-round draft pick Gerald Green, who recently was traded to the Houston Rockets.

But the campus has made more headlines for its record of poor academic and financial performance. Among other offenses, the school owed the state nearly $11 million for overreporting student attendance.

The Texas Education Agency has been withholding funding to repay the debt, which now stands at about $8.5 million, officials said.

Despite the repeated missteps, the TEA has been unable to revoke Gulf Shores' charter.

In September 2006, the school became the first in Texas ordered to close mid-year. Just a week later, a Travis County judge granted a restraining order to keep the school open.

In addition to their criminal court date, Gulf Shores leaders are scheduled to appear at a charter revocation hearing in Austin on April 28.

"It's because of material violations of the charter and also academic and financial reasons," TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said.

Because of the pending criminal charges and because the school is suing the state, the agency wouldn't provide specifics about the case.

Registrars complained

Assistant District Attorney Anna Emmons said prosecutors started investigating Gulf Shores after receiving complaints from several area high school registrars. Students who had failed classes would return after just a few days with the credits on transcripts from Gulf Shores, she said.

Two investigators were sent to the school earlier this month posing as parents whose children needed to make up classes. In both cases, Gulf Shores administrators issued credits to the parents for $150 and some class assignments that the parents handed in the next day, Emmons said.

Both investigators received the same packet of assignments — even though they were seeking credit for different classes — and they turned in the same set of sloppy, incomplete answers, she said.

Gulf Shores employees never saw the students or verified their existence, she said.

"Common sense says within 24 hours, you should not be able to receive a semester's credit," Emmons said.

The Johnsons were arrested March 18 and released on $10,000 bonds.

A.T. Jones Academy

TAMPA CHARTER SCHOOL LOSES $64,000 FOR ENROLLING UNDERAGE STUDENTS; March 23, 2011; Tampa Tribune (FL) 

TAMPA — Twenty-two children were removed from kindergarten this week after school district officials discovered they were too young to be enrolled in their public charter school.

Now that school, A.T. Jones Academy, stands to lose more than $64,000 in state and local funding to make up for the error.

"It was a mistake the principal made at the school," said Hillsborough County charter schools supervisor Jenna Hodgens. "The mistake was caught."

The situation came to light after principal Brenda Kearse sought help from the district for a student with behavior problems. When officials learned the student's age — 4 years old, despite a state law setting the minimum age for public school at 5 by Sept. 1 — they checked and found 21 more…

Kearse told Bay News 9 that she misinterpreted state law…

School district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said the principal and the charter's board should have known better.

"Charter schools have autonomy," she said. "It is their responsibility to follow the law."

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PARENTS MUST PAY AS FREE KINDERGARTEN ENDS AT CHARTER SCHOOL; March 23, 2011; Tampa Tribune (FL) 

TAMPA - Parents of 4-year-olds attending a kindergarten class for free learned they'll need to pay $115 a week for the rest of the year because their charter school, A.T. Jones Academy, mistakenly enrolled students too young for the program…

The school is named for the Rev. Arthur T. Jones, pastor of the Bible-Based Fellowship Church, who emphasized math, science and technology skills in opening the academy this school year…

Located next to the church, [the school] used to house the Bible-Based Fellowship Christian Academy, a private school that closed in 2008 because of low enrollment…

Cleveland Academy of Math, Science and Technology

MINISTER CONVICTED OF STEALING SENTENCED TO 7-YEAR TERM; August 15, 2007 Cleveland Plain-Dealer 

A minister convicted of stealing $1.4 million through a Cleveland charter school he founded was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Wednesday.

The Rev. Mark Olds once garnered national attention for his work helping former convicts. But earlier this year, a federal jury convicted the Solon man on 62 counts, including mail fraud, money laundering and tax charges.

Prosectors said Olds used the Cleveland Academy of Math, Science and Technology to enrich himself.

Olds, 56, and his employees claimed the school on East 71st Street had as many as 650 students, even though the building could hold only 150 students.

The charter school Olds established in 2002 received about $5,200 per student each school year. The school received an additional $1.4 million as a result of the fraudulent head counts.

Olds, of Solon, also used more than $200,000 in school money to buy a building on Woodland Avenue in 2002. Then he spent nearly $400,000 to renovate the building, eventually moving the school into the building in September 2003. Three months later, the school closed. Olds then sold the Woodland Avenue building and kept the profits for himself, prosecutors said.

Chase Academy for Communication Arts

CHARTER SCHOOL TO CLOSE FRIDAY-STATE FUNDING CUT OFF TO CHASE ACADEMY; February 25, 2010; The Columbus Dispatch (OH) 

A South Side charter school will lock its doors for good Friday afternoon, leaving students to find new schools over the weekend.

Parents and teachers at Chase Academy for the Communication Arts were given a 24-hour notice when letters were sent home at the end of today's school day…

In what appeared to be an illegal meeting, the school board gathered today with staff behind closed doors. After the staff was dismissed, the meeting was opened to the public and the school's closure was approved in minutes.

The Ohio Department of Education will conduct an emergency enrollment review Friday at the school, 1565 Integrity Dr. E., and state auditors have stepped in to conduct a financial review.

"I didn't know anything about it. Now I don't know where my kid is going to go," said Laretha Haynes, who was picking up her daughter, a third-grader at Chase, this afternoon…

After the board meeting, Allen-Davis refused to explain what the school had done with the money it was paid by the state. Parents and former teachers painted a picture of a school in turmoil.

Jatica Miles had three children enrolled in the school, but moved them to a private school in the fall.

"One day we came in and there was no lunch for the kids because they hadn't paid the lunch people," she said. "They had to go down the street and buy Pop-Tarts and orange juice."

A teacher left in December when she said the school wouldn't pay to provide legally required services for special-needs students. Teachers and students were fleeing throughout the year, said Britt Thompson, who worked as the school-intervention specialist…

The past three state financial audits of Chase showed that the school was having difficulty tracking its spending. The school had misspent thousands in tax dollars and couldn't properly account for tens of thousands in grant money, state auditors found…

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CHARTER SCHOOL MIGHT CLOSE AFTER STATE HALTS FUNDING: CHASE ACADEMY'S ENROLLMENT CORRECTION IS COSTLY; February 24, 2010; Columbus Dispatch (OH)

No more state money is coming to a Columbus charter school, which means it likely will close.

Chase Academy for Communication Arts reported an enrollment of as many as 189 students this school year. But in January, the South Side school told the state that its monthly counts had been off and that only 108 students actually attend.

In response, the state this month stopped sending per-pupil money to Chase. No more will be sent this school year. The state has paid Chase $458,000 since the school year began.

"Those kids weren't enrolled (at any point) the entire year. They were being overpaid since the school year began," said Scott Blake, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education…

J. Leonard Harding, executive director of the sponsoring organization, said he does not know whether parents have been notified. As of yesterday afternoon, Harding had not been able to reach the school-board president. He said ERCO wasn't aware of the enrollment error until recently.

"I'm trying to find out what's going on with this school," he said. "Now, we've got a mess here."

A state financial audit released last year showed that the school was having difficulty tracking its spending. Chase had overcharged needy students for school lunches and misspent thousands in tax dollars, and it couldn't properly account for tens of thousands in grant money, state auditors found.

Then in April, the school board fired school founder Celia Jones and said it suspected ethics violations. Board members have not detailed what those violations might have been…

Chiron Charter School

FORMER CHARTER SCHOOL OFFICIAL FACES 7 FELONY CHARGES; September 6, 2006; Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) 

The former top administrator at a defunct downtown Minneapolis charter school has been charged with seven felony counts of misusing more than $300,000 in public money.

Kristin Laxton was accused of overreporting the number of students to bring the school extra money, using federal grants for purposes outside the law, and paying herself more salary and reimbursement than she was due.

The Hennepin County complaint filed late last week is one of the largest theft cases made against a Minnesota charter school. It accuses Laxton of three counts of theft, two counts of forgery and two counts of making false complaints to a public body. Much of the complaint is based on an investigation conducted by the state auditor's office, which sent its report to the county last fall under its responsibility to forward any matters involving misbehavior by public officials…

According to the complaint, the school was paid $238,170 more than it was due for the 2004-05 school year. The complaint alleges that Laxton inflated student counts both by reporting students whom auditors couldn't find on attendance logs and by reporting that students attended for longer than they did…

The redacted version of the auditor's report, made public late last month, suggests potential culpability by others for amounts they were paid for paychecks or other reimbursement to which they were not entitled. Peter Cahill, deputy county attorney, said the investigation into Chiron is continuing. The state's worst charter school scam involved Right Step Academy. A federal judge recently sentenced founders William and Shirley Pierce to prison time and more than $489,000 in restitution of state aid for their role in the fraud.

The report issued by the Minnesota State Auditor is @ http://www.osa.state.mn.us/reports/spi/2006/chiron_06_report.pdf

Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology

VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAW PUSH STATE TO MONITOR GWINNETT SCHOOLS CHARTER LOTTERY, DISCRIMINATION ALLEGED AT GWINNETT SCHOOL; February 15, 2011; Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA) 

For the second time in four years the state is investigating the enrollment process of the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology after complaints the elite charter school illegally screened applicants.

The complaints stem from the charter school's 2011-12 application, which appeared on the Gwinnett County public school's website for weeks as parents rushed to enroll. The application asked for math grades, test scores, gifted education and disability status, English language comprehension -- all so a student could gain entry into a public charter school that by law must have open enrollment.

The application also said the school would not provide services for those with disabilities or offer English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes.

“Public schools have to provide those services,” said Louis Erste, state charter school division director. “ That is why you can’t put that on your forms. You would be breaking the law if you used the information to exclude the students.”…

Erste said he has no evidence Gwinnett intended to screen students. But in a document obtained through open records, the AJC found associate state superintendent Garry McGiboney admonished GSMST in late January for its application: “Our initial review indicates your current application does not comply with state or federal law or ... your charter contract."…

Tony Roberts, CEO of the Georgia Charter Schools Association, is not so certain. He visited the campus a few years ago when it was under its inaugural administration. Roberts said he was asked for advice on weeding out applicants who couldn't handle the rigor…

Origins Montessori Charter School

DISTRICT PROBE CLOSES ORANGE CHARTER SCHOOL: THE FACILITY WAS MISMANAGED AND LACKED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY, OFFICIALS SAY; July 04, 2007; Orlando Sentinel (FL) 

The Orange County school district has shut down a charter school after officials said they found evidence of serious financial mismanagement and abuses of state education law at the beloved Orlando elementary.

Among the alleged irregularities: Origins Montessori Charter School appears during the past school year to have accepted state money for students who were not enrolled at the school and assigned students to two teachers who were not on the employment rolls, school-district officials said.

Officials also found that during the past school year, Origins Montessori could not account for $27,945 the school reported spending on training. Nor could it account for money the school collected for student lunches and from eight fundraising events, according to the district.

Julie Sanborn, the school's director, denied any wrongdoing…

Chandler said the district had been watching Origins and alerted Sanborn several times during the past few years that the school was in danger of violating state education laws…

International Preparatory School

“Former Charter School Operator To Pay Back $1.4 Million It Owes State.” StateImpact (OH), 1/10/2012

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is ordering the operator of a former charter school to pay back $1.4 million it over-billed the state, with interest.

Hassina Shabazz and her late husband Da’ud Abdul Malik Shabazz ran two charters, The International Preparatory Schools (TIPS) for six years before abruptly shutting them down.

A state audit found the Shabazz’ inflated enrollment figures at their schools, cashing in on funding for hundreds of students that didn’t exist.

The Ohio Department of Education has been trying to get those funds back for years. An Ohio Supreme Court decision a year ago helped move that process forward by concluding that charter school operators are public officials who are responsible for misused or lost public dollars...

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 CHARTER-SCHOOL OFFICERS CAN BE LIABLE FOR HOW PUBLIC FUNDS SPENT: OHIO SUPREME COURT ALLOWS STATE SUIT; December 21, 2010; Associated Press in Columbus Dispatch (OH)

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that officers or representatives of charter schools are public officials who can be held liable for public funds that the schools lose or improperly spend.

The 6-0 ruling yesterday involved the International Preparatory School in Cleveland, which closed in 2005.

A subsequent state audit showed that the school had improperly collected $1.4million in state funds by inflating enrollment numbers. The state sued its treasurer in an attempt to retrieve the money.

Charter schools, or community schools, are generally operated by nonprofit groups or for-profit management companies. They are publicly funded.

The ruling overturns an appeals court decision that said the treasurer was a corporate officer of the school and shielded from personal liability. It sends the matter back to Cuyahoga County court.

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STATE MAY COLLECT FUNDING ERROR FROM SCHOOL OFFICER; December 23, 2010; Courthouse News Service 

(CN) - The treasurer of a community school that received $1.4 million in excessive state funding can be held liable over the public money as a public official, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled.

After the International Preparatory School shut down in 2005, an audit revealed that it used inflated enrollment figures to obtain $1.4 million in extra funding from the Department of Education.

The state successfully sued treasurer Hasina Shabazz for misuse of public funds, but an appeals court overturned the decision, ruling that Shabazz was not a public official.

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer disagreed with the lower court's finding, writing that Shabazz was a public official who could be personally liable for the extra funding.

"Public officials are personally liable for public funds," the ruling states. "Any liability that arises therefrom is not a corporate debt - it is the official's own debt."

 Pfeifer added, however, that the trial court must determine whether Shabazz was in charge of actually receiving, or supervising the receipt of, public money.

Texas charter schools (incorrect attendance reports)

CHARTER SCHOOLS OWE TEXAS $26M FOR OVERSTATED ADMISSIONS NUMBERS, April 5, 2008, The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – Texas charter schools have reaped $26 million in undeserved state money by filing incorrect student attendance reports, according to state financial records.

The Texas Education Agency, which oversees public education in the state, is working to recover $17 million of the $26 million from nearly half of the charters now operating in Texas. TEA records show that 20 schools went out of business before the state could recover its money, leaving taxpayers holding a $9 million bag of debt.

These charters collected state funds either by inflating the number of students in their classrooms or by making accounting mistakes…

TEA officials say they look for suspicious attendance figures at charters, but their regulatory system relies on self-reporting from the schools. TEA puts monitors at schools only after serious problems have been identified.

The current $26 million debt comes from 93 of the 211 charter operators in Texas. The amount equals the average state funding for about 4,800 students at roughly $5,400 per student…

Capitol High Academy

FOCUS TURNS TO ENROLLMENT; CAPITOL HIGH OFFERS REFERRAL FEE, October 6, 2010, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

With enrollment down, Capitol High this year devised a novel strategy: Pay $100 to anyone who successfully refers a new student.
“When your referral enrolls at the school, confirms that you enrolled them, and stays enrolled until October 1, 2010, you will receive a $100 Referral Award,” reads a flier issued by the school.
October 1 was the day that the state of Louisiana uses to count the number of students that enroll in all public schools. The count taken that day, as well as one taken Feb. 1, determine about 40 percent of the funding public schools receive. Each child represents about $4,000 in state money.
On Friday, the school, now known as Capitol High Academy, had just 319 students enrolled, down 78 from a year ago.
The high school, at 1023 N. 23rd St., was taken over by the state in 2008 for chronic low academic performance. The local nonprofit group, 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge, got the charter to run the school instead and hired the for-profit school giant EdisonLearning to run it.
In 1999, Capitol High had 1,004 students. It had just 380 students when EdisonLearning arrived and has continued to lose students since.
Michael Serpe, a spokesman for EdisonLearning, said that “Circle of Friends Student Referral Program,” is something the New York City-based company has tried sporadically to boost enrollment at some of its schools throughout the country.
“There’s nothing that’s as good at getting people’s attention as to offer them something,” Serpe said.
Serpe said the flier in Baton Rouge was circulated only among parents and staff, there were no takers and no money was paid out. If there had been takers, the $100 would have been paid out by the company not the school, he said…