108 NYC charter schools received a windfall averaging $940,000- $2.2 million each in federal PPP funds; check the list here!
The Network for Public Education sifted through the companies and organizations receiving federal funds through the Paycheck Protection Program, meant to keep small businesses and non-profits afloat. More than 1,300 charter schools and charter management companies received between $925 million and $2.25 billion from the federal government in the last few months, though public schools are not eligible to receive these grants and charter schools so far have not lost any government funding. This doesn't count an unknown number of charter schools that may have received less than $150,000 in PPP funds, which have not been identified by the government.
What is particularly ironic is that when it suits them, charter schools call themselves public schools, but when its convenient, they admit they are private corporations and thus eligible for business loans and subsidies.
Meanwhile, in NY State there are 144 charter schools and management organizations that received PPP funding, the vast majority of which are in NYC. Fully 108 NYC charters and charter management companies received between $102 million and $236 million in these funds, with an average of between $940,000 and $2.2 million each.
The Charter Management Organization of New Visions and its assorted charters received between $6.7 million and $15 million dollars, despite the fact that they receive public school space free of charge and services from DOE. In 2018, they also received a $14 million grant from the Gates Foundation to "work with" NYC public schools -- which to this day have not been identified. Coincidentally or not, the Gates Foundation director of K12 schools Robert Hughes came to the Gates Foundation from New Visions.
Harlem Children's Zone was awarded between $4 million and $10 million; the Hebrew Language Academies, heavily subsidized by billionaire Michael Steinhardt, between $2.8 million and $6 million. KIPP charter and KIPP LLC (which I guess is its Management Organization?) is getting between $3 million and $5 million, despite also receiving $86 million from a federal charter school grant in 2019, and many millions more previously. Uncommon Charters, which has been criticized for its abusive disciplinary practices, received between $2 million and $5 million in PPP funds. The full state and city list is below.