Judge expected to rule that a major Republican Party donor and charter school management company owner will be required to disclose how he spends the millions of public tax dollars he receives each year. This story is not about Vahan Gureghian.

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1000 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators and members of the press via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

"I've been with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association for more than 31 years and this was by far the toughest budget that districts have faced in that time," association executive director Tom Gentzel said. "

For public schools, the year brought big cuts

Thursday, December 29, 2011

By Mary Niederberger, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In public education circles, 2011 was the year that officials quickly learned how to do more with less.  No relief was provided from the federal No Child Left Behind mandate that the state's 500 school districts continue to move students toward proficiency in math and reading.

Yet, the state budget provided nearly $900 million less in funding for public schools.

"I've been with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association for more than 31 years and this was by far the toughest budget that districts have faced in that time," association executive director Tom Gentzel said. "The big story is that because of the sea change in school funding, there were dramatic cuts."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11363/1199846-55.stm#ixzz1hw1MI4G8

 

Ohio’s White Hat charter management company is owned by Akron businessman and major Ohio Republican Party donor David L. Brennan, who pushed for state laws that expanded Ohio’s charter-school movement.  In Pennsylvania, major Republican Party donor Vahan Gureghian, who pushed for state laws that would expand Pennsylvania’s charter school movement, has not been required to disclose how his Charter School Management Company spends the millions of taxpayer dollars it receives each year to manage the state’s largest charter school, Chester Community Charter School.  That school operates in the Chester Upland School District which, until this year was under state control for several years and has been in the news lately due to severe financial difficulties.

Ohio Charter schools get win in White Hat suit

By  Charlie Boss

The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday December 28, 2011 4:46 AM

The 19-month fight over whether Ohio’s largest for-profit manager of charter schools must share detailed financial records could be coming to a close.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge John F. Bender has decided he can rule on the case, and he reiterated an order he made in August that White Hat Management release records showing how the charter-school operator spends the millions of tax dollars it gets each year.

“Public funds are allocated to the community school, not the management company,” he wrote. “A community school remains accountable for how public funds are spent, whether it contracts with a management company or not.”

In October, Bender ruled that White Hat is a “public official” when acting as an authorized agent of a charter school. The designation makes White Hat subject to Ohio public-record laws, requiring it to account for the public dollars it receives, information that the company has been unwilling to disclose for years.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/12/28/charter-schools-get-win-in-white-hat-suit.html

#1 public high school in Illinois fails to make AYP

http://www.newtrier.k12.il.us/media/files/content/New_Trier_Web_Site/Academics/Curriculum_and_Instruction/AYP_NTParents.pdf

Video: The Dangerous Nexus of Cyber Charter Schools & For-Profit Curriculum Companies

Published by Wesley Fryer on December 26th, 2011

On November 13, 2011, Ali Carr-Chellman (@aac3 on Twitter) shared an important and courageous message at TEDxPSU. Her 13.5 minute message was titled, “A Closer Look at Cyber Charter Schools.” Among other things, Ali challenges us to question the growing nexus between non-profit “cyber charter schools” and for-profit curriculum companies. As we continue hear different voices with different agendas champion both charter schools as well as online educational options, Ali’s message is vital.

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2011/12/26/the-dangerous-nexus-of-cyber-charter-schools-for-profit-curriculum-companies/