Can't believe they gave a whole city of PA schools to these FL rich fools.

[madfloridian]

I say fools because that so describes anyone who is trying to take over public schools and has the utter nerve to call their yacht "Fishin' for Schools". That's just plain stupid.

Would love to see an education post actually make the greatest threads on front page. Can't remember when that happened.

Posted in General Discussion and twittered for visibility. Give a rec if you can.

The city of York, Pennsylvania is set to make all of its schools for-profit charter schools. It wasn't exactly their choice. A court sealed the deal.

In what appears to be a last-ditch effort to carry out a two-year-old plan to turn all of York’s schools over to for-profit charter corporation Charter Schools USA, Pennsylvania’s Department of Education filed a petition in a York County court earlier this month to take away almost all local control from the school board, and put the district in the “receivership” of state-appointed York education official David Meckley.

Meckley, a local businessman who once served on the board of a nearby school district, was appointed in 2012 to oversee York’s financially beleaguered school system under a 2012 law that allowed the state to appoint “recovery officers” for any school districts with significant debt. His plan for York involves a slew of concessions from the district, from teacher layoffs to extracurricular cutbacks. But the most controversial part is the handing over of the entire operation of the district to Charter Schools USA.

While placing struggling school districts in state control is relatively common across the U.S., a state has only converted an entire school district to a charter system once before — in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Well, these are the guys who will profit.

From Coral Springs Talk back in March.

Charter Schools USA Founder Sets Sail for Riches

Charter Schools USA founder Jonathan Hage and his first mate Edward Pozzuoli, attorney for Charter Schools USA who is also president of the law firm Tripp Scott, have registered a yacht under the name of “Fishin’ 4 Schools” as well as formed an LLC under the same name.


Hage and Pozzuoli’s yacht in back of Hage’s Coral Ridge Country Club home in Fort Lauderdale.

This begs the question: What other assets do they own that are hidden under aliases?

Charter schools are public schools that receive state tax dollars, but function with their own boards of directors and enjoy substantial independence from state and local regulations. Charter Schools USA is a for-profit company which operates 58 schools in several states, including Florida, for a combined 48,000 students, however, both Hage and Pozzuoli send their children to Pine Crest Schools – a private school located in Fort Lauderdale.

There are big dollars in those students numbers. If Hage and Pozzuoli make $100 off each of those 48,000 students, that would be a $4.8 million dollar annual payday.

They later put the Yacht up for sale for $349,500.

As Jersey Jazzman points out at his blog...Charter Schools USA have not exactly set a shining example in Florida.

Our shining local examples in Hillsborough County are owned by Charter Schools USA. My first glimpse of Winthrop Charter School in Riverview in November of 2011 was during a scheduled visit with then Rep. Rachel Burgin. When told the two story brick building was a charter school, I was mystified. The site on which it was built was purchased from John Sullivan by Ryan Construction Company, Minneapolis, MN. From research done by the League of Women Voters of Florida all school building purchases ultimately owned and managed by for-profit Charter Schools USA are initiated by Ryan Construction. The Winthrop site was sold to Ryan Co. in March, 2011 for $2,206,700. In September, 2011 the completed 50,000 square foot building was sold to Red Apple Development Company, LLC for $9,300,000 titled as are all schools managed by Charter Schools USA. Red Apple Development is the school development arm of Charter Schools USA. We, tax payers of Hillsborough County, have paid $969,000 and $988,380 for the last two years to Charter Schools USA in lease fees! [emphasis mine]

And what kind of performance have the good people of Florida received for all of that money?

The chain was considered high-performing until this year. And on Tuesday the Orange School Board voted 7-0 to deny its applications for three new campuses.

Because charters are publicly funded per pupil, Charter Schools USA would receive about $27 million a year to run the three schools at capacity if approved.

"Their performance in Orange County is abysmally poor," board Chairman Bill Sublette said of the Renaissance schools. "They're underperforming the schools in the area that they're drawing from. How can we look taxpayers in the eye and approve them?"

[madfloridian]

1. Appeal stalls state takeover...fingers crossed.

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/ci_27220650/appeal-stalls-state-takeover-york-city-schools

A judge's ruling last week gave David Meckley nearly all authority over the York City School District.

But the Spring Garden Township man said Monday that he will wait until an appeal of the ruling is settled in Commonwealth Court before taking any decisive actions as the district's receiver.

For example, Meckley said he's not entirely sure what might occur at the next school board meeting on Monday, Jan. 12.

"My understanding, until there's a clear path, we would have business as usual," he said.

So keep publicizing the heck out of this thing.

[femmocrat]

2. Thanks for the update.

Our local (Scaife) rag newspaper actually supports the takeover!

As Carolyn Dumaresq, the acting state Education secretary (and once the PSEA's executive director) put it, the receiver “can now implement the much-needed financial recovery plan that will improve the district's educational programs, increase student achievement and restore financial stability to the district.”
And all that, thank goodness, despite those usual apologians

.


Read more: http://triblive.com/opinion/editorials/7462957-74/district-state-students#ixzz3NU4iUkUb

Unless the court tries to pull a fast one, this will (hopefully) get pushed into the Wolf administration.

[madfloridian]

3. Starve the schools, then take them over. Arne's big plan all along.

In my state a few are becoming aware, but only when Scott is out of office will we know what he has done.

The media everywhere is the reformers' friend.