Rick Scott's buddy Dennis Bakke is building more Imagine Charters in FL

[madfloridian]

It appears he already has 3 failing Imagine charters here.

Rick Scott's pal opens up three charter schools

It was reported here Sunday, that Imagine Schools CEO Dennis Bakke operates the failing and financially challenged charter school in West Melbourne. It seems thats not the only failing school Bakke runs. There are two other F schools - both in North Lauderdale.

Bakke was on Rick Scott’s education transition team and likely played a role in establishing a legislative agenda which would be friendly to charters. One piece of legislation now allows charter school operators to go over the head of local school boards to the state when they are rejected. One such action is taking place now in Seminole County. KIPP has already signaled they will be doing the same if they are rejected in Jacksonville.

Yep, they just run to the state if the district rejects them. And of course they get approved. Failing only matters if you are a public school.

Here is more about the failing Melbourne school. Not only an F grade, but failing financially. The lease is 1.4 million a year. Imagine has a real estate arm that profits.

Failing Melbourne charter school

An Imagine charter school in Melbourne, Florida, got an F grade last year. The school is in trouble not just over grades but over financial struggles. Many of the problems are due to the involvement of the Imagine school's management company in profiting from real estate. Its real estate arm is called Schoolhouse Finance. There is another company involved called Entertainment Properties Trust. Profit for everyone?

Failure not an option for Imagine charter

"One of Brevard’s original charter schools is undergoing an intensive effort to improve this year after it received an “F” school grade — a damaging assessment that parents blame on staff turnover, classroom disruptions and student behavioral issues last year.

..."Compounding the issue for the K-8 school is a decline in enrollment, which fell from nearly 700 students last fall to close to 400 students. With finances tied to the number of students, the school’s getting fewer taxpayer dollars — leaving it less money to operate, and fixed costs such as $1.4 million in rent eating up a greater percentage of its revenue."

In fact in 2010 Florida taxpayers had to bail out two failing Imagine charter schools. That good old reliable taxpayer money to the rescue.

Taxpayer money bailing out charters.

Two popular Imagine charter schools in Manatee County incurred debts of nearly $900,000 and have been declared in a state of “financial emergency” by the school district.

An audit of Imagine School at Lakewood Ranch revealed debts of about $600,000 at the end of its first year. Most of that is owed to its parent company, Imagine Schools, a Virginia-based school management company that runs 74 charter schools in 12 states.

The Imagine School North Manatee’s debts were about $300,000 as at June 30, most of that also owed to Imagine Schools.

The debt is unlikely to lead to the closure of either school, but it does mean taxpayer money will be used by the schools to pay debts to their parent company that could include as much as $350,000 in interest.Charter schools are run by private boards but receive state tax money on a per-student basis.

Here is more about failing charter from Purple Musings blog. Of the 31 F schools in Florida, 15 are charters. Three of them are Imagine charters.

15 of 31 “F” Schools in Florida are Charter Schools

From July:

Charter schools, Governor?

Four days after Scott spiked the ball at a charter school in Winter Garden, Florida’s school grades were released. Thanks to the yeoman’s work of a colleague and FB friend, Floridians know that of the 31 failing schools in Florida, 15 are charter schools.

...."Broward:
Imagine School at West Melbourne- CHARTER
Imagine Charter/ N. Lauderdale- CHARTER
Imagine at N. Lauderdale Middle School- CHARTER
Charter School of Excellence at Riverland- CHARTER
Broward Community Charter Middle- CHARTER

There's a long list at the link.

Seems it is okay to keep building failing charters if you are buddy buddy with Rick Scott.

[WCGreen]

1. Some essential activities in this American life are too important to

be left to the whims of the profit/loss dynamic...

[madfloridian]

7. Amen to that.

:hi:

[Initech]

11. This is what's known as cutting and running.

They cut necessary services like education, leave us to be subjected to the for profit horseshit they create, while they run off with all the fucking money. Legalized theft is what it is.

[madrchsod]

2. we should`t leave out the federal government that looks the other way.

we never hear duncan and friends say anything about the failures of these charter schools across the country.

[madfloridian]

3. You are right. We never hear that.

:-(

[secondwind]

4. They want to indoctrinate Florida's children... FL will one day be an Evangelical paradise.

Can't this be stopped?

[RockaFowler]

5. I don't hate people

I hate pRick Scott. Everything he has done so far has been a kickback to somebody. We have got to get some real Democrats in Tallahassee. The Repukes have been in charge for 15 years. What is wrong with this state??????

[madfloridian]

6. He's an arrogant SOB

He takes pleasure in playing God.

[lark]

9. I'm with you RockaFowler

I just absolutely loathe that man. He's a pimple on the ass of a wart-hog, and the worst day in FL history was the day he stole his way to the governorship.

Funny how all the conservative media that loved him and hid the truth about his fraudulent, elderly hurting, theiving ass got their tax kickbacks & now have almost 100% turned against him.

[Dont call me Shirley]

8. Really sick that Bakke would choose the name Imagine

for a failing for-profit losing thieving aberration of our educational system. It's a real mockery of John Lennon's beautiful song and dream for us all. That's all these wrong-wingers do is mock and steal from that which is truly good.

[madfloridian]

10. "mock and steal from that which is truly good."

Yes, it does seem that way.

:hi: