Imagine Charter in St. Pete a million in debt. Taxpayers will foot the bill.

[madfloridian]

Hat tip to the Schools Matter blog for posting the great article from the St. Pete Times.

The Imagine Schools "Death Spiral"

Guess which charter school chain is behind this little scheme:

"An F-rated St. Petersburg charter school stands on the verge of collapse, mired in debt and losing enrollment. And most of those debts — around $1 million in public tax dollars — are owed to the same private company that founded it."

No, this isn't Chris Whittle's newest invention, this is the corrupt fools at Imagine. It's not a surprise - heck, this is practically the blueprint for Imagine's business plan. The snippet above is from Tom Marshall's article on Imagine that appeared in today's St. Petersburg Times. Do check it out.

Do not miss this article at the St. Pete Times. When you start mixing public and private money and having public schools run by outside companies without the usual regulations....anything can happen. It is not just Imagine Charters that should be alarming us.

As St. Petersburg school founders, districts question Imagine Schools' status


CHERIE DIEZ | Times The Imagine Charter School on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg is mired in debt and losing students

An F-rated St. Petersburg charter school stands on the verge of collapse, mired in debt and losing enrollment. And most of those debts — around $1 million in public tax dollars — are owed to the same private company that founded it.

Pinellas County district officials say they're battling with Virginia-based Imagine Schools, the nation's largest commercial charter operator, over the future of the Central Avenue school. The school was $963,572 in deficit last spring, according to auditors. It's paying $881,179 to lease a half-empty building from Imagine's real estate affiliate, plus thousands more for equipment, administration and fees, on income of just $2 million a year.

"It's a death spiral," said district charter supervisor Dot Clark.

Pinellas officials are now joining districts across Florida — including Hillsborough and Pasco — in raising doubts about whether the company is running its schools as nonprofits, as required by state law.

..."Still, Imagine has yet to receive the nonprofit status it has sought from the IRS since 2005, and school officials in Texas, Georgia, Nevada and Indiana — as well as Alachua, Indian River and Palm Beach counties in Florida — have challenged the company's applications."

There are other Imagine Charters in trouble, magnifying the role of the taxpayer in paying the debts owed to Dennis and Eileen Bakke who founded the schools.

Two Florida charter schools in financial crisis. Taxpayer money is paying their debt.

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.

There are many Democrats who still swallow the line about "bad" public school teachers and "bad" public schools. Sometimes I wonder if owing a couple of million in taxes to a private company with no oversight will wake them up.

I doubt it. I think it is the plan of this administration to privatize public education.

Schools Matter blog pointed out the other day that Imagine Charters in Virginia are listed as both profit and non-profit.

That's really interesting.

Imagine has registered both a non-profit and a for-profit company in Virginia. That's likely what makes their application a trailblazer, if you want to call it that. Below are snapshots of the annual reports for both Imagine Schools, Inc and Imagine Schools Non-Profit, Inc.

The images are at the link.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Just found out one of my kids will be at Imagine Charter next year.

Heartbreaking. Nice family and sweet little girl.

Mad, I thank you for all you do. But wanted to let you know I no longer trust Schools Matter blog. They posted false information about my school district. I called them on it - twice. My emails were ignored and I was spammed out of emailing them after my second email.

[madfloridian]

3. I trust them as much as I trust any blog or mainstream media...

I use my own filters and don't agree with everything.

In this case the link to the Times article and the profit and non-profit documents posted are pretty revealing and clear.

[bullimiami]

2. it owes 800k to its own leasing co? sound like a criminal enterprise.

what do they care if the school fails since they still stand to recover the majority of the losses by owning the leasing co.

[bvar22]

4. It just keeps getting worse,

and the only people who can stop it are feeding at the same trough.

[madfloridian]

31. True statement.

[Greyhound]

5. K&R. Thanks for keeping this in front of people. n/t

[Usrename]

6. k&r

It just keeps turning worse and worse.

[Dappleganger]

7. That 'debt' is STOLEN MONEY from MY CHILD'S PUBLIC SCHOOL!!

And I'm PISSED.

:mad: :mad: :mad:

[madfloridian]

13. Actually...

yes, it is just that.

I am angry also, but no one is really paying attention.

[annabanana]

8. Charter schools have always been a bait & switch operation

They look all nice & shiny, but a the end of the day. Shareholders and CEO's are looking for a profit..And we all know where they get those dimes.

[madfloridian]

9. "nice and shiny"...

Yes, they do look like that...but they are putting the public in serious debt to companies who run schools. And the public needs to know that.

[glitch]

10. I wish Obama was interested in cleaning this shit up.

Rather than doubling down on it.

[Catshrink]

12. +1

[LWolf]

14. +10

[madfloridian]

21. Agreed.

It's a shame.

[rachels2010]

38. Agreed!

Damn, so true!

[Solly Mack]

11. K&R

[madfloridian]

15. I was reading the comments after the article at St. Pete Times.

Most appear not to have gotten the point of the huge amounts of taxpayer money going to a company that apparently can't keep their schools out of serious debt....which must be paid by taxpayers in the end.

Some will defend the use of public money to send their kids wherever. That is the result of manipulation by the advocates of the privatization movement...

[csziggy]

16. Why is the state allowing money to go to "F" charter schools

When "F" public schools get money yanked away from them? If a charter school cannot outperform the public schools that removes any justification to paying money to for-profit educational organizations. And when they are so transparent about being a vehicle for simply using tax payer money to invest in real estate, that borders on a criminal enterprise, IMO.

Why should the tax payers continue to bail out yet another set of private corporations? Let Imagine go broke, they have failed at their supposed goal of education AND at their blatantly obvious goal of ripping off tax money.

[madfloridian]

17. Keep asking the questions.. But don't expect answers.

At least not from any political party right now....they are on board with it.

Good questions, keep asking.

[csziggy]

20. I need to call Al Lawson and Alex Sink tomorrow and ask them

And maybe Kendrick Meek - they are all in campaigns now and gearing up so they could use this as a cause. Considering the Tea Partyiers claim to be fiscal conservatives, they should be happy to have someone asking about wasting taxpayer money.

And frankly, if it embarrasses Arne Duncan and Obama on this charter school crap, so much the better.

[madfloridian]

26. I think most FL Dems support charters.

I may be wrong, but I think they do.

They have bought the "bad" public school teacher meme.

[csziggy]

33. I just cannot believe in anything that is aiding dismantling public schools

For many reasons, I believe that our country needs public schools. And while I experienced poor teachers, I had many, many more excellent teachers. I just wish the system supported teachers better - higher pay, better discipline in classrooms, more materials, etc.

I keep remembering that when a new school was built in our small town and it did not have the resources of the old school, my parents and many other parents began the PTA and worked to get the extras that the old school had accumulated over one hundred years of its history. They ran fundraisers, lobbied the school board and county commission, and solicited donations from private companies in town. We had no choice in schools - and this was during desegregation - there were two elementary schools in town and one high school. Attendance at the elementary schools was decided by geography. If you lived north of a line, you went to the old one, south, you went to the new one.

By allowing parents to select schools rather than put in time supporting and making them better, the school system is weakened and undermined. Of course, that is the motive of the people who push the charter school and voucher plans. But I believe it is a mistake.

Unfortunately as a non-parent, I have little influence over the political argument, even though good education for all kids benefits me as much as it does the kids. We have not maintained good quality schools and we are losing the technological ability to teach children for the future.

[donheld]

18. The madness of it all just goes on and on

[madfloridian]

29. I would think people would care about their taxes being used this way.

But they don't care enough to fight.

[donheld]

36. Far too many are just too busy, or lazy, to pay attention

Yes it's very sad, and could wind up killing our nation. Everytime I hear someone say they "don't do politics" I wonder just what it would take to get them to "do" politics.

[Generic Other]

19. Spend all the money, lock the doors, send the kids home

to be unschooled. The Florida model in a nutshell. Here in Washington, the voters have voted down charters three times, yet they still keep coming.

And this is what they want to bring us! Just unbelievable.

[madfloridian]

22. I can not believe there is no outrage over all this money wasted.

And it is taxpayer money.

People choose to just ignore that it is happening, I guess.

[Hannah Bell]

35. they think it's only going to happen to low-income schools. they can't imagine it will happen

to their nice middle-class ones.

they can't imagine that their kids will probably be paying for their kids' elementary & secondary ed.

[madfloridian]

23. WP offers more explanation, refers to the St. Pete Times article.

"The current trouble in Pinellas is over the Central Avenue School in St. Petersburg, one of 17 charter schools Imagine runs in Florida. In 2008-09, it earned the grade of F from state accountability officials for student achievement.

The Times says that auditors discovered that the school was almost $1 million in debt last spring, though it pays $881,179 to lease a half-empty building from--can you guess?--Schoolhouse Finance.

The question now being raised by the county, as well as other school districts in the state, is whether Imagine runs its schools as federal non-profit organizations, as it says it does. Imagine doesn’t actually have non-profit status from the Internal Revenue Service, thought it has sought that designation for five years; it just promises to operate the schools as if it were. Imagine says that it can run schools less expensively and more effectively than public districts do.

With some school districts starting to question the way Imagine operates, the company asked Florida state officials to clarify the rules about how they must operate.

According to the Times story, Imagine says it's already running 17 Florida charter schools as nonprofits, even as it seeks clarification".

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/charter-schools/charter-schools-is-this-the-wa.html

The WP further says that FL allows for profits to run schools here. I was not certain how that worked.

Imagine's rep in the area says that Imagine schools offer "financial security."

That is just laughable.

[Starry Messenger]

24. I guess that makes them public schools.

:sarcasm:

[madfloridian]

25. Good one.

Looks like the public is stuck with them for sure.

So let them point with pride at their "public" schools. No sarcasm tag needed.

[Blue_Tires]

27. wow...what a scam

[madfloridian]

28. Since it's a scam approved by Democrats as well as Republicans...

there is no one fighting back.

People don't really care about where their taxes are going so long as it is ok with Obama.

That is sad.

Public education is worth standing up for strongly.

[KamaAina]

30. Imagine's logo should be the Enron 'E' drawn on a chalkboard

:eyes:

[madfloridian]

32. And we are giving them taxpayer money to get richer.

Plus their real estate arm, Schoolhouse Finance, is reaping the benefits of public money.

[rachels2010]

39. LOL!!!

Damn right :D

[alp227]

34. Print a couple copies out and mail them to Dept of Ed and White House

as I said in another topic.

This is just yet another horrendous waste of money.

But hey, the US government bailed out wasteful banks. I guess the feds became a role model for states as in this case Florida continues feeding an F-grade charter school while siphoning cash off of F-grade public schools. Why can't the state drop the double standard already?

[madfloridian]

37. That might be a good idea. Arne said recently he had no opposition...

which shows he is totally unaware.

[madfloridian]

40. Same county gearing up to run the Race to the Top.

Saw the union head lady on TV today gushing over the chance to win Arne's money.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2010/5/11/617614.html

Wonder if they will have more Imagine Schools, or if the publicity has made a difference.

It is part of the race to the top that they must have turnarounds of schools.

"SO...what is all that turning around stuff?

School districts will apply to the state for the funds this spring. When school districts apply, they must indicate that they will implement one of the following four models in their persistently lowest achieving schools:

* TURNAROUND MODEL: Replace the principal, screen existing school staff, and rehire no more than half the teachers; adopt a new governance structure; and improve the school through curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.

* RESTART MODEL: Convert a school or close it and re-open it as a charter school or under an education management organization.

So guess who benefits so much from a "turnaround"? 3 guesses, first two don't count.

Here's more about "turnarounds".

SCHOOL CLOSURE: Close the school and send the students to higher-achieving schools in the district.

* TRANSFORMATION MODEL: Replace the principal and improve the school through comprehensive curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.

Very vague, that "other strategies" thing."

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/6114