Turkey wants Fremont school board to reject charter school
FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2013 file photo, Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Police conducted raids in a dozen Turkish cities Sunday, detaining at least 24 people including journalists, TV producers and police known to be close to a movement led by a U.S.-based moderate Islamic cleric who is a strong critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was the latest crackdown on cleric Fethullah Gulen's movement, which the government has accused of orchestrating an alleged plot to try to bring it down. (AP Photo/Selahattin Sevi, File) ( Selahattin Sevi )
FREMONT -- A Southern California charter school wants to expand into Fremont, despite a history of financial problems and accusations of it being linked to a controversial Turkish cleric, which its leaders emphatically deny.
In a bizarre twist, an attorney representing the Turkish government spoke against the Magnolia Public Schools charter application at a recent Fremont school board public hearing, saying it has ties to Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. John Martin of Amsterdam & Partners in Washington, D.C., also alleged that Magnolia was not factual in its application.
Magnolia's chief executive officer called the accusations strange and baffling.
FILE In this March 15, 2014 file photo, Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, sits at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, United States. A U.S.-based Muslim cleric, who has become Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan s chief foe, went on trial in absentia in Istanbul on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 accused of attempting to overthrow the government by instigating corruption probes in 2013 that targeted people close to the Turkish leader. Gulen and 68 other people, including former police chiefs, have been charged with attempting to overthrow the Turkish republic through the use of violence, leading a terrorist organization and "political espionage." Prosecutors are seeking life imprisonment for Gulen and others. (AP Photo/Selahattin Sevi, File) ( Selahattin Sevi )
"He seems to believe that we are associated with a religious group, which we are not," Magnolia CEO Caprice Young said at the Jan. 13 school board meeting.
"We're not affiliated with anything but educating public school students in California," Young said Friday. The school has straightened out its finances, she said.
The Fremont school board on Wednesday will consider Magnolia Public Schools' request to open a kindergarten-through-12th-grade school. District staff is recommending the petition be denied.
Fremont Unified did not investigate possible connections between Magnolia and the Gulen movement, Superintendent James Morris said.
"We did our analysis of the charter based on the merits of the petition that (was) submitted," he said.
Martin said his law firm was hired by the Turkish government to investigate Gulen and his movement. That investigation led him to Magnolia schools, he said.
Followers of Gulen, a Muslim imam, have U.S. charter schools that emphasize math and science. Martin and others, including the American magazine the New Republic, allege those include Magnolia. There have been accusations of improper use of public funds and importing Turkish teachers in other states, but Magnolia has not been linked to those investigations.
Gulen's followers are believed to operate schools, universities, corporations, nonprofits and publications around the world, according to articles in the New Republic.
Young said she was mystified by the Gulen accusations. Magnolia's founders did include Turkey wants Fremont school board to reject charter school - ContraCostaTimes.com: