Complaint cites charter school company’s donation to campaign of prospective Utah senator
Violation? » Complaint cites school servicer’s donation to the legislator-elect, who runs his own such firm.
One day after being elected by Republican delegates in South Jordan to replace outgoing Sen. Aaron Osmond, businessman Lincoln Fillmore is facing accusations of violating campaign-finance law.
At issue is a $1,000 donation from American Preparatory Schools, a private company that — like Fillmore's own business — manages public charter schools and provides education consulting in Utah, Idaho and Nevada.
Mark Thomas, elections director for the Utah lieutenant governor's office, said Thursday that the state elections office is looking into the nature of the donation following a written complaint.
"Certainly if the school is using public funds to make the contribution, that would be a violation of the statute," Thomas said.
But Fillmore says the money came from a private company that works with charter schools, and not the schools themselves.
He compared it to his company, Charter Solutions, which contracts with charter schools to handle the business and financial side of education while leaving the teaching to teachers.
"We try to entangle ourselves in the red tape so the red tape doesn't fall to school principals and schoolteachers," he said.
While operating independently of the state's 41 school districts, charter schools are publicly funded on a per-pupil basis and are overseen by unelected governing boards.
American Preparatory Schools' executive director, Carolyn Sharette, compared her company to one that provides schools with food for school lunches.
"They're not the school," she said. "They're providing a service."
But the services provided by American Preparatory Schools go far beyond meals.
Sharette founded the American Preparatory Academy charter school in Draper before transitioning to her role as executive director of American Preparatory Schools.
The company offers a range of services to public and private schools, from curriculum materials and training to full management of a charter's day-to-day operations.
There are now seven American Preparatory Academy campuses in Utah and Nevada, which all have purchased the American Preparatory "brand" from the private company, Sharette said.
"It helps their enrollment if they purchase the brand," she said. "A school is an entity that has a brand just like anything else. They have a reputation."
Sharette said the contracts with her company vary among the seven campuses, but she maintains a loud voice on staffing at Complaint cites charter school company's donation to campaign of prospective Utah senator | The Salt Lake Tribune:
