Gulen (Or Not) Charter Schools in the News
Three charter schools in Georgia affiliated with followers of Turkish cleric Fetullah Gulen defaulted on bonds and were subject to public audit. The audit revealed, according to the New York Times, that “the schools improperly granted hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts to businesses and groups, many of them with ties to the Gulen movement.” The schools used public funds to purchase a variety of goods and services from organizations with ties to school officials and other Gulen followers. In some cases, bids were won by the organization that was not the low bidder.
This story is becoming familiar. “The New York Times reported last year that the group’s 36 Texas schools had granted millions of dollars in construction and renovation contracts to firms run by Turkish-Americans with ties to the movement, in some cases bypassing lower bids from firms with no connections to the movement. The Texas schools also awarded deals for cafeteria food, after-school programs and teacher training to organizations