Reformy Maniac Ben Chavis Update
School privatizers like Whitney Tilson absolutely love "reformers" like Ben Chavis (no, not that Ben Chavis, thisBen Chavis). They love the bluster and the bravado. They love the wild profanity and the vague homophobia ("You should be wearing a dress!"). They love the telegenic swag when guys like Chavis start spewing incoherent nonsense about how the biggest problem in American education is teachers unions.
Well, Whitney, you told us "I LIKE this guy!"; what does that say about you?
Well, Whitney, you told us "I LIKE this guy!"; what does that say about you?
Some of the central allegations in the district’s notice focus on financial transactions involving Ben Chavis, the founder of two of the AIMS schools and the former director of all three. The notice asserts that Chavis and his wife, Marsha Amador, collected almost $4 million from contracts made between the AIMS schools and Chavis’ businesses, including lease agreements, storage agreements and construction contracts—upgrading restroom facilities in 2006 and 2007—for the schools.
According to the notice, though the AIMS school board approved the contracts, there is no indication that they were aware of the money Chavis and his spouse would make from their