Why "non-profit" charter schools often really aren't - more charter school chicanery

[Hannah Bell]

The DOE recently launched a website dedicated to i3 applications. i3 apps are "investing in innovation" (school deform-related) grants from the dept. of ed: "innovations" to do with funding for "effective teachers and principals, the use of data, high standards and high-quality assessments, and persistently low-performing schools."

There are plenty of interesting applications, but one application really has me scratching my head: this $29,032,386 5-year validation grant focused on using data in the classroom. An outline of the grant says all 71 Imagine Schools will be involved in the study, including testing students three times a year...


***Imagine is a charter school operation founded by a big player/polluter in the deregulated energy biz. Imagine has both for-profit & non-profit arms & its "non-profit" arm hasn't been able to get 501c3 status. Since many localities require non-profit status to start a charter, here's how they get around that****



Considering this grant will reach all Imagine Schools, you'd think Imagine Schools Nonprofit, Inc might be listed as the applicant. But Imagine isn't listed as the applicant: Pathfinder Charter School Foundation, the nonprofit running Imagine Cortez Park - a nonprofit that contracts out just about everything to Imagine and operates with less than a $4 million annual budget - is the applicant for this $29 million, five-year grant...

Pathfinder's most recent 990 shows they spent $605,368 in occupancy, $2,192,936 for "professional contract ser", and $351,909 on management. Combined, that is roughly $3.15 million of Pathfinder's $3.9 million operating expenses between 7/1/2008 and 6/30/2009. The other $750,000 was spent on food services, operations, supplies, equipment, accounting, office expenses, conventions/meetings, and insurance. Keep in mind that Pathfinder delegates control over virtually the entire budget to Imagine...

Can anyone honestly say Pathfinder is truly the applicant when they are really just a legal entity that hands the keys to Imagine? Personally, I think this is a great example of how Imagine really isn't a nonprofit, and a tacit admittance of their status... A reasonable observer would challenge Imagine's eligibility considering there's clearly a for-profit arm of Imagine that could benefit private shareholders (and that's not even getting into the details about their lack of 501c3 status). I would wager that this eligibility issue is part of the reason Pathfinder - a certified nonprofit that is supposed to have an arm's length from Imagine's for-profit branch - is the applicant as opposed to Imagine's nonprofit arm (which clearly has ties to Imagine's for-profit arm). But is this just making a mockery of the ban on for-profit providers applying for i3 grants? Is anyone in the OII going to ask about how a nonprofit with a budget of roughly $4 million per year - which is mostly turned over to Imagine - can really be considered the applicant here?

http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/07/curious-case-of-imagine-schools-i3.html

[flyarm]

1. Hannah are you working with your fellow Union members? Do you post this stuff

on your union web sites? Have you gotten involved with inner Union groups to edcuate other teachers to what is going on? beause you need to..You have too much important Info that needs to get to all Teachers union members..You are a wonderful researcher..you need to be putting this stuff everywhere your fellow Union members read..
I understand some people are great at research and not so great at public speaking or getting in front of big groups..but you need to somehow get this info to people willing to stand up and get this info in front of huge blocks of your fellow union members..and on Teacher web sites..all this info needs to be blasted to each and every teacher and parents throughout this country that have children in public schools.

If teachers are all getting this info..then you have a chance to stop it..but unless you are getting this info to huge blocks of teachers nationwide..and they can collectively take a stand..all you are going to have is a small group of people pissed off..with nothing accomplished to stop this.

How is it that Bill Gates can speak to union members at their Union meeting..I say it is because too many are uneducated to what is going on.Because I can tell you this..as a lifelong Union member ( NOT Teachers Union) that fucker wouldn't be able to speak to me at my union meetings!..I would make such a ruckus..and such a shit storm..he wouldn't dare to show up...and I would be my union leaders worst nightmare!

Hannah..get a group together of like minded teachers.and get them to start posting this info on all teachers web sites nationwide..build a group..do mailings to teachers that you know..don't ask them if they want the info..just send it to them daily!don't waste time reading their responses unless you have endless time..just send it to all teachers you know and put on the bottom ..pass this info on to other teachers.

Ask others for help..you can get this info out to teachers all over the country with the help of this computer..and reaching out to teachers all over the country.

If they don't know they can't act collectively.

fly

[Hannah Bell]

3. i'm not a teacher. i don't work in education. but i agree, it seems the rank & file

has only recently somewhat woke up to what's going on.

i call that a failure of education on the part of the union leadership. theoretically, that's one of the functions of a union -- to educate & organize its members so that when such threats arise, the rank & file is ready to rumble at any time.

modern unionism is not what it was; it seems to have been coopted by corporate power. an uneducated disaffected uninvolved membership is actually preferred under that scenario.

i'm doing what i can as a non-educator.

[flyarm]

4. and you are doing a great great job and service for teachers!

I know in my union we had web sites only we could go on..I hope some teachers are using your incredible research and passing on the info!!

Thanks for all you are doing for teachers!

[Dinger]

2. Kick & Rec # 10 (nt)