Breaking news: Charter school owner charged with racketeering and fraud

http://ricksblog.biz/breaking-news-charter-school-owner-charged-with-racketeering-and-fraud/

Marcus May, the founder and owner of the Newpoint Education Partners charter schools in Escambia and four other Florida counties, was charged this morning with racketeering and organized fraud in connection with fraudulent schemes involving public charter schools in seven Florida counties. Inweekly first broke this story in March 2015 when it reported on possible grade-tampering and missing funds at Escambia County’s Newpoint Academy and Newpoint High School.

The State’s case stemmed from an investigation by State Attorney Bill Eddins and the Escambia County School District that was launched after our reports. The school board later canceled the schools’ contracts. Newpoint Education Partners closed the two middle and high schools and its Five Flags Academy, which taught elementary school students.

Inweekly has just received the 15-page filing and will give a fuller report later in the day. Marcus May is alleged to have obtained more than $1 million of public funds from a pattern of thefts, according to court documents.

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http://ricksblog.biz/bergosh-calls-for-feds-to-investigate-escambia-public-school-district-administration/

Charter schools started as a good idea to have specialty schools for art, music, and science, but when they became a political alternative to public schools and a means to lower funding for public schools by arguing that teachers can accept less pay and do the same job, it was certain that these type of frauds would happen.

Charter schools have been an abysmal failure almost
everywhere they are implemented. Look at Jen Bush and his Liberty City School- closed doors. This is certainly true for Escambia County, but you have folks like former school board member Jeff Bergosh who think they are good things. This failure happened on his watch as school
Board member and he is now a county commissioner in Escambia County as well. Charter schools in Florida are slush funds for state lawmakers who tie the hands of public schools while not doing so with charter schools and funneling public school monies to the aforementioned charter institutions. The list of legislators who also own charter schools is astounding. This is a conflict of interest to write laws for an entity you use to take money from public schools and fill your own pockets.

It is simple. Good schools begin and end with good teachers. Good teachers go where they are paid. In the early 1970s they organized, and began to get paid their worth. They also aligned with the Democratic Party. The Republicans have had a fifty year war with Public school teachers, and they are willing to sacrifice children under the guise of educational reform when it really is all about breaking the teachers unions across the country. Nothing more complicated than this, but if people are honest they understand that schools begin and end with good teachers and less administration and politics. My life was changed for the better by good teachers. I only had a few bad teachers, but even my worst teacher had value. Schools should pay teachers their worth, and work to help them improve their skills. The administrative interference in my wife's classrooms during the last decade of her teaching were hurting students, but most of these were political.

2seaoat wrote:It is simple.  Good schools begin and end with good teachers.  Good teachers go where they are paid.  In the early 1970s they organized, and began to get paid their worth.  They also aligned with the Democratic Party.   The Republicans have had a fifty year war with Public school teachers, and they are willing to sacrifice children under the guise of educational reform when it really is all about breaking the teachers unions across the country.  Nothing more complicated than this, but if people are honest they understand that schools begin and end with good teachers and less administration and politics.  My life was changed for the better by good teachers.  I only had a few bad teachers, but even my worst teacher had value.  Schools should pay teachers their worth, and work to help them improve their skills.   The administrative interference in my wife's classrooms during the last decade of her teaching were hurting students, but most of these were political.

As distressing as I find it, I must agree with Seaoat on this, he's exactly right.

Sadly, he's wasting his breath. Hmmmmm--or whatever handle he's hiding behind today--obviously hasn't had the benefit of any education beyond grammar school.