3 sentenced in charter school scam (Texas)

[Judi Lynn]

3 sentenced in charter school scam
Relatives get prison terms for bilking state and U.S. of $6 million
By HARVEY RICE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Three relatives were sentenced to prison Friday for helping defraud federal and state governments out of about $6 million by inflating enrollment and the number of free lunches served at the defunct Prepared Table Charter School.
(snip)

U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas said that if Wilcox were still alive, she would give him the maximum sentence.Atlas said the fraud gave ammunition to those wanting to cut school funding, drained money from schools that needed it and deprived children of a proper education.

"The fraud was massive, and the fraud makes charter schools have a bad name," she said.

Atlas gave the stiffest sentence to Mosley, 40, a co-pastor with his brother at Greater Progressive Baptist Church, giving him six years in prison on two counts of conspiracy and four counts of money laundering.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3337601
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[Mithras61]

1. How about that it gives ammunition to those...

who claim that the whole Charter School thing is a scam for defrauding the state? Why can't they just fund the school systems properly and adequately and quit sh!tting around with B.S. programs that cost us more and provide less education?

[rodeodance]

2. i read somewhere that many in TX are pushing for the privatization of

their public schools. actually there is some talk about it at the national level. charter schools are just one of the modes for this to come about.

[Mithras61]

3. I know. I'm one of the ones fighting "privatisation" in TX

I've been saying that the "charter school" garbage is just that for quite a while now. It's a half-step towards privatisation. I don't want charter schools (especially ones run by "faith-based charitable organizations!"). I want the public school system to have adequate funding, adequate teachers (and quit forcing them out!) and adequate facilities.

I have a good friend who recently was forced out by the rules passed by the 'pukes in Austin that would have been catastrophic for her retirement in a decade (when she originally intended to retire) and in addition they have forced her to quit teaching part-timein a local community college and have changed the rules so that if she holds ANY job, the pay from that job cuts into her retirement payments from the state. We lost a huge number of highly qualified teachers with this and the previous rule changes. With rules like these, who would want to be a full-time teacher in TX?