Reformy Maniac Ben Chavis Update
"Whitney, it's Ben. Hey, can you loan me $3.8 million?"
Oh, my goodness gracious...
Oakland's American Indian Model Schools organization has failed to fix the oversight failures that allowed for rampant conflicts of interest and misuse of public funds, Oakland Superintendent Tony Smith reported this week. On Wednesday night, the Oakland school board agreed, putting American Indian's three charter schools -- which boast some of the highest test scores in California -- one step closer to closure.
"I am not swayed by the fact that this school has great test scores," board member Jody London said. "It does not change for me that the people who operate this school have violated the public trust."
Last fall, OUSD gave AIM Schools' governing board 60 days to show it had cleaned up its act. A state audit, published in June, found the organization's founder, Ben Chavis, and his wife had funneled $3.8 million in public money through their various companies and contracts.