{"id":182779,"date":"2015-06-08T18:07:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-08T23:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2015\/06\/08\/whats-wrong-with-charter-schools-in-one-story\/"},"modified":"2015-06-08T18:07:00","modified_gmt":"2015-06-08T23:07:00","slug":"whats-wrong-with-charter-schools-in-one-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2015\/06\/08\/whats-wrong-with-charter-schools-in-one-story\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s Wrong with Charter Schools in One Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every time that someone looks at a charter school’s operation we find repeated instances of corruption, self dealing, and dodgy accounting<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Dennis Mope\u2019s dream of running a network of military-themed charter schools for at-risk students ended quickly and with little warning this month in Jacksonville and Orlando.<\/span>

<\/span>Two of Mope\u2019s Acclaim Academy charter schools closed abruptly, displacing hundreds of students just three weeks before the end of the school year.<\/span>

<\/span>A third school in Kissimmee was supposed to close in March but Osceola County\u2019s school district took it over last month and will keep it open until the school year ends in June.<\/span>

<\/span>Five other of Mope\u2019s planned Acclaim Academies never got off the ground.<\/span>

<\/span>Although one received district approval to open in Palm Beach next August, the plan was scrapped. Four other charter school applications in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Volusia and Lee counties were all withdrawn, some before they were rejected by the school districts involved.<\/span>

<\/span>In Jacksonville, the fallout was immediate and unexpected.<\/span>

<\/span>Parents of 229 students scrambled over three days to find new schools for their children. Some students still had to take final tests or state-mandated exams at new schools.<\/span>

<\/span>Duval County School Board members said they are not sure why the school \u201cran out of money\u201d and had to close, saying the children were hurt most.<\/span>

<\/span>\u201cThey should be focused on passing their exams; they shouldn\u2019t have to worry about what school they\u2019re going to go to,\u201d said Becki Couch, a School Board member, \u201call because their charter school [operator] didn\u2019t have its act together.\u201d<\/span>

<\/span>Scott Shine, another Duval County School Board member wrote that \u201cThe actions of Acclaim are, at minimum, irresponsible and reckless. This could go much deeper,\u201d in an email.<\/span>

<\/span>Acclaim\u2019s teachers were shocked to find out that their last paycheck, issued late April or early May, was to be their last. Some teachers, who had arranged for the school to save parts of their paycheck to repay them over the summer, were told not to expect it.<\/span>

<\/span>Some Duval School Board members questioned what the school district knew, and when, about Acclaim Academy\u2019s troubles.<\/span>

<\/span>\u201cWe knew they were beginning the school year under a deficit,\u201d Couch wrote in an email to Duval Superintendent Nikolai Vitti.<\/span>

<\/span>\u201cDo you think the Board should have been notified of the declining financial status of the school so we could make the determination how we wanted to proceed so as not to disrupt student academic learning during this pivotal time of the year? I am disturbed that we have been completely blind-sided by this when according to state statute the Charter School is required to provide an annual audit report and monthly financial statements.\u201d<\/span>

<\/span>\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/span>

<\/span>Through it all, Acclaim Academy\u2019s founder has yet to answer questions.<\/span>

<\/span>Dennis Mope, an Orlando-area businessman, said \u201cno comment\u201d to news crews on the scene of the Orlando school closure, and he did not return phone calls or emails about Duval\u2019s closure.<\/span>

<\/span>Public documents, including a Chapter 13 bankruptcy he filed in 2009, reveal some information about him.<\/span>

<\/span>\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/span>

<\/span>Of the three Acclaim charter schools that operated in the past two years, the oldest was in Osceola County. Since the school opened in 2012, it had two consecutive F grades on its state report cards, triggering a law that caused the state to begin the process of shutting down the school.<\/span>

<\/span>Acclaim\u2019s parent company applied for a waiver of the state law but, when it was denied, it made plans to close the school at the end of March.<\/span>

<\/span>\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/span>

<\/span>The school started last fall with 416 students, but that fell to 332 by February. In March enrollment was down to 310 prompting Orange County administrators to request an amended school budget showing how the school could survive with fewer students than expected.<\/span>

<\/span>But, upon closer inspection, the district noted other irregularities in the school\u2019s operations and finances:<\/span><\/p>\n