Carol Burris: The Five Biggest Charter Scandals of 2019
Carol Burris reviews here the five biggest charter scandals of 2019.
There were many to choose from.
Numero uno, of course, was the giant charter scam in California:
1. A3 Education: Eleven are indicted over their involvement in a charter scheme that defrauded California taxpayers of more than $50 million.
In May, the California Superior Court for the County of San Diego indicted 11 people on charges that they helped defraud California taxpayers out of $50 million via an elaborate scheme to create phony attendance records to increase revenue to an online charter chain known as A3. You can find a summary of the story with its elaborate kickbacks and fraud schemes here.
The alleged theft took place over the course of several years. In 2016, Jason Schrock and Sean McManus reportedly purchased Mosaica Online learning, which got its start with a $100,000 grant from the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP). They eventually renamed the online schools Valiant. Schrock and McManus managed the schools through the nonprofit Academic, Arts and Action (A3) Charter Academy. Eli Johnson would reportedly approach small, cash-strapped school districts to enlist them as authorizers, for which they would receive an authorizer fee.
In addition to Valiant Academy charter schools, A3 CONTINUE READING: Carol Burris: The Five Biggest Charter Scandals of 2019 | Diane Ravitch's blog