Arne Duncan's left many scandals behind as he leaves. Billions to charter schools....

[madfloridian]

unaccounted for.

From May:

Feds failed to keep tabs on $3B in aid doled out to charter schools. 3 billion?

The federal government shelled out $3.3 billion over the past 20 years to launch new charter schools nationwide, yet failed to monitor how that money was used, a new report has found.

Federal spending to launch charter schools zoomed from a mere $4.5 million in 1995 to more than $253 million today, according to the Center for Media and Democracy, a liberal watchdog group — with President Obama now asking Congress for a whopping increase to $375 million for next year.

And that’s on top of billions of dollars state governments spend for charter school operations.

Yet the new report concludes there is “no systematic public accounting for how the federal budget allocated to charters is actually being spent,” and “major gaps in the law allowing waste and fraud.”

.....The U.S. Department of Education doesn’t even bother to keep a public record of which charter schools get money from more than a half-dozen federal programs, said Lisa Graves, director of the Center for Media and Democracy. Her organization had to review thousands of pages of documents obtained through Freedom of Information Law requests before it could coming up with an initial tally of federal charter school spending.

Now FINALLY Arne Duncan being mentioned in regards to this mess. He's going back to Chicago, but the guy who's replacing him is just as bad. But that's another story.

The Ugly Charter School Scandal Arne Duncan Is Leaving Behind

Arne Duncan’s surprise announcement to leave his post as secretary of education in December is making headlines and driving lots of commentary, but an important story lost in the media clutter happened three days before he gave notice.

On that day, Duncan rattled the education policy world with news of a controversial grant of $249 million ($157 million the first year) to the charter school industry. This announcement was controversial because, as The Washington Post reports, an audit by his department’s own inspector general found “that the agency has done a poor job of overseeing federal dollars sent to charter schools.”

Post reporter Lynsey Layton notes, “The agency’s inspector general issued a scathing report in 2012 that found deficiencies in how the department handled federal grants to charter schools between 2008 and 2011” – in other words, during Duncan’s watch.

Even more perplexing is that the largest grant of $71 million ($32.5 million the first year) is going to Ohio, the state that has the worst reputation for allowing low-performing charter schools to divert tax money away from educational purposes and do little to raise the achievement of students.

It's pretty bad when a former Democratic Mayor of Ohio writes Duncan a letter about such funds.

Ted Strickland, an ex-governor and now Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, wrote Duncan a letter telling him to reconsider the Ohio grant. “Too many of Ohio’s charter schools are an embarrassment,” he states. Strickland quotes from a recent study showing charters in his state perform significantly worse than public schools. He points to a recent scandal in which the person in the state’s department of education responsible for oversight of charters had to resign because he was caught “rigging the books.”

[arcane1]

1. It's as if charter schools are just another scam to shovel tax money into private, bottomless pits.

No, that can't be it.

[Fearless]

6. Complete bull.

Not bottomless pits... Just the pockets of the wealthy.

[Chisox08]

25. Bottomless pits, pockets of the wealthy, I don't see a difference.

[Fearless]

26. It was humor.

[annabanana]

2. privatize public education

what could possibly go wrong

[madfloridian]

7. .....

And do it so carelessly. Like public money means nothing.

[hifiguy]

3. Someone needs to be heading for the slammer.

[madfloridian]

4. Will never happen. Best we can hope for is disgrace for Arne.

And trust me I've had his number for a long time.

[madfloridian]

5. That's a govt handout to charter management companies.

All those unaccounted for billions.

[Generic Other]

24. Vulture Capitalists

[progressoid]

8. I was thrilled when I heard he was leaving.

But I guess we're getting another year of more of the same.

I hope the next President doesn't continue this trend.

[Octafish]

9. He may have been a disaster for public education...

...but for those interested in piratizing education, the guy's genius.

Best of luck in your future endeavors. Hope they include making license plates for the state.

[GoneFishin]

16. "Piratize". Perfect. I am going to have to steal that.

[aggiesal]

18. Call it what it is ...

[font color=RED size=20]"Profitize"[/font]

[FloriTexan]

10. Kick!

[Scuba]

11. Endorsed by the same union leadership that endorsed Hillary.

[demmiblue]

12. Yep. n/t

[hifiguy]

13. They must want more of the same shit sandwiches

Duncan served them.

Goddam idjits.

[madfloridian]

19. When unions are taking millions from ed "reformers"....

this is what happens.

[abelenkpe]

14. Last booster club meeting

Mentioned LAUSD plans to move 100,000 kids from public to charter schools next year. 😔

[madfloridian]

15. Yes, Eli Broad's foundation is behind this mainly, I think. 490 million involved. Link.

$490-million plan would put half of LAUSD students in charter schools

ritics of Los Angeles public schools have outlined an ambitious $490-million plan to place half of the city's students into charter schools over the next eight years, a controversial gambit that backers hope will serve as a catalyst for the rest of the nation.

According to a 44-page memo obtained by The Times, the locally based Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and other charter advocates want to create 260 new charter schools, enrolling at least 130,000 students.

Organizers of the effort have declined to publicly release details of the plan. But the memo lays out a strategy for moving forward, including how to raise money, recruit and train teachers, provide outreach to parents and navigate the political battle that will probably ensue.

The document cites numerous foundations and individuals who could be tapped for funding. In addition to the Broad Foundation, the list includes the Gates, Bloomberg, Annenberg and Hewlett foundations. Among the billionaires cited as potential donors are Stewart and Lynda Resnick, major producers of mandarin oranges, pistachios and pomegranates; Irvine Co. head Donald Bren; entertainment mogul David Geffen; and Tesla Motors' Elon Musk.

[abelenkpe]

20. The school and parents already fought off

One attempt to turn our magnet school into a charter. It's a nice campus, great teachers, great arts and music program. Since the attempt to turn it into a charter the district has stopped fully funding the arts program though. We had to raise 40,000 last year and more this year. It's difficult to understand why the district wouldn't fund their own school. I know we're constantly voting to give more money to schools. Why are so many wealthy and influential people looking to move public school students into charters?

[madfloridian]

21. Because they will make big money off education.

They will keep on pushing charters. They got their feet in the door with Obama and Arne and their policies. They won't quit now.

Oh, that is taxpayer money they will be getting.

[abelenkpe]

22. Thank you

I'm sure we'll be discussing this again at the next Booster Club meeting.

[madfloridian]

17. Oh, Broad's the one who said the "stars were aligned" when Arne was appointed.

[madfloridian]

23. He's had power over the nation's education system for almost 7 years.

He has done so much harm.

[haikugal]

27. Thank you madfloridian..

Your posts on what is being done to public education are informative and very welcome.

K&R!