Charter schools and corruption
When there is privatization there is corruption.
We have seen it with charter schools around the country, with prisons, detention facilities, utilities and the war machine.
Here is yet another story.
Former Mountain Empire Unified School District Superintendent Steve Van Zant
Charter school king pleads guilty to felony
Steve Van Zant, a key figure in the expansion of charter schools in San Diego County and elsewhere in California, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony violation of the Political Reform Act.
Van Zant’s financial interests in growing independent charters, and his efforts getting them into school districts without notification, have raised questions about widely perceived shortcomings in state law that now even advocates say allow for exploitation.
While superintendent of the rural Mountain Empire Unified School District, Van Zant received a stipend through his contract for each charter school the district authorized. The arrangement was in violation of conflict-of-interest laws, said Deputy District Attorney Leon Schorr, who heads the public integrity unit.
“This plea shows that they have to be cognizant of how government funds are spent,” Schorr said. “This felony has a huge impact on Mr. Van Zant — professionally, personally and financially.”
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Van Zant must reimburse Mountain Empire for the charter stipends that amounted to an estimated $50,000 to $60,000. The agreement also calls for him to serve 30 days of home confinement with an electronic monitor, five years probation, and 300 hours of community service.
Van Zant and his attorney Garland Peed declined to comment after a Superior Court hearing Thursday. However, Van Zant said “There will come a day” when he’s willing to discuss the matter.
Under Van Zant’s leadership, Mountain Empire authorized 13 charters that were located in other districts, in some cases without notifying those districts in advance. The Charter schools and corruption | Seattle Education:
