Texas: IDEA Corporate Charter Chain Plans Massive Expansion
The IDEA charter chain hopes to double its enrollment in Texas. This is the free-spending chain that planned to lease a private jet for $2 million a year but backed off after bad publicity; that flies its e ecurives and their families in first-class; that bought premium box seats for professional basketball games; that pays its executives exorbitant salaries; that has received more that $200 million in federal funding from Betsy DeVos.
If the expansion plan goes forward, the IDEA enrollment will grow from 50,000 to nearly 100,000; its annual budget will grow from half a billion to one billion. This is larger than the budget of the University of Texas at Austin. Just in the past five years, IDEA’s budget has tripled.
One state representative called for an audit, but was careful to praise the organization that is gobbling up public dollars and sucking the life out of community public schools.
STATE REPRESENTATIVE TERRY CANALES CALLS FOR COMPREHENSIVE STATE AUDIT OF IDEA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
For Immediate Release
August 18, 2020
Contact: Curtis Smith
(512) 463-0426 office
August 18, 2020
Contact: Curtis Smith
(512) 463-0426 office
AUSTIN, TX – In a letter addressed to Commissioner Mike Morath of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Texas First Assistant State Auditor Lisa Collier, State Representative Terry Canales calls for a comprehensive and multi-agency audit of the IDEA Public Schools (IDEA) after recent disclosures of lavish expenditures for its CONTINUE READING: Texas: IDEA Corporate Charter Chain Plans Massive Expansion | Diane Ravitch's blog
