Christie and Cerf: CLUELESS About Public Education

I've been spending a fair amount of my time thinking and reading about the proposals Acting Commissioner Cerf has put before the State Board of Education.  To date, the changes to high school testing requirements have gotten the most press attention, and the changes to the charter school regulations have taken a back seat.  I am sure this will change in the coming weeks, and if nothing else I certainly plan on addressing the proposed changes to charter school regulations in depth.  


Before I dive in, I want to take some time to look at what the recent proposals tell us about Governor Christie and his Department of Education.

NJ Spotlight had a great overview of how the new high school testing plan was presented to the press:

Christie on Monday unveiled a plan to replace the High School Proficiency Assessment -- students get three chances to pass it, beginning in the spring of junior year -- with end-of-course exams in language arts and math at the 9th, 10th and 11th grade levels. The HSPA only measures skills at an 8th grade level, the governor said. The state may also recommend science and social studies tests.


The next day, the DOE released data showing the percentage of 2011 graduates in each district who passed the HSPA, as well as those who were exempt from taking it and those who completed an alternate assessment. Statewide, 82.2 percent of graduates had passed the HSPA, while 14.3 percent had completed the alternate assessment and 3.5 percent were exempt from testing. (emphasis mine)


Their piece included a document that showed the percentage of vocational and charter school students that pass the HSPA.  I couldn't help but notice that Camden's LEAP Academy Charter School was on the list, and was blown away by what I saw.  


Some of you may remember I spent a bit of time looking into the "success" of LEAP Academy after I testified before the Assembly Education Committee hearing in February.  LEAP students were paraded before the committee as examples of how charter schools are the best (only?) hope for the students in places like Camden, and any semblance of local control would potentially destroy the "success" of the charter school movement.


LEAP Academy's biggest claim to fame is that they graduate 100% of their senior class.  This apparently has not changed, even with the new formula which has significantly changed the graduation rates for other districts and charters.  What doesn't seem to get any attention however is that apparently only 56.9% of those students can pass the HSPA, compared with 82.2% statewide, and that the other 43.1% graduate by taking the AHSA, by appeal or "other means".

So what's the difference between passing the HSPA and the AHSA?

The AHSA is a more open-ended exam than the HSPA, providing more time and performance-based formats for the language arts and math tests. It was first devised in the 1980s as an exam for those who struggle with the pressures of standardized testing.

But over the years, the exam – then known as the Special Review Assessment (SRA) -- became more the norm in some districts where failing rates on the HSPA were high, and it drew increasing criticism for being too easy to pass. Specifically, some said its looser time limits and scoring, often by the students’ own teachers, had led to a test almost impossible to fail.

NJ Spotlight had another great piece about how students feel about the idea of the changes to testing requirements.  They spoke with students in West Windsor Plainsboro, where Christie announced the new testing plan.  Here is what one student had to say about the HSPA:

Question: What’s your reaction to Christie’s announcement that the HSPA would be phased out as a high school test and replaced by end-of-year exams?

Jeffrey Yu, 18, senior, WWP South: “At West Windsor Plainsboro South, there hasn’t been a year when a kid didn’t pass the HSPA. It’s an easy test for our district. For myself, I definitely thought it was pretty easy.

“I wouldn’t say it’s eighth grade [level]. It had algebra, so I would say that is more 10th grade or high 9th. But look at all the other tests we are taking, the SAT, the ACTs, AP English or math, compared to them, it’s a piece of cake.”

I love that the Governor is being schooled by students that actually understand what skills are taught at what grade levels.  But most importantly, if the AHSA is "almost impossible to fail" and the Governor thinks the HSPA only measures 8th grade proficiency, what does that say about the graduation rate claims at LEAP and the education those graduates are actually receiving?

But yesterday was less about the details and more about the politics and promises, with Christie and Cerf finally putting some flesh on their longtime claims that New Jersey’s schools don’t demand enough of their students.

“Today is about accountability,” Christie said. “We can’t go on at the level we are now, teaching to a test that is 8th grade level and telling them it is high school.” (emphasis mine)

Let's back that up a minute, Governor.  It's about accountability?  Are you for real?  


LEAP is being held up as a model of what charters can do for students, but only 56.9% of them can pass the test you say is at an 8th grade level!?!  Nonetheless, LEAP touts a 100% graduation rate and gets showered with praise from legislators, the Department of Education, and the NJ Charter Schools Association and endowed with new facilities to the tune of 12.5 million.  And not only that, they use their graduation rate as a club to beat the Camden Public Schools, the schools that actually have to try to teach the ESL and LEP students LEAP doesn't seem to serve.  


So much for accountability...


Then this morning there was an amazing opinion piece in the Asbury Park Press that nailed the problem right on the head.


Christie says too many graduates leave high school unprepared for their next step, and that these changes are aimed at correcting that.


We can’t argue with that. But the way to accomplish that isn’t by simply ratcheting up the demands and waiting to see how it all shakes out.


Raising the bar is a wonderful concept unless it’s being used primarily as a weapon to exclude more people from reaching a certain level of achievement. If Christie simply wants to chop the graduation rates down a few notches and leave more students without diplomas, that’s an irresponsible approach to reform.


Christie’s ongoing disdain for the quality of public education in New Jersey remains one of his biggest failings as governor. While there has always been some merit behind his criticisms of the teachers union, his attacks have extended far beyond legitimate gripes.


The overriding impression is that the governor would gladly replace the current system with a network of charter schools and private-tinged ventures, this despite the fact that the vast majority of the state’s school districts have been, and continue to be, highly successful. (emphasis mine)

And then there's the NJDOE's "secret proposal" that became public this week for the Camden Public School District.  It calls for the closure of ten traditional public and three charter schools.  While Christie says he has "no plans to enact the DOE scenario" the document is a clear example of Christie and Cerf's leadership style, which was perfectly explained by Diane Ravitch yesterday.

In fact, what the document shows is a Department of Education that does not know how to help public schools, that doesn’t believe in helping public schools. It shows leaders who are clueless about education. The plan begins by saying that asking how to improve the schools is the wrong question. That’s old-style thinking. 

As usual, Dr. Ravitch nails it.  The only thing the education policies and proposals of the Christie administration and Acting Commissioner Cerf's NJDOE demonstrate, including their proposed changes to high school testing requirements, is that they don't believe in actually helping public schools.  In fact, they are clueless about education.  

NJDOE Conducts A Careful And Stringent Approval Process? Now THAT Is Funny!

I had a bit of an outburst when I read this in today's NJDOE press release:


Under the Christie Administration, the Department has strengthened charter operations by:


Following a careful and stringent three-stage review and approval process for new charter school applicants to evaluate the quality of the proposed educational program, the capacity of the founding team to implement that program, and the need for the proposed school in the community. 


How then do they explain that Acting Commissioner Cerf, in the first round of applications he oversaw from start to finish, approved Regis Academy Charter School?  The same charter school that has managed to enroll only 37 students since Cerf approved it in September, while a petition urging the Governor and the Acting Commissioner to deny Regis it's final charter has gathered more than 2,000 signatures in 2 weeks.  Not to mention that the legislators representing Cherry Hill and Voorhees have come out against Regis and questions abound as to the real reasons for Regis' approval, especially when Regis' application wasn't well rated by reviewers. (Thanks Jazzman!)


Way to conduct a careful and stringent approval process that gauges the "need for the proposed school in the community" guys!


LOL

Ragin' Grannies v. For Profit Charter Operator

One of the founders of Speak Up South Jersey (yes, you heard that right, Speak Up Highland Park is branching out…) posted a link to a YouTube video on their Facebook page that, I'm not ashamed to admit, literally brought me to tears:

I say we take the Ragin' Grannies on tour.  Their fight in Chapel Hill is in many ways the same as the fight in Cherry Hill.  What sets their fight apart however is the inclusion of a for-profit entity, in this case National Heritage Academy, which prides itself on it's "mandatory and extensive" use of testing data to "inform and adjust teaching."

But it's only a matter of time before New Jersey is confronted with a massive for-profit invasion.

As I've detailed previously, Imagine Schools, the nation's largest and perhaps most controversial for-profit charter operator with huge problems in Florida, Washington DC and Indiana just to name a few, has already been behind four applications in New Jersey.   Last October the Star Ledger reported:

Among the proposals were some with ties to out-of-state charter school networks, like Imagine Schools, which helped local residents write applications in Jersey City, Newark, Camden, Trenton.

Imagine serves 40,000 students in 72 schools in 12 states, according to its website. "New Jersey is an area that is favorable for (education) alternatives," Samuel Howard, Imagine School’s executive vice president, said.

Christie has said he hoped to attract charter networks to New Jersey, but out-of-state companies face a roundabout process. A local group must first win approval for a charter then, if it wants to outsource the operation, must ask for bids. (emphasis mine)

Meanwhile, in St. Louis Missouri Imagine schools are an unmitigated disaster:

Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro advised Jim French, chairman of the university's education division, to announce "immediately" the closure of the underperforming schools after this school year.

Nicastro's recommendation comes days after French said the university needed more support and direction from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as it scrutinizes the charter schools operated by Virginia-based Imagine Schools Inc.

The six schools, which enroll about 3,800 students, fared worse on standardized tests this year than nearly all traditional and charter schools in St. Louis. French said the university is not getting the direction it needs from the education department or from state statutes to ensure the schools are living up to their charters.

Nicastro wrote that it is the sponsor's role, not the state's, to regulate charter schools.

So with Imagine's abysmal track record across the nation, clearly New Jersey should be wary of for-profit operators.  And since a university authorized and oversaw Imagine in St. Louis, and then seemed not to know what to do with the ensuing disaster, clearly we should also be careful about who we select as authorizers.


What's that Governor?


Earlier this week in his State of the State speech, Governor Christie urged the legislature to make much needed changes to the state’s charter school law through bill A-4167 introduced last June.  Sweeping changes to New Jersey’s charter school laws are needed to remove barriers and roadblocks to the growth of high-quality charter schools. The current laws and rules governing charter schools act as a deterrent to growth instead of fostering expansion. It is time to aggressively encourage some of the nation’s most-respected and successful charter school operators to come to New Jersey while making it possible to implement the same model of innovation and results in other new and existing charter schools. (emphasis mine)


Guess the Governor got tired of that "round about process."  So, what is added to, and taken away from, the charter school law in bill A-4167 to make it easier for for-profits to step in?


10.  Section 4 of P.L.1995, c.426 (C.18A:36A-4) is amended to read as follows:

     4.  a. A charter school may be established by:

     (1) teaching staff members[, parents with children attending the schools of the district, or a combination of teaching staff members and parents.  A charter school may also be established by an institution of higher education or a private entity located within the State in conjunction with teaching staff members and parents of children attending the schools of the district] who either reside or are employed in the State;

     (2) community residents who reside in the State;

     (3)  a public institution of higher education, except that a charter school authorizer which is an institution of higher education shall be prohibited from reviewing and approving a charter application submitted by that same institution of higher education;

     (4)  a private entity that is either for-profit or not-for-profit;

     (5)  a charter school that is currently operating in the State; or

     (6)  a combination of any of the above. (emphasis mine, and for damn good reason, too)

Here's your lesson for the day on how to read a proposed bill, if you don't already know that is.  Everything not underlined is the original legislation, and everything underlined is new and what's in [brackets] comes out.  


In the original law, an eligible applicant had to either teach in the district they wanted to serve or have kids in the PUBLIC schools of that district.  But even with this supposed limited pool of eligible applicants, who were supposed to represent the needs of the community, the charter school movement in New Jersey easily managed to subvert the intent of the law and to override local wishes.   


Bill A-4167 will REMOVE the part about being a public school parent or teacher ENTIRELY, and will open the door to everybody and anybody, unless you are the actual authorizer.  That sure does make it easier, now doesn't it?  


So who is going to do the authorizing?  The bill will allow public institutions of higher education in New Jersey to be authorizers.  


The fact that the Imagine Schools in St. Louis were authorized by Missouri Baptist University doesn't lend much credence to the fact that adding universities as authorizers will increase accountability.  Did you notice that when the Imagine Schools blew up in their face MBU looked to the state and said, "What should we do?" 


The bill does however say that the local school board may be an authorizer…


NOW we're getting somewhere.  Until districts and/or voters have local control over their schools, I think we can expect many more disasters like Imagine schools in St. Louis.  


And with the Christie administration behind legislation that will open the door to non-profits, we NEED local control more than ever.  Keep up with Save Our Schools NJ to help fight for legislation that will work for students, not for-profits.  


Take it grannies:


Let's say no to charter schools
They don't follow any rules


NHA will rip us off
For-profit at a very high cost


What to do, oh, what to do
Support Carrboro and Public Schools


Great, now I'm crying again...

Amir Khan Doesn't Want YOU to Have Local Control!

Apparently the Khan's have not only been to Trenton to deny the LGBT community the right to marry, they have also made the trip to lobby the state to deny voters the right to control their school budgets and keep out unwanted charters.  Like his.

It make perfect sense that he would be against local control.

The way the system is set up works so well for him and the other members of the Black Minister's Council, why wouldn't he defend how the state is running the show!

Check out this YouTube video, PK on 3852.  Notice it's PK, not AK.  This is coming to you from Pastor Khan, not Amir Khan.  He is delivering this message straight to other pastors and the members of their churches.  (And don't worry, if it gets taken down I have it backed up…)

Pastor Khan encourages the pastors to come to Trenton and asks their congregants to contact their legislators to make sure that YOU won't have local control over charter schools in your community.

Let your legislators know exactly how you feel, and let them know you are in support of charter schools, and you are not in support, you oppose this bill, you want to keep it in the hands of the state, and not the local township. -- Pastor Khan

And then he prays that those pastors will let their members use their smart phones to call and email their legislators to oppose the bill right in the middle of their sunday sermons!

Now check this one out…

If we have a couple hundred churches and pastors rally behind us, and each one of us as pastors make the phone calls, send out an email, and we get our congregation members to do the same, we can bombard the senators and the speaker with thousands and thousands of phone calls and emails, that will put enough pressure to bring about change. -- Pastor Khan

Now here is my favorite part.  Did you catch that when he is talking about local control the decision should be in the hands of the state, not the local township.  But when he is talking about school choice, he says:

I believe that school choice should be in the hands of not the politicians or the government or the city, but back in the hands of the parents. 

What it REALLY sounds like to me is what Pastor Khan believes is that decisions about public education should be based on whatever is best for HIM and whatever enables HIM to re-open his private school as a charter with public money.  And he's not afraid to lobby Trenton for what's best for HIM.

Funny, looks like Khan could lose his tax exempt status if he get's caught doing it:

A church or religious organization will be regarded as attempting to influence legislation if it contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation, or if the organization advocates the adoption or rejection of legislation .

Churches and religious organizations may, however, involve themselves in issues of public policy without the activity being considered as lobbying . For example, churches may conduct educational meetings, prepare and distribute educational materials, or otherwise consid- er public policy issues in an educational manner without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.

Uh oh PASTOR Khan.

Let's get back to how Khan got his charter for a minute though.

When the approval of Regis Academy was announced in September of 2011 Jessica Calefati reported:

Amir Khan, the principal founder of Regis Academy Charter School in Cherry Hill, said earning approval was an "honor."

"I thank God that we got approved," said Khan, the senior pastor at Cherry Hill’s Solid Rock Worship Center who also runs a private, Christian school associated with the church. "We applied last year, but our first application was denied."

He really should have thanked Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf.  Regis Academy's approval was one of only four that round; the first round COMPLETELY overseen by Cerf.  In the press release to announce the decisions it was stated that:

The Department has expanded its strategies for growing the state’s charter sector and increasing the number of high-quality seats available to students.  One shift in focus includes expanding efforts to attract high-quality charter applicants.

Which "expanded strategy" allowed for Amir Khan to be considered a "high-quality applicant?"

Guess only Acting Commissioner Cerf and the Governor know for sure.  But when Khan is on the dais, and the Governor preposterously claims not to know him, it sure makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Who is Amir Khan? WHERE is Amir Khan!?!

At a Town Hall meeting in Voorhees, New Jersey yesterday several vocal Voorhees and Cherry Hill residents challenged Governor Christie about the approval of the Regis Academy Charter School.  The Rev. Amir Khan is the lead founder of Regis Academy and also the senior pastor of the Solid Rock Worship Center, which will house the charter. 

Regis Academy was approved in September of 2011 as one of only four charters approved in that round of applications.  The New Jersey Department of Education said the four approvals were a result of a rigorous review process and they were confident the four schools would offer students a great education on day one of the school year.”

 In New Jersey Monthly however, Sara Butrymowicz reported that David Sciarra of the Education Law Center felt the low number of approvals raised “a lot of red flags of what’s really going on behind closed doors at the (New Jersey) Department of Education.  Because of the lack of public discourse about it (and) refusal to be open and transparent, the public is left in the dark about what happened here.”

In October, John Mooney of NJ Spotlight wrote a piece titled Church, State and Charter Schools, in which he stated that the Rev. Reginald Jackson helped steer four charter applications from pastors on the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, of which he is president.  One of these applications was for the Regis Academy charter. 

And yesterday the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Khan has said he sits on a committee of African American pastors that he said has met frequently with Christie on the issue of charter schools. 

An Asbury Park Press reporter detailed a heated exchange between Governor Christie and one of those four vocal residents, Alan Erlich of Cherry Hill about the Governor’s relationship to Kahn:

But after Erlich charged the charter school’s approval was a favor for a Christie supporter, the governor denied the claim.

“Who are you talking about?” asked Christie, who went on to say he does not know Amir Khan, a pastor who is organizing the school at a church complex in the Ashland area. “I haven’t given one friend a charter school.”

  The exchange is already memorialized on YouTube, like so many other clashes between Christie and audience members.  

What may make this one particularly interesting is that just after Governor Christie says he doesn’t know who Amir Khan is, the camera pans back, and who is sitting behind Governor Christie on the dais?  Amir Khan.  Sitting right underneath the “Jersey Comeback” banner.  Here is a still:

The woman sitting to Khan’s left is his wife; pastor Aughtney Khan, also a founder of Regis Academy.  

The pastors Khan, founders of the Regis Academy Charter School, sitting not just in the audience, but on the dais behind the governor, makes it awfully hard to believe that Regis Academy was not one of only four approvals in September because of pastor Khan’s connections to Rev. Jackson, the Black Minister’s Council and Governor Christie himself.   Especially with his repeated pronouncements yesterday that not only does Cherry Hill not need a charter school, he has told Acting Commissioner Cerf that charters should be focused predominately in failing districts.  Oh, and let's not forget, he has no say in what charters do and don't get approved?  Then why was Regis Academy approved in Cherry Hill?

Looks like in education the Governor's Jersey Comeback will be stronger and better for those with connections to the Governor.

UPDATE:  I have confirmed with multiple individuals in attendance at the Town Hall Meeting that Amir Khan was seen behind the curtain that was behind the platform.  Governor Christie came out from behind the same curtain.  Khan was allegedly behind the curtain for some time, and only came out and took his seat under the Jersey Comeback banner 5 minutes before the Governor.  

Gov. Christie: I Am Not a King

Christie kicked off his first Town Hall in Voorhees, New Jersey today.  Interesting choice of towns.

There has been no shortage of outrage in Voorhees and Cherry Hill over the Regis Academy Charter School.  Cherry Hill is challenging the approval in court, and I posted earlier about Cherry Hill Superintendent Dr. Reusche's response to bogus claims made by Regis founder Rev. Amir Khan about the achievement gap in Cherry Hill's schools.

Voorhees was also facing an application for the Creative Studies Charter School, which applied in October but was axed in the first round of cuts on December 12th.  Folks from Voorhees joined Speak Up Highland Park at our Occupy the DOE event anyway on December 16th.

So it's no big surprise that there were protestors both outside the event and inside as well.

Gov. Christie, who held a town-hall meeting in Voorhees Wednesday to sell his plans for New Jersey for 2012, was bombarded with questions about a charter school opening in Cherry Hill.

Christie said he'd prefer that charter schools open only in struggling school districts rather than compete with high-performing public schools, such as those in Voorhees and Cherry Hill. But he said the law prevents him from barring the Regis Academy from opening.

"I am not a king, despite the fact that I would love to be," Christie said after an outburst from Alan Ehrlach, a Cherry Hill resident. "I have to operate within the law."

Christie urged the four people who spoke up about the Regis Academy to call their legislators and ask them to pass a law that narrows the areas charter schools can operate in. He would sign a law, but he can't make the legislature pass it, he said.

The Regis Academy, which would be located in Cherry Hill and serve kindergarten through eighth-grade students from Cherry Hill, Voorhees, Lawnside, and Somerdale, has already been approved by the state Department of Education. 

But has drawn fierce opposition from officials and residents in some of these suburban towns.

"Our schools are extremely successful," Melissa Sable, 44, a teacher who lives in Voorhees. She asked Christie why Christie wasn't doing anything to stop the school from opening and taking taxpayer dollars away from the public schools. Christie again said the law prevents him from restricting where charter schools open.

The movement to take charters beyond their traditional urban setting into the suburbs, where residents expect a quality school system in return for higher property taxes, has turned New Jersey into a battleground.

Cherry Hill has taken the rare step of challenging Regis' charter approval. (emphasis mine)

OK, a few points.  This is not a news flash.  Christie has said numerous times in the last six months that charters should be primarily in "failing" districts.  I blogged about this after WNYC's Nancy Solomon said the suburban charter school battle could be Christie's Waterloo.

And check out this video.  At about the 31:30 mark Christie answers a question from an angry Cherry Hill resident who wanted to know why Regis was approved.  Christie throws Cerf right under the charter school bus and says that he has told "the educational community" that he thinks charters should be "predominately, if not exclusively" in failing districts.  I guess Cerf has been going rouge...

Watch live streaming video from townsquaremedianj at livestream.com

  

So, what better way to stop the battle than to show up on the battlefield and say, "Hey, I'd love to help you guys out here, but it's not my show!  I've tried telling the education community, and they didn't listen.  Now YOU need to go tell the legislators.  If they write it, I'll pass it, but I'm not the king, remember?"


Perfect plan!  No accountability for Cerf or Christie; not only do they get the suburban public school parents to quiet down, they harness their energy and channel it against the urban public school parents.  As an added bonus, Christie gets legislation passed that says go ahead and open as many charters as you want, as long as they are in failing districts!  Who's gonna complain?


This is some masterful politics.  Turn your potential Waterloo into a windfall.  Who wants to bet that THIS is why there was no announcement on Tuesday telling the people of New Jersey which charters made the final cut.  Christie and Cerf had this up their sleeve all along.  First the State of the State, then this perfectly planned Town Hall, then the announcements.  


Who wants to bet there are no suburban charters approved in this round?


Christie may be selling it, but don't buy it New Jersey!  Don't let Christie and Cerf jam more unaccountable charters into ANY district, suburban OR urban.   If you want to contact your legislators, join almost 5,000 others New Jersey residents that want local control over charters and sign this Save Our Schools New Jersey petition instead.  It will send an email directly to your Senator and the Senate Education Committee as well.


http://www.change.org/petitions/new-jersey-communities-want-local-control-over-new-charter-schools-2


And until we get that passed, and until Cerf releases the Charter Report with real data letting us know how the charters already open are performing, join me, Jersey Jazzman and Stan Karp and throw your support behind a New Jersey Charter School Moratorium.  We need to stick together and not divide our state into those who should get a say in what happens to their public schools and those that shouldn't.  Let's fight for public education together.  


BTW, guess who was behind Christie on the dais as he claimed that it's the law that prevents him from barring the Regis Academy Charter School from opening?  The founder of Regis Academy Charter School, Reverend Amir Khan.  Not the Superintendents of any of the successful districts.  The founder of the embattled, unproven charter school that is "forging excellence" in ValPac advertisements.  Now THAT'S innovative.  

So who do you think Christie is really fighting for?

Imagine there's no conspiracy? It's easy only if you're Tom Moran...

Tom Moran's editorial today is preposterous.   I am not an investigative journalist, but with just a bit of careful reading it's pretty easy to see the handwriting on the wall.  Allow me to illustrate.


Last month I noticed a story out of St. Lois, MO about Imagine Schools, the largest for profit charter management chain in the country.  


Imagine Schools operates 75 schools in 12 states and the District of Columbia.  As a full-service charter school operator, Imagine is basically a multi-state “school district” educating approximately 40,000 students (about the same size as the Newark public school system, while larger than Cincinnati, Minneapolis, or Buffalo).


Their St. Lois schools are failing - big time.  So much so the mayor called for every single school they operate in his city to be shut down.  Imagine not only operates the schools, they also make a killing buying, selling and leasing the facilities that their charters occupy.  They have a whole separate arm of their business that handles these transactions called Schoolhouse Finance.  Such an innocuous sounding name, isn't it?  Conjures up images of a little red schoolhouse in the middle of a prairie.  


Except for this:

The charter school operator Imagine Schools has placed a top executive on administrative leave and has received a stern warning from the sponsor of its St. Louis schools, following revelations about the company's financial dealings.

Top officials at Missouri Baptist University met this week with Dennis Bakke, chief executive of Imagine Schools, for a "candid and honest discussion" about the university's relationship with the company, said university spokesman Bryce Chapman.

Findings about Imagine's St. Louis real estate and contractor dealings in recent days are 'serious" and "need to be investigated." Chapman said.

Bakke has been in town this week giving Imagine's six underperforming charter schools in the city extra attention and support after a Post-Dispatch series showed them to be entangled in complex real estate dealings that have contributed to high rent payments while classrooms lacked basics such as textbooks.

The company has placed Sam Howard, executive vice president, on administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation. Imagine spokeswoman Lori Waters said. The Post-Dispatch reported that a contracting firm that renovated Imagine school buildings had made $32,000 in payments to a "Sam Howard." Howard had no explanation for the payments.  (emphasis mine)

And guess where Sam Howard is from?  NEW JERSEY!  A quick google search on Mr. Howard revealed this, from last October after the list of fast-track charter school applications were reported by Mr. Moran's own paper:

Among the proposals were some with ties to out-of-state charter school networks, like Imagine Schools, which helped local residents write applications in Jersey City, Newark, Camden, Trenton.

Imagine serves 40,000 students in 72 schools in 12 states, according to its website. "New Jersey is an area that is favorable for (education) alternatives," Samuel Howard, Imagine School’s executive vice president, said.

Christie has said he hoped to attract charter networks to New Jersey, but out-of-state companies face a roundabout process. A local group must first win approval for a charter then, if it wants to outsource the operation, must ask for bids. (emphasis mine)

Gee, Rice is looking less and less like a conspiracy theorist now… here is proof from the Star Ledger that the largest for-profit charter operator in the country has already helped write and submit four applications in urban districts, one of which is Rice's.   


Notice who the quote is from?  Yup, our buddy Samuel Howard who has been placed on leave for allegedly taking kickbacks in Imagine's real estate dealings in St. Louis.  Interesting that Imagine is finding New Jersey "favorable for (education) alternatives."  


By the way, Imagine also takes money right of the top of a school's operations as well.  Check this out from the Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, IN.  The article is aptly titled: EDUCATION INC. – Part I: Private company skirts public boards in running tax-funded charter schools; For-profit makes decisions for tax-funded Imagine


In April 2006, when Willis announced he wanted to start a charter school, Imagine Schools Inc. was already on site and involved – a year before the board would have its first meeting. In September of that year, Imagine-Fort Wayne Charter School Inc. was formed, allegedly the local organization that would start the school and contract with Imagine Schools Inc. of Virginia to run it. 


But the contact person for the non-profit Imagine-Fort Wayne Charter School was Imagine Schools Inc.’s executive vice president, Jason Bryant, and the corporation’s address was Bryant’s house in Fort Wayne. The incorporator was Imagine Schools’ attorney, Joseph Miller, of Baker & Daniels in Indianapolis. 


Two months later, the local non-profit filed for tax-exempt status with the IRS – the paperwork was again handled by Miller – and signed a contract with Imagine Schools Inc. 


The contract was signed by Willis; board members never publicly discussed it or voted on it, as it would be five months before their first meeting. Instead, they signed a resolution that claims it has the same authority as if it had been approved unanimously by the board at a public meeting. 


Indiana Public Access Counselor Andrew Kossack said there is no provision in the state’s Open Meetings Act that would allow such action. State law requires all public bodies to take all official action during public meetings.

That contract gave away the board’s power to make decisions on issues such as busing, hiring and the name of the school itself. It also gave Imagine Schools Inc. 12 percent of every penny the school took in. (emphasis mine)

Mr. Moran, I ask you to look into whether any of the four Imagine backed applications made it through last October's round of applications.  Like I said, I am not an investigative journalist, just a nosy mom trying to protect her kid's schools.  Unlike Governor Christie and Acting Commissioner Cerf, I do not want to see for profit charter networks that are unaccountable to taxpayers "outsource the operation" of ANY kid's school, thank you very much.