The CEA Blog

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.

(more…)