How a wealthy couple took millions of taxpayer dollars for running a shitty charter school

The warning signs appeared soon after Denise Kawamoto accepted a job at Today’s Fresh Start Charter School in South Los Angeles.

Though she was fresh out of college, she was pretty sure it wasn’t normal for the school to churn so quickly through teachers or to mount surveillance cameras in each classroom. Old computers were lying around, but the campus had no internet access. Pay was low and supplies scarce — she wasn’t given books for her students.

She struggled to reconcile the school’s conditions with what little she knew about its wealthy founders, Clark and Jeanette Parker of Beverly Hills.

When Kawamoto saw their late-model Mercedes-Benz outside the school, she would think: “Look at your school, then look at what you drive.”

“That didn’t sit well with us teachers,” she said.

The Parkers have cast themselves as selfless philanthropists, telling the California Board of Education that they have “devoted all of our lives to the education of other people’s children, committed many millions of our own dollars directly to that particular purpose, with no gain directly to us.”

But the couple have, in fact, made millions from their charter schools. Financial records show the Parkers’ schools have paid more than $800,000 annually to rent buildings the couple own. The charters have contracted out services to the Parkers’ nonprofits and companies and paid Clark Parker generous consulting fees, all with taxpayer money, a Times investigation found.

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:

The warning signs appeared soon after Denise Kawamoto accepted a job at Today’s Fresh Start Charter School in South Los Angeles.

Though she was fresh out of college, she was pretty sure it wasn’t normal for the school to churn so quickly through teachers or to mount surveillance cameras in each classroom. Old computers were lying around, but the campus had no internet access. Pay was low and supplies scarce — she wasn’t given books for her students.

She struggled to reconcile the school’s conditions with what little she knew about its wealthy founders, Clark and Jeanette Parker of Beverly Hills.

When Kawamoto saw their late-model Mercedes-Benz outside the school, she would think: “Look at your school, then look at what you drive.”

“That didn’t sit well with us teachers,” she said.

The Parkers have cast themselves as selfless philanthropists, telling the California Board of Education that they have “devoted all of our lives to the education of other people’s children, committed many millions of our own dollars directly to that particular purpose, with no gain directly to us.”

But the couple have, in fact, made millions from their charter schools. Financial records show the Parkers’ schools have paid more than $800,000 annually to rent buildings the couple own. The charters have contracted out services to the Parkers’ nonprofits and companies and paid Clark Parker generous consulting fees, all with taxpayer money, a Times investigation found.

https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-charter-schools-20190327-htmlstory.html

I've always wondered why Republicans were so enthusiastic about charter schools -- perhaps this is why?

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:

The warning signs appeared soon after Denise Kawamoto accepted a job at Today’s Fresh Start Charter School in South Los Angeles.

Though she was fresh out of college, she was pretty sure it wasn’t normal for the school to churn so quickly through teachers or to mount surveillance cameras in each classroom. Old computers were lying around, but the campus had no internet access. Pay was low and supplies scarce — she wasn’t given books for her students.

She struggled to reconcile the school’s conditions with what little she knew about its wealthy founders, Clark and Jeanette Parker of Beverly Hills.

When Kawamoto saw their late-model Mercedes-Benz outside the school, she would think: “Look at your school, then look at what you drive.”

“That didn’t sit well with us teachers,” she said.

The Parkers have cast themselves as selfless philanthropists, telling the California Board of Education that they have “devoted all of our lives to the education of other people’s children, committed many millions of our own dollars directly to that particular purpose, with no gain directly to us.”

But the couple have, in fact, made millions from their charter schools. Financial records show the Parkers’ schools have paid more than $800,000 annually to rent buildings the couple own. The charters have contracted out services to the Parkers’ nonprofits and companies and paid Clark Parker generous consulting fees, all with taxpayer money, a Times investigation found.

https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-charter-schools-20190327-htmlstory.html

I've always wondered why Republicans were so enthusiastic about charter schools -- perhaps this is why?

Maddog wrote:In court documents obtained by NBC 5 Investigates Monday, former Dallas County Schools Superintendent Rick Sorrells agreed to plead guilty to a charge of federal wire fraud in the corruption investigation that rocked Dallas County Schools, the school bus agency shut down by voters in November 2017.
In the unsealed documents, Sorrells admits to receiving more than $3 million in bribe and kickback payments in exchange for entering into $70 million in contracts with an unnamed company that provided cameras for DCS school buses. Based on prior reporting by NBC 5 Investigates, the only company that provided cameras to DCS was Force Multiplier Solutions.



Public school officials will take the money and run too.  

Maddog wrote:

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:

The warning signs appeared soon after Denise Kawamoto accepted a job at Today’s Fresh Start Charter School in South Los Angeles.

Though she was fresh out of college, she was pretty sure it wasn’t normal for the school to churn so quickly through teachers or to mount surveillance cameras in each classroom. Old computers were lying around, but the campus had no internet access. Pay was low and supplies scarce — she wasn’t given books for her students.

She struggled to reconcile the school’s conditions with what little she knew about its wealthy founders, Clark and Jeanette Parker of Beverly Hills.

When Kawamoto saw their late-model Mercedes-Benz outside the school, she would think: “Look at your school, then look at what you drive.”

“That didn’t sit well with us teachers,” she said.

The Parkers have cast themselves as selfless philanthropists, telling the California Board of Education that they have “devoted all of our lives to the education of other people’s children, committed many millions of our own dollars directly to that particular purpose, with no gain directly to us.”

But the couple have, in fact, made millions from their charter schools. Financial records show the Parkers’ schools have paid more than $800,000 annually to rent buildings the couple own. The charters have contracted out services to the Parkers’ nonprofits and companies and paid Clark Parker generous consulting fees, all with taxpayer money, a Times investigation found.

https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-charter-schools-20190327-htmlstory.html

I've always wondered why Republicans were so enthusiastic about charter schools -- perhaps this is why?

Have you wondered why so many minorities support them too? Maybe its because the public schools they are supposed to attend, suck. 

Didnt you work for the startle gram? Didnt y'all cover all if the fraud  and embezzlement  in the Dallas ISD?

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:

Maddog wrote:

Have you wondered why so many minorities support them too? Maybe its because the public schools they are supposed to attend, suck. 

Didnt you work for the startle gram? Didnt y'all cover all if the fraud  and embezzlement  in the Dallas ISD?

The solution to sucky public schools is greater funding (including to stabilize the areas surrounding the schools) and Robin Hood programs.

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:

Maddog wrote:In court documents obtained by NBC 5 Investigates Monday, former Dallas County Schools Superintendent Rick Sorrells agreed to plead guilty to a charge of federal wire fraud in the corruption investigation that rocked Dallas County Schools, the school bus agency shut down by voters in November 2017.
In the unsealed documents, Sorrells admits to receiving more than $3 million in bribe and kickback payments in exchange for entering into $70 million in contracts with an unnamed company that provided cameras for DCS school buses. Based on prior reporting by NBC 5 Investigates, the only company that provided cameras to DCS was Force Multiplier Solutions.



Public school officials will take the money and run too.  

Yeah, but what is there to be done with the Parkers now that they've been caught? As the source article says, they've always managed to stay a step ahead of the regulators.

Because regulations are so evil and anti-freedom ...

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:

Maddog wrote:

Have you wondered why so many minorities support them too? Maybe its because the public schools they are supposed to attend, suck. 

Didnt you work for the startle gram? Didnt y'all cover all if the fraud  and embezzlement  in the Dallas ISD?

The solution to sucky public schools is greater funding (including to stabilize the areas surrounding the schools) and Robin Hood programs.

Cass wrote:

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:

The solution to sucky public schools is greater funding (including to stabilize the areas surrounding the schools) and Robin Hood programs.

Stop talking sense!

Maddog wrote:

Cass wrote:

Stop talking sense!

The US spends far more than other countries that educate better.

How is that possible?    

Maddog wrote:

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:

Yeah, but what is there to be done with the Parkers now that they've been caught? As the source article says, they've always managed to stay a step ahead of the regulators.

Because regulations are so evil and anti-freedom ...

What do you do with people who commit crimes?  

Maddog wrote:

Cass wrote:

Stop talking sense!

The US spends far more than other countries that educate better.

How is that possible?    

Cass wrote:

Maddog wrote:

The US spends far more than other countries that educate better.

How is that possible?    

Well when the Pentagon spend $350 on a screw and $3000 for a toilet, it seems to be fairly easy.

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

Maddog wrote:

The US spends far more than other countries that educate better.

How is that possible?    

"Misappropriation",  pure and simple...

Instead of wasting $billions$ within bloated bureaucracies, and handing over $billions$ to private schools,  the US federal government should be giving each state a set $ amount/student, plus a little extra to help disadvantaged and remote schools, and then have each state's education department administer the spending..

Instead, the current US system has clearly been set up to make the gov'ts rich chums richer, while letting many public schools suffer.

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

Maddog wrote:

What do you do with people who commit crimes?  

The White House often rewards them with cushy jobs...

Maybe that couple can be given executive salaries within Washington's education bureaucracy  ?

Maddog wrote:

Cass wrote:

Well when the Pentagon spend $350 on a screw and $3000 for a toilet, it seems to be fairly easy.

Thanks for pointing out the inefficiency of government. The DoD wastes money too and more money won't make it more effective,

Maddog wrote:

Cass wrote:

Maddog wrote:

The US spends far more than other countries that educate better.

How is that possible?    

Well when the Pentagon spend $350 on a screw and $3000 for a toilet, it seems to be fairly easy.

Thanks for pointing out the inefficiency of government. The DoD wastes money too and more money won't make it more effective,

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:

Maddog wrote:

Thanks for pointing out the inefficiency of government. The DoD wastes money too and more money won't make it more effective,

No, electing the right people will, though.

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:

Maddog wrote:

Thanks for pointing out the inefficiency of government. The DoD wastes money too and more money won't make it more effective,

No, electing the right people will, though.

Cass wrote:

Maddog wrote:

Thanks for pointing out the inefficiency of government. The DoD wastes money too and more money won't make it more effective,

I don’t think anyone is saying it is totally efficient. We all know it’s layers and layers of red tape and government contractor companies making bank. When I worked for a military library, I was a contractor. My position was worth $80,000 and I was paid $45,000. That’s insane. It needs to be stopped. But we all know they have powerful lobbyists and therein lies the problem. You multiple me by thousands of contractors and there you see where the bucks go. And look at the expense of textbooks. That again is a deep deep hole.

The only answer at this point would be to dismantle the whole damn thing but that’s never going to happen.

Maddog wrote:

Cass wrote:

I don’t think anyone is saying it is totally efficient. We all know it’s layers and layers of red tape and government contractor companies making bank. When I worked for a military library, I was a contractor. My position was worth $80,000 and I was paid $45,000. That’s insane. It needs to be stopped. But we all know they have powerful lobbyists and therein lies the problem. You multiple me by thousands of contractors and there you see where the bucks go. And look at the expense of textbooks. That again is a deep deep hole.

The only answer at this point would be to dismantle the whole damn thing but that’s never going to happen.

No,  but what you and Ben were saying is that more money would translate into better results.  Government doesn't work that way.