In case you missed it, this story on the $3 Million in fraud and mismanagement accusations leveled at the principal of a San Fernando Valley charter school, New Academy Canoga Park Elementary School, is a doozy. It seems that the man allegedly deposited more than $1 million in his own investment account, misplaced a million or so, and spent the rest on questionable items and phony expenses.
KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman Lopez has an audio version of the story.
And the LA Times’ Howard Blume reported on the jaw-dropping story as well.
Here’s a representative clip:
Among their findings, auditors contend that the school’s former principal, who isn’t named in the audit, withdrew cashier’s checks totaling $1,073,700 from school accounts to deposit in an investment account between July 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2009.
“The former principal claimed that funds deposited into his personal Ameritrade account were not withdrawn, but were deposited and repeatedly lost,” the auditors wrote.
You mean “race to the BANK” These schools are getting away with money laundering, embezzlement and racketeering. This is public funds!! Charters schools are publically funded yet privately managed. They are only as good as the ethics, organization and agenda of the management company. The Gulen Movement out of Turkey, manages over 140 charter schools in the USA. The schools in California are called Magnolia Science Academy and Bay Area Technology Schools. They are under a layer of 5 foundations and instutitues on the west coast that ping pong money back and forth. The Gulen schools are bringing uncredentialed teachers from Turkey under HB-1 Visas (paid for by taxpayers) principals are always Turkish and male. They have their own contests either owned or sponsored by a Gulen foundation/institutes: Willow Education, Pacifica Institute, Accord Institute, et al and then there is the Turkish Olympiads where American Children showcase their “Turkish” skills. Dancing, singing, reciting poetry in Turkish complete with elaborate costumes and they are flown to Turkey (taxpayers) to entertain Turkey’s politicians. America get smart and quite outsourcing your children’s education to a knuckleheads who claim they are “scholars” http://www.charterschoolwatchdog.com http://www.charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-08-17-turkishfinal17_CV_N.htm