CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Minnesota charter schools

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Minnesota charter schools

Minnesota charter schools

by The Perimeter Primate

State charter schools program is 'out of control': Junk bonds fuel a building spree, but schools are more crowded, insiders are taking fees, and state regulators can't do much about it. (Star Tribune, November 29, 2009)

Minnesota's charter school movement, which sparked a national rethinking of public schooling nearly two decades ago, has been infected by an out-of-control financing system fueled by junk bonds, insider fees and lax oversight.
State law prohibits charter schools from owning property, but consultants have found a legal loophole, allowing proponents to use millions of dollars in public money to build schools even though the properties remain in the hands of private nonprofit corporations.
The key to making it all work is the state's lease aid program, which was created 11 years ago to

Merrick Academy Charter School

by The Perimeter Primate

Merrick Academy students suffer as State Senate President Malcolm Smith profits from charter school(NY Daily News, March 28, 2010) [NOTE: Merrick Academy pays Victory Schools, Inc. to run its school. Victory is a for-profit Educational Management Organization (EMO).]
Students at Merrick Academy charter school - housed in an old bowling alley in Queens Village - must cross busy Jamaica Ave. for recess in a nearby park because there's no gym or playground.
They also must get used to water leaking into classrooms when it rains and wearing winter coats inside when there's no heat.
"The school is on a very big intersection," said Kenneth Eriaidubor, who has a second-grader and a kindergartner at Merrick. "We are very concerned that leaving a school is not a really safe zone for the children."
"There's a leak, there's heating problems," said Sidney Dasent, whose daughter is a second-grader. "There's even a problem with supplies."
There's also another potential problem - one many parents may not know about: Merrick has served as a source