Another pissed off superintendent

An opinion letter on charter school and the waste of tax dollars from Tom Dunn, Superintendent of Troy Schools

http://tdn-net.com/news/opinion_columns/150385462/You-really-want-to-know-about-this

In a previous article, I criticized state superintendent Dr. Richard Ross for his claim that the state’s quest for transparency is the driving force behind the Ohio Department of Education’s (ODE) School District Report Card. I suggested that his, the ODE’s, and the legislature’s quest for transparency seems to end where their pet project, the charter school movement, begins. I challenged readers to visit the independently created web site known as http://knowyourcharter.com/ to become better informed about the charter school debacle and how it impacts you.


Realizing that the percentage of readers who accepted my challenge would likely be small, I wanted to follow up by sharing some of the information contained on the site. My hope is that your interest will be piqued enough that you will visit it to learn what is really being done with your tax dollars. As a taxpayer, you should be very interested in both the financial and academic information contained there, and you should be outraged by it.
Before we even begin to discuss the complete academic failure of charter schools in Ohio, which you can see by clicking on each charter’s name on the web site, let’s start with the fact that $2.1 million were deducted from Miami County school districts last year and sent to charter schools, nearly two million of which went to for-profit entities operated by private corporations. You read that right — $2 million!


In other words, public funds that were approved for local districts, otherwise known as yours and my
tax dollars, are being sent to for-profit companies under the pretense that these schools are better than yours. Even worse, the money is often used to lobby our legislators to create the laws that further benefit charter schools.
Keep in mind that public dollars can’t be used to lobby for votes, but for-profit charter school operators, along with some of their lawmaker buddies, argue that it is perfectly acceptable for them to do so, because their company is private. So, to underscore the ridiculousness of this argument, charter schools, which the state champions as public schools, can be run by private companies that use public funds in ways that public funds can’t be used. That shouldn’t be acceptable to any of us.


The fact is that once these dollars enter the for-profit black hole, there is no oversight as to how they are being spent, and the folks at ODE, in the legislature, and in the governor’s office simply turn a blind eye to the practice as if it doesn’t occur. In fact, when State Auditor Dave Yost tried to increase the oversight on these kinds of activities, Governor Kasich and members of the legislature were less than pleased. After all, this money helps get them elected.


It should tell you something that the people who should care about this scam don’t care at all,
especially considering they tell us they are so enamored with keeping us informed. In fact, if not for independent researchers like those who created this web site and media outlets uncovering the shenanigans of these companies, we wouldn’t be any wiser about how our tax dollars are being inappropriately used.
To see one example, take a few minutes and read the article at http://dailycaller.com/2014/10/13/crony-capitalism-for-ohio-charter-schools-draws-criticism. If that doesn’t raise your ire, nothing will. A simple Google search can uncover many similar articles, all of which should interest you, since they are talking about your money.


It has become painfully obvious that the folks who should be providing the oversight have no intention of changing what they do, so apparently we must be the change agents for them. Learning what is happening is the first step. Putting a stop to it should follow.


Tom Dunn of Troy is superintendent of the Miami County Education Service Center. He may be reached at tom.dunn@mcapps.org

A .375 GPA

Some insights from a recent auditor’s report.  I think  I am reading this correctly. 

Imagine Schools Inc. has been justifiably  criticized for paying a subsidiary more money in rent than it does for its teaching staff and producing poor results.  The national benchmark for rent is 15% according to an article in the Columbus Dispatch. 

A recent audit of Ohio Connections Academy shows that teaching and administration total $5,268,575.  Overhead totals $6,003,793.   113% more than the money for teaching salary and benefits.  Overhead is undefined.  This money flows out of the state to a Maryland management company, Connections Learning,  who does with it as they wish.  There is little in bricks and mortar expense.  Compare that to 15% rent benchmark.

The management company can recycle the same software year after year.  They can sell essentially the same software to multiple states.  The transfer and accounting of the overhead expense insures that the non-profit altruistic E-school never will show a profit.  Useful to show why they cannot pay teachers more or to elicit sympathy from parents or politicians.  They are the underdog. 

Yet it is a very profitable business for the management company. Connections Learning, K-12 and others are aggressively expanding in every state possible.  Underdog status also justifies the need for more money and more students.  See page 20 on the attached link. 

What are the latest state report card results for this E-school?  1 C, 2 D’s and 5 F’s.  A .375 GPA.  It would be nice if they could move the decimal point.

To help manage the multimillion dollar budget they hired a part-time treasurer  who is under indictment for her role as treasurer with Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy.  I guess there is no need for an on-site full time treasurer. 

The audit also shows unresolved title money issues totaling $668,642 (see page 46).  When will this be resolved?  To paraphrase a politician, pretty soon we are talking real money.  At best it shows that they are sloppy with their record keeping.  At worst is suggests that they are playing with the allocations to put more of scarce title money in their pockets at the expense of taxpayers. 

https://ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/Reports/2013/Ohio_Connections_Academy_11-Hamilton.pdf

There is an obvious problem.  Look at the proliferation of E-schools in Ohio.  Who benefits?

What is needed?  Transparency, strong boards (which are not lead around by the nose by the management company), and oversight.  These characteristics exist in the vast majority of our public school districts.  Oh by the way, results  would be good too.

A great grasp of the obvious

StudentsFirst Ohio's Executive Director Greg Harris has made some pretty important statements. Last year, he said in the Akron Beacon Journal that "a lot of times it has to do not with how well your school is performing, but how well your lobbyist is paid."

To hear a pro-charter organization say we need to get politics out of the argument and implore the legislature to stop pouring more money into bad charters was unheard of before last year.

Harris was at it again this morning in the Columbus Dispatch. Here's what he said:

But the group will also warn parents against the slick advertising campaigns of bad charter operators.

“We think a lot of them (charters) need to be closed, because they’re not doing a good job,” Harris said. “We think charters have a role in the education base, but we also think most of the charters in Ohio stink.”

Now, StudentsFirst has been on the quality bandwagon for a while. But to hear that Ohio's charters have serious quality issues is unheard of from Ohio's charter school advocacy community, until now.

Imagine

From the Diane Ravitch Blog.....  http://dianeravitch.net/2014/10/21/some-dam-poet-on-charters/

The blog habits own poet, who signs as “Some DAM Poet—Devalue Added Model.”

Here is his or her poem for Imagine charters in Ohio:

“”Imagine” (sincere apologies to John Lennon)

Imagine no regulation
It’s easy if you try
No tax below us
Above us only $ky
Imagine all the charters
Living for today
Imagine there’s no oversight
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to sweat or lie for
And no inspections, too
Imagine all the charters
Living life in peace
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the charters will cheat as one
Imagine no prosecutions
I wonder if you can
No need for lawyers and trials
A brotherhood of scams
Imagine all the charters
Ruling all the world
You, you may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the charters will rule as one

Compare and Contrast in Ohio

Results matter!

Some great information here.  Does not get into the whys or malfeasance.  Just the stats and the money being transferred.  An educated consumer is a smart consumer.  This probably is not mentioned in any of the marketing for the charter schools but could be if the charter can produce the results. 81% of Ohio’s rated charter schools fell in the bottom quarter.  Otherwise, pay no attention to the results.  Nothing to see here, please move along.

http://knowyourcharter.com

Another Charter Administrator Convicted. A personal Fiefdom

A personal fiefdom.  It is good to be queen until it isn't.

Where was the oversight, a weak handpicked board and part time treasurer to rubber stamp.

I suspect that getting involved in these charter schools was a very bad career move.  Leaves  Stephanie Millard in a pretty bad position.  Not sure how many other charters she was acting treasurer for but I suspect any and know for sure that one of them was Ohio Connections Academy.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2014/10/17/former-charter-school-leader-gets-plea-deal/17438269/

A former superintendent accused of using her charter school as her "personal feifdom" is now a convicted felon, marking the latest blemish for charter schools in this region and statewide.

Lisa Hamm, who ran the Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy, the region's largest charter school, cut a deal with prosecutors last week. She pleaded guilty Oct. 8 to three of 26 felony counts against her. The remaining charges, including multiple counts of theft in office and tampering with evidence, were dismissed.

Hamm, who court documents claim ran the school as her "personal fiefdom," could get up to 18 months in prison on the charges of unauthorized use of property. Probation is also an option. She agreed to repay $75,000 to the school. She's scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 24 by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge John West.

Hamm of Fairfield, and former treasurer Stephanie Millard, of Walnut Hills, were accused of stealing or misusing $148,000 in taxpayer money that should have gone to educating the 950 students at Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy. The court documents allege Hamm instead used the money to pay for extravagant trips, plays, concerts, luggage, spa visits, jewelry veterinary care and other personal uses.

The charges in the Oct. 8 plea agreement involved a trip to San Diego that ended up costing more than $20,000, and trips to Orlando and to see Oprah Winfrey. Hamm had said the trips were school-related.

Charter schools are public schools that are independently run. There are about three dozen in Southwest Ohio. Some are high-performing and well-run. But as a group they're often criticized for lax accountability and mediocre academics. Several local charter schools have closed over the years due to financial problems and academic issues. Some cases resulted in criminal charges.

The state has been cracking down on charter schools via stringent audits and increased scrutiny of their sponsoring organizations. Charter school accountability has become a political issue, as Democrats accuse Republican leadership of not doing enough to improve it.

In the most recent example the Concept chain of charter schools, which includes the Horizon Science Academy in Bond Hill, came under investigation by the FBI and the Ohio Department of Education after a string of allegations including improper use of technology money and testing irregularities.

Analysis on outsourcing, Ohio included

Another article about outsourcing.  Follow the money.  Is this the best we can do for Ohio?

http://www.sourcewatch.org/images/c/c9/Outsourcing_Report_Oct_2014.pdf


Some analysis on school boards. 

From a prior post:  Traditional school districts, in most cases, employ qualified professionals to manage finances, develop curriculum and ensure that applicable laws are followed. Charter schools are, by philosophy, less traditionally structured.

Ohio could do a lot to head off charter-school problems by reforming the process by which they are created.

A key weakness has been the lack of any way to hold accountable those charter-school sponsors who don’t act as watchdogs over the schools they sponsor. Weak Ohio law allows blatant conflicts of interest — for example, nothing bars sponsors, the supposed watchdogs, from selling services to the schools they are supposed to be holding accountable"

“All control and direction for the school comes on high from corporate, and such constructs as school governing boards and local governance amount to distractions. Clearly, local control is an oxymoron to the Dennis Bakkes of the charter school industry.

The memo also makes it clear that no autonomy is expected of the boards which are chosen mostly by the company’s regional managers. While the best of our nation’s schools usually feature a collaborative model where teams of teachers work with school administrators, privatization of public schools that are operated by national chains seems to come only with a top-down approach, and any semblance of a governing board to provide guidance and oversight for the school’s operations is not to be tolerated in Bakke’s world.

In Ohio, the Revised Code treats a charter school as a school district, with its own treasurer, chief administrative officer, and governing board. But state law also allows great latitude regarding the operation and governance of the school, and current law requires that each school have a minimum of five board members, with no other qualifications stated in the law.”

Raymond Lambert School Leader of the Year by the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (OAPCS) once had this to say about boards.

“I wonder why people sit on Boards? Is it a cheap self esteem boost?”

“ I often think the many Boards I have seen are lead around by the nose anyway.”

"Ohio’s charter schools, which are publicly funded, are

supposed to be subject to periodic state audits and held to

performance standards by the sponsoring organizations

that contract with operators.

 

But governing boards may not be as independent as they

ought to be, as a 2014 investigation by the Akron Beacon

Journal found. White Hat shares legal representation with

 

the boards of many of the charter schools it has contracts

with.

149 And a number of board members have admitted

that they were recruited by White Hat, a clear conflict of

interest.

In a revealing statement, Maggie Ford, chief academic

officer at White Hat, told the

Beacon Journal, “Sometimes

we have one or two people that would like to start a school,

and they don’t have enough for an entire board. So they

want to, they talk to, other board members or ask us to

help recruit board, um, recommend board members.”

 

In effect, the boards at many “nonprofit” charter schools

were hand-picked by White Hat, which contracted with

those same boards to operate the schools."

Combine a couple of hand-picked board members and combine that with a couple of well-meaning but unqualified parent board members and you have a serious but profitable governance situation. Again, where is the independence?

Keep in mind that a billion dollars has been transferred out of the public schools to charter schools in Ohio.
I  note that the folks who set up Connections Academy board are former White Hat employees.  I suspect that many of the same management people take what they learn to set up a new charter that primarily benefits their interests.  I would submit that the boards are handpicked rubber stamps with little actual power.