The CEA Blog

All Children Matter, a Michigan-based pro-charter Political Action Committee (PAC) violated Ohio campaign finance laws by funneling $870,000 to its affiliated PAC in Ohio in 2006 and was assessed a record $5.2 million fine by the bipartisan Ohio Elections Commission in a unanimous ruling publicized yesterday.

White Hat founder and CEO David Brennan contributed $200,000 to the group. Ohio campaign laws limit PAC contributions by individuals and corporations to $10,000 per year, but since the group was raising its money in Virginia where individual and corporate contributions are unlimited, Brennan was able to donate in increments of $50,000 and had no legislatively mandated ceiling on his contributions. White Hat operates the largest number of privately managed charter schools in Ohio, which include the Hope Academy and Life Skills Center chains. 

You can read the full story in the Columbus Dispatch here, or read the recent series of posts by The CEA Blog examining the Ohio Department of Education’s statistics for the Hope Academy and Life Skills Center charter school chains here.

The Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) sent the IRS a letter asking it to investigate whether charter schools managed by White Hat Management, Inc. and its affiliates can properly claim 503(c) tax-exempt status.

White Hat Management and its affiliates operate the “Life Skills” and “Hope Academy” charter schools in Ohio, Florida and Arizona. OFT states that the schools are merely a tax-exempt “pass through” to funnel money to the management company– $84 million tax dollars per year.

The Ohio Department of Education database recorded information for 12 Hope Academy locations throughout the state; when examined, the data paints a disturbing picture of what results Ohioans are receiving for their $84 million dollars in tax money diverted from public school districts.

The CEA Blog took a look at the numbers regarding White Hat’s “Life Skills” Centers in an earlier post; now the ODE data on Hope Academies is under scrutiny.

Click on the jump below to take a closer look at ODE data on Hope Academies in the state of Ohio.

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The CEA Blog wrote a post about the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) who wrote a letter to the IRS, asking for an investigation of Akron-based White Hat Management’s 503 (c) tax-exempt status. The management firm operates numerous “Life Skills Centers” and “Hope Academies” in three states, pulling in an estimated $85 million annually in tax dollar revenue in Ohio alone.

News outlets and bloggers have begun to write as well discuss recent developments. Highlights are below, after the jump.

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The Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) sent the IRS a letter asking it to investigate whether charter schools managed by White Hat Management, Inc. and its affiliates can properly claim 503(c) tax-exempt status.

White Hat Management and its affiliates operate the “Life Skills” and “Hope Academy” charter schools in Ohio, Florida and Arizona. OFT states that the schools, are merely a tax-exempt “pass through” to funnel money to the management company– $84 million tax dollars per year.

The Ohio Department of Education database recorded information for 18 Life Skills centers throughout the state; when examined, the data paints a disturbing picture of what results Ohioans are receiving for their $84 million dollars in tax money diverted from public school districts.

Click on the jump below to take a closer look at Life Skills Centers in the state of Ohio.

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The Columbus Board of Education passed a resolution at their most recent meeting that designates Linmoor Middle and Indianola and Medary Elementary schools as swing spaces and leases Kent, Linden Park and Second Avenue elementary schools to third parties which include two charters. The resolution also slates Pinecrest and Scioto Trail elementary schools for demolition and designates Wayne Elementary School for district storage.

Brentnell will be leased to the Charles School at Ohio Dominican University for $62,594.00 per year for a term of ten years. The rent will be capped so that it does not increase more that 13.5% as compared to increases in the consumer price index. Linden Park Elementary will be leased to the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) for $55,345.50 per year under the same terms. Both entities are responsible for capital improvements, maintenance and utilities for the properties in addition to the yearly lease amounts.

Click on the jump below to read more.

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At the December 18th, 2007 Columbus Board of Education meeting, an updated version of the district’s real estate plan was presented to all seven members by Carole Oshavsky. The senior executive in charge of capital improvements, Oshavsky’s report updated the board on progress in the renovation and construction of new and existing schools. In addition, updates were made regarding land acquisition for new school sites as well as plans for vacant buildings within the district. The potential lease of two district buildings to charter schools outside of the district was presented to the Board, an event completely ignored by every local media outlet.

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A recent study  (PDF) of Detroit’s charter school locations and competition techniques by for-profit charter school operators provides chilling insight into the potential marginalization of African-American students who live in high-poverty areas. Released in October and written by Christopher Lubienski of the University of Illinois and Charisse Gulosino of Brown University, the paper outlines the tactics of educational management organizations (EMOs) that operate for-profit charter schools using a geo-spatial and temporal analysis of EMO charter openings. 

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K12, a for-profit Virginia-based operator of virtual charter schools in 10 different states held an initial public offering of its stock last week; the company did not do quite as well as they had hoped.

Only 63% of its hoped for $172.5 million was raised, but the Washington Post reported K12’s share price raised 36%. The company has operated the Ohio Virtual Academy since the 2002-2003 school year and currently enrolls 3,408 students in Ohio and over 27,000 in its combined operation.

Both the Ohio Virtual Academy and Columbus City Schools earned a Continuous Improvement rating for the 2006-2007 school year, but that is where the similarities end.

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When backers legislated into existence the option to create charter schools, they argued that these choices for parents would allow them to escape their failing schools and school districts. Today, no urban district has been given an “F” rating; only three earned a “D” rating. This begs the question:

Now that big urban districts and individual schools are improving across the board, what alternatives are charters actually providing?

Read more about it from the Akron-Beacon Journal.

(Hat-tip to Jill Miller Zimon at Writes Like She Talks.)