Charter Scandal a Product of Shabby Law and Ignored Oversight
by Thomas Ultican
Originally posted at: https://tultican.com/2019/07/07/charter-scandal-a-product-of-shabby-law-and-ignored-oversight/?fbclid=IwAR23CqY7_uOiqKG_6WiJ0zsck4iY_kUeX2ZzSrZEkBqeFn-TyKa2Uws8v6k
Notoriously clever operators of an online charter empire were indicted for allegedly stealing $50 million dollars. The Grand Jury of San Diego County heard the testimony of 72 witnesses and voted out a 67-count indictment against Sean McManus, Jason Schrock, Justin Schmitt, Eli Johnson, Steven Zant and six others. The charges were centered on the byzantine operations of the A3 Education organization which took full advantage of weak charter school laws in California.
From the indictment,
“Conspirators knowingly obtained state funding for children who were not assigned certificated teachers as required by law, were not in contact with the charter school, and who were not provided any educational services during the dates claimed.”
“Conspirators themselves, and through subordinates courted small school districts across California who were suffering budget woes and suggested they authorize charter schools as a means to generate additional state funding for the district in the form of oversight fees.”
The Small District Authorizer Model
Carol Burris was one of the first people to identify McManus as a predator. In her 2017 investigative report “Charters and Consequences”, she wrote about the Wise school which calls itself a Waldorf inspired charter school. She noted,
“No one really seems to be wise to Wise—except perhaps California STEAM Sonoma, which claims Wise Academy as its project.”
“The former Academy of Arts and Sciences CEO, Sean McManus, described Wise as “a boutique program that people usually have to pay for, so to be part of a free charter school appeals to a lot of people in the area.” Wise and the state funding it brings left the Academy of Arts and Sciences, and so did Sean McManus, who is now listed as the CEO of CONTINUE READING: Badass Teachers Association Blog: Charter Scandal a Product of Shabby Law and Ignored Oversight by Thomas Ultican
