Charter School Moguls Scam Oregon Out of Millions

[JReed]

Oregon charter school founders accused in $20 million racketeering lawsuit

Tim King and Norm Donohoe, who ran a chain of taxpayer-funded charter schools across small-town Oregon from their headquarters in Clackamas, scammed the state out of $17 million and must repay that plus $2.7 million more, the state said in a court filing this week.

The legal claim, brought Thursday by the Oregon Department of Justice in Marion County Circuit Court, accuses the pair of racketeering, money laundering and other fraud from 2007 to 2010.

King and Donohoe, who were the director and president, respectively, of a nonprofit they named EdChoices, submitted false, incomplete and misleading records about how many students were enrolled in the schools and how they were spending the state's money, state prosecutors say in the complaint.

...

The state is demanding that King and Donohoe repay all the money their schools received in grants and per-student funding, on the grounds it all was obtained under racketeering and false claims, even though the schools did legitimately educate some students. That adds up to $17 million.

...

http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2013/01/oregon_charter_school_founders.html

[hay rick]

1. K&R

[madfloridian]

2. Since there are no regulations, no rules, for these schools...no oversight...

things like that will keep happening.

[duffyduff]

3. They're utter crap, just like every other neoliberal idea that's come down the pike

I know here in Oregon, Waldorf schools are popular, but their philosophy is incompatible with the non-stop testing mania being crammed down the throats of public schools. However, more than a few of these Waldorf schools are now charters, ripping off taxpayer money while many if not most of their younger students cannot read or write at all. Students of the same age in public schools, especially Title Is, have to reach literacy benchmarks or else the schools get slapped with not making AYP. To me this double standard is not right.

Abolish charter schools. Let them operate the same as the private schools they are if they are any good at all and let 'em charge tuition.

[glinda]

4. I see it as "Corporatcratic" rather than neoliberal.

[duffyduff]

5. It's really the same thing. Privatizing public ed is a neoliberal idea

Neoliberalism basically equals corporatism.

Whatever you call it, it is evil.

[glinda]

8. Yes. It is. Terminology for Neolib seems to have changed over the years a lot.

[JReed]

7. What is Neoliberalism?

...

The main points of neo-liberalism include:

THE RULE OF THE MARKET. Liberating "free" enterprise or private enterprise from any bonds imposed by the government (the state) no matter how much social damage this causes. Greater openness to international trade and investment, as in NAFTA. Reduce wages by de-unionizing workers and eliminating workers' rights that had been won over many years of struggle. No more price controls. All in all, total freedom of movement for capital, goods and services. To convince us this is good for us, they say "an unregulated market is the best way to increase economic growth, which will ultimately benefit everyone." It's like Reagan's "supply-side" and "trickle-down" economics -- but somehow the wealth didn't trickle down very much.

CUTTING PUBLIC EXPENDITURE FOR SOCIAL SERVICES like education and health care. REDUCING THE SAFETY-NET FOR THE POOR, and even maintenance of roads, bridges, water supply -- again in the name of reducing government's role. Of course, they don't oppose government subsidies and tax benefits for business.

DEREGULATION. Reduce government regulation of everything that could diminsh profits, including protecting the environmentand safety on the job.

PRIVATIZATION. Sell state-owned enterprises, goods and services to private investors. This includes banks, key industries, railroads, toll highways, electricity, schools, hospitals and even fresh water. Although usually done in the name of greater efficiency, which is often needed, privatization has mainly had the effect of concentrating wealth even more in a few hands and making the public pay even more for its needs.

...

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=376

[glinda]

9. Thanks! Best definitions I have seen.

[Unknown Beatle]

6. Nothing about these two

assholes going to jail. It seems white collar crime pays.

[Starry Messenger]

10. But will anyone remember that when they scream how much it costs per pupil to educate our students?

This is full-scale piracy of funds that could have gone to a legit school. Every million represents teachers (plural), programs, art, special ed.--all places that have suffered devastating cuts. Even if Oregon gets the money back, it doesn't help the kids who could have benefitted from that money going to a real school for those years.