Yes, more fraud, waste and abuse that Florida must address. The Pinellas School Board voted to shut down three NewPoint charter schools today. Windsor Prep, East Windsor and NewPoint Pinellas are all involved in an indictment for fraud. Read the Tampa Bay Times editorial. The editor calls for an investigation of two other NewPoint related schools which also appear to be involved in self dealing with tax payer money.
The same charter management company is indicted in Pensacola for grand theft, money laundering and white collar crimes.
State policies severely limit the ability of the elected school board members to have adequate oversight of charter schools. For profit management firms are not required to be transparent in their financial dealings. Thus, as shown in other investigations, even charter board members in some cases, may be ignorant of fraudulent activities. In other cases, board members may be associated with the management firms’ subsidiary companies.
The League has consistently called for charter school board members to be independent of the charter management firms. We have called for greater transparency in financial records. We will keep calling.
I find it interesting that a group of parents who never attended board meetings, and happily enrolled their children in the F school that Windsor Prep has been until this year, are now so concerned about taking it over and saving this precious resource. I guess public schools are good enough for other kids, but not theirs, as they act as though the world will end if that’s where their kids end up.
And now, after speaking so vehemently against the evils of for profit charter school management companies, they are essentially willing to sell their collective souls to a politician who is VERY FRIENDLY to most of those same companies, and who has taken campaign donations from many of them, as well as charter school property developers.
And it’s especially nice that he is placing the blame squarely on the school board when it’s laws like he fought for in Tallahassee that tie the hands of all local school boards.
He’s a hero in a black cape, which I guess they are pleased with, as long as they get their way, and as long as we tax payers have to keep paying. It should cost us about six million dollars next year for Windsor.