A Guide to the Gulen Movement's Activities in the US
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News articles on lax charter school regulation, problems


Page created June 2010; last updated Nov 23, 2012
by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. - Citizens Against Special Interest Lobbying in Public Schools

Extremely loose oversight of charter schools has created an opportunity space for the Gulen Movement to expand its educational network into the US.  The Charter School Scandals website provides a very comprehensive collection of newspaper articles on the consequences of lax charter regulation.  Abuses have occurred in schools outside the Gulen network as well.

Nov 20, 2012  The New Republic, Timothy Noah
How Charter Schools Fleece Taxpayers
"In government, if I help myself to taxpayer dollars, we call that embezzlement and I go to jail. In the private sector, if I help myself to taxpayer dollars, we call that innovation and I get hailed as a visionary exponent of public-private partnership. That’s the lesson of a Nov. 17 investigation by Anne Ryman of the Arizona Republic into the state’s charter schools."
Nov 17, 2012  Arizona Republic, Anne Ryman
Insiders benefiting in charter deals: Board members, school officials did more than $70 million in busines.
"Board members and administrators from more than a dozen state-funded charter schools are profiting from their affiliations by doing business with schools they oversee.  The deals, worth more than $70 million over the last five years, are legal, but critics of the arrangements say they can lead to conflicts of interest."
Two additional articles in this series:
  • Critics: Arizona lax on charter purchasing practices
  • 4 charter-school organizations where insiders benefited
Oct 25, 2012  Associated Press
Audit: US oversight of charter school funds lax
"An audit of the U.S. Department of Education's division overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars in charter school funding has criticized the office for failing to properly monitor how states spend the money.
"The report released in late September by the department's Office of the Inspector General also singled out state education departments in California, Florida and Arizona for lax monitoring of what charter schools do with the funds and whether their expenditures comply with federal regulations."
"In Florida, state officials had no records of which schools received federal grant money nor which schools received on-site monitoring and audits. Florida received $67.6 million."
Oct 25, 2012  Orlando Sentinel, Lauren Roth
Charter school spent more on principal than teachers, students.  More outraged state lawmakers call for charter school reforms after hearing about principal's $500,000 payout.
Oct 25, 2012  Deseret News, Gretchen Krebs
At charter schools, high enrollment, low oversight bring mixed results
"Across the country, communities continue to put energy and dollars into charter schools, despite the lack of both oversight and convincing results....Enrollment in California charters is at its highest this year, despite the fact that studies show charters in general have not significantly outperformed public or private schools."
Oct 24, 2012   Orlando Sentinel, Lauren Roth
$500,000 payout to charter principal sparks outrage, call for probe
"The principal of a failed Orange County charter school took home a check for more than $500,000 as the school closed down in June and is still being paid thousands of dollars a month to wrap up the school's affairs.  The check for $519,453.36 in taxpayer money was cut to Kelly Young, principal of NorthStar High School, two days after the Orange County School Board accepted the school's plan to close in lieu of being shut down for poor performance. ...  Young's salary was more than 2 1/2 times that of the highest-paid principal at a traditional Orange County public school in 2011: $116,565."
Feb 13, 2012  Chicago Catalyst
Charter discipline policy under fire   by Rebecca Harris
"The civil rights advocacy group Advancement Project is considering a legal challenge to the discipline policy of Noble Street Charter School campuses, which charge students $5 each time they are issued a detention."
Dec 12, 2011  Los Angeles Times , Los Angeles CA  
2 charter schools allowed some families to bypass lotteries   by Howard Blume
"Two popular Los Angeles charter schools have allowed some families to bypass a lottery for admission in exchange for providing special services or a substantial volunteer commitment. .....  Under state law, independently run charter schools are open equally to students without regard to family resources. Lotteries are held when applications exceed classroom space."
Dec 10, 2011   Miami Herald, Miami FL
Florida charter schools: big money, little oversight    by Scott Hiaasen & Kathleen McGrory
"But while charter schools have grown into a $400-million-a-year business in South Florida, receiving about $6,000 in taxpayer dollars for every student enrolled, they continue to operate with little public oversight. Even when charter schools have been caught violating
state laws, school districts have few tools to demand compliance."
Oct 25, 2011  Miami Herald, Miami FL
Two Miami-Dade charter schools lose funding: Miami-Dade school district officials say one school is not serving its special-needs students, and the other faces questions about its finances.

Sep 29, 2011  New York Daily News, New York City NY
Charter school accused of scrimping on student supplies and support under state investigation   by Mark Morales
"A spokeswoman for the State University of New York, which oversees Excelsior, said SUNY has no policy barring nepotism."

Sep 3, 2011  Miami Herald
Balere Charter Academy of Party Science? (opinion)  by Fred Grimm
June 20, 2011  Cleveland Plain Dealer
House-Senate budget committee faces major questions on charter schools  by Aaron Marshall
"The amendments -- which would allow for-profit operators to run schools without supervision and operators with terrible track records to open new schools -- were roundly condemned, even by advocates within the charter schools movement."
June 12, 2011  The News Journal, Wilmington DE
Delaware schools: Checkered past goes unchecked: Multiple bankruptcies, child abuse conviction all part of charter school founder's record    by Nichole Dobo
"The state Department of Education allowed Anthony White to open Delaware's first all-girls charter school in Claymont in 2010, even though he is a convicted child abuser, has declared bankruptcy at least eight times and has several aliases known to law enforcement."

May 27, 2011  Columbus Dispatch, Columbus OH
Bill could scuttle lawsuit against charter-school operator: House provisions favor major GOP donor
"...would allow the for-profit company to keep secret how it spends tax dollars it receives to operate charter schools"  "The lawmakers also agreed: to ban the state from suspending or putting on probation charter schools with poor student performance, fiscal mismanagement or a law violation..."
The proposed loosening of restrictions on charter schools has even the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools concerned.  It appears the major beneficiary would be White Hat Management Co, which has been a major donor to the state's Republican Party.

May 16, 2011  AP News; The Augusta Chronicle
Ga. court overturns charter schools law
In this decision, Georgia's Supreme Court said the state government cannot authorize charter schools that local school districts have rejected.

May 13, 2011 Dayton Daily News, Dayton OH
Campaign donations did not affect charter school legislation, says speaker
May 12, 2011  Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne IN
Indianapolis district seeking transfer ban
"The head of the cash-strapped Indianapolis Public Schools plans to prohibit students who start the school year in a charter school from transferring into the district’s schools after the school year begins."

May 11, 2011  North Jersey Media Group NJ
Millburn forum weighs charter schools impact
"She [Montclair State University professor of educational leadership Katrina Bulkley] also said although charter schools cannot legally select their students, research has shown they have 'more leeway in formally or informally asking students to leave.'"

May 1, 2011  St. Petersburg Times,  St. Petersburg FL
Florida charter school advocate warns of problems amid growth

Feb 6, 2011  News Record, Raleigh NC
Charter push goes beyond raising cap    by Mark Binker
"Charter schools could receive more public money but face fewer limitations than they do now under a bill the Senate Education Committee has rolled out."

Oct 7, 2010  The Lens, New Orleans LA
It’s none of your business: Most charters don’t comply with open-meetings law
"In response to three months of requests from The Lens, a surprisingly large number of New Orleans charter school boards failed to comply with even basic requests for information."

Feb 24, 2010  New York Times  NY
As U.S. Aid Grows, Oversight is Urged for Charter Schools

August 16, 2009   Arizona Daily Star, Tucson AZ
Education at charters is spotty, oversight lax

Oct 4, 2007  Pasadena Weekly, Pasadena CA
'Somewhat lacking' - Local charter schools have same lax oversight as scandal-mired Oakland school run by ex-Pasadena officials

June 4, 2007  Dallas Morning News, Dallas TX
Cheating's off the charts at charter schools




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This website has two companion websites:  Gulen Charter Schools  and  Gulen in the International Press