Edulection roundup — Tough times for K12, Inc. — Florida to take feds to court — Crony capitalism in the charter sector? politico/morningeducation/1014/morningeducation15649.html By CAITLIN EMMA | 10/13/14 10:00 AM EDT With help from Stephanie Simon EDU-LECTION ROUNDUP: Campaigns are shifting into high gear — and so is your Pro Education team. As part of our All Policy is Local series, we plan to bring you regular updates on key races and ballot measures. So watch this space! To catch up on our prior coverage:politico.pro/1qcuuJN — First stop: Arizona’s contest for state superintendent. Democrat David Garcia, an Army veteran and education policy professor, has been racking up endorsements from across the political spectrum. Several Chambers of Commerce have backed him; he’ll be announcing new support today from an array of Republican business and education leaders, including former state Sen. Rich Crandall, who briefly led the Wyoming Department of Education. The Arizona Republic called Garcia a “great choice” and said he was “well-prepared” for the complexities of the job. “This sets him far above his opponent Diane Douglas, a one-note candidate who gives little indication that she understands anything about modern education,” the editorial board wrote. Read the endorsement and watch brief clips of both candidates:bit.ly/1rnfWX8 — Douglas, an accountant who served on her local school board for seven years, has focused her campaign around a call to repeal the Common Core. She has turned down several debate opportunities, appearing at just one forum, in late September, where she complained that the standards will “totally dismantle education the way that we know it.” Garcia countered that the Common Core would prepare students to compete nationally and globally. Douglas, however, said it was “ridiculous” to argue that some skills are universally important and reiterated her view that education should be in the hands of local school boards. — Garcia, who likes to say that he’s “an educator, not a politician,” has called for expanding school rating systems to take into account not just standardized test scores, but other metrics as well, including whether students learn foreign languages or computer coding skills, whether they have the opportunity to gain career and technical skills and whether they are awarded scholarships to college. He is out with two 15-second TV ads; one talks about his credentials and the other knocks Douglas as a “cardboard cutout.” Watch them:dg4az/video/ GOOD MONDAY MORNING, OCT. 13. We’re getting close to Halloween and I’m putting some serious thought into what my dog should wear. She’s very excited [bit.ly/1niCRrt. So far, I’m kind of into this T-Rex/raptor-like ensemble [bit.ly/1EMB17P], but I’m open to ideas. Send ‘em my way (and don’t forget your tips and amusing GIFs): cemma@politico or@caitlinzemma. Events: educalendar@politicopro. And follow us on Twitter:@Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro. TOUGH TIMES FOR K12, INC: The nation’s largest for-profit operator of public schools, K12, Inc., has had a bumpy ride of late. Its stock closed Friday at a 52-week low of 13.82 per share, down from a recent peak of 36.78 in September 2013. What’s behind the slump? For one thing, the company’s astronomical growth has slowed significantly. Just last fall, K12 executives were projecting revenue of $987 million for fiscal year 2014. But actual revenue for the year came in under $920 million. In a conference call last week, executives projected revenues would rise only slightly in the next fiscal year. — Meanwhile, K12’s academic empire has been in turmoil. The board of Agora Cyber Charter in Pennsylvania, which is one of K12’s largest and most profitable online schools, has signaled its intent to seek new management (though it will continue to buy digital curriculum from K12). Colorado Virtual Academy broke ties with K12 before the start of the school year. And late last week, Delaware’s state board of education voted to close another struggling school operated by K12, the Maurice J. Moyer Academic Institute. Trouble also looms in Tennessee, where Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman has ordered the K12-operated Tennessee Virtual Academy to shut down after this school year unless it shows big gains in academic performance. And last spring, the NCAA said it wouldn’t accept coursework completed at any of two dozen K12-operated schools as proof of a student’s eligibility to compete for Division I or II colleges and universities. — To top it all off, K12 faces a trademark infringement lawsuit in Florida. The state Supreme Court last month ruled that Florida Virtual School — which was founded in 1997 — could sue K12 Inc. for opening a slew of competing online schools under the name Florida Virtual Academies. Pro Education looked at K12’s business model and examined the shaky performance of online schools in general in a series last fall: politi.co/ZznuQd and politi.co/ZUDaOW FLORIDA TO TAKE FEDS TO COURT: The Florida Department of Education has had enough. Gov. Rick Scott’s administration is preparing to take legal action against the federal Education Department this week to save the Sunshine State’s approach to testing students learning English, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Earlier this year, Florida’s state legislature passed a law allowing English language learners two years of learning before their test scores are factored into federal accountability measures. But the feds disapproved [politico.pro/1u99LJf]. In mid-August, the Education Department told state officials they must assess all students in tested grades and factor that information into federal accountability measures. Early last month, Scott said he would give the feds one month to reconsider — or else. That month is up. “The federal government has placed a grossly unfair burden on Florida’s students and heedlessly continues along that path,” Education Commissioner Pam Stewart told the Times Friday. Accordingly, we will take legal action against the U.S. DOE next week.” The Tampa Bay Times: bit.ly/ZVU2Vw CRONY CAPITALISM IN THE CHARTER SECTOR? Imagine Columbus Primary Academy in Ohio plans to spend $700,000 on rent this school year. That’s more than the charter school will spend on salaries and benefits, The Columbus Dispatch reports [bit.ly/1yrG77D]. The cost of rent will eat up more than half of the school’s annual state revenue. Meanwhile, Imagine Schools Inc. — one of the nation’s largest charter school operators — rakes in hundreds of thousands in public tax dollars. It’s all thanks to a complicated real estate maneuver, the Dispatch said Sunday. A subsidiary of Imagine Schools Inc., named SchoolHouse Finance, buys buildings and resells them for two or three times the purchase price. SchoolHouse Finance then leases the building from the new owner and rents the space back to Imagine. “It’s legal, but that doesn’t mean it should be,” said Greg Harris, Ohio director of StudentsFirst, an advocacy group that supports charter growth. “We don’t want charter-school operators profiting as landlords.” — “Let’s call this what this is: Crony capitalism,” Fordham Institute President Michael Petrilli tweeted [bit.ly/1s7ZXzT]. At least three states and Washington, D.C. are investigating Imagine for similar practices, the Dispatch noted. One state even shuttered schools operated by Imagine. After an investigation conducted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in Missouri, the state board of education shut down six schools run by Imagine in 2012. The paper uncovered real estate deals similar to the ones happening in Ohio and poor academic performance. GROUPS COLLABORATE FOR E-RATE CALL: AASA: The School Superintendents Association is encouraging statewide organizations and school districts to sign onto a letter urging the Federal Communications Commission to permanently raise the E-Rate program’s $2.4 billion funding cap. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has never said whether the Internet subsidy for schools and libraries will see a permanent funding increase. After the FCC passed a plan earlier this summer to modernize the program, commissioners asked for more public input on how to make the program financially sustainable for years to come. More than 75 national organizations have signed the letter so far. State groups and school districts have until Wednesday to sign. Details: bit.ly/ZmzTGM MOVERS AND SHAKERS — Smarter Balanced Executive Director Joe Willhoft is stepping down to take on the position of senior technical and strategic adviser and to serve on the testing group’s Technical Advisory Committee. Chief Operating Officer Tony Alpert will serve as executive director starting this January. SYLLABUS — To cut student debt, Broward college cuts off some student borrowing. NPR:n.pr/ZAnNuc — Plagiarism costs degree for Sen. John Walsh. The New York Times:nyti.ms/1woPYqC — Wisconsin paid $139 million to schools terminated from voucher program since 2004. Wisconsin State Journal: bit.ly/1w2L5W5 — Pennsylvania education secretary seeks lawsuit dismissal over conditions in Philadelphia schools. The Philadelphia Inquirer: bit.ly/1tnI5Vr — Wyoming schools chief candidates attempt to distinguish values at debate. Casper Star-Tribune: bit.ly/1s8UkkR — At Florida State, football clouds justice. The New York Times: nyti.ms/1tUHsgr — Michigan debate: Gov. Rick Snyder, Mark Schauer spar over tax policy and education funding. MLive: bit.ly/1yrkx36 ? — Los Angeles Unified School Districts’ student information system becomes a technological disaster. Los Angeles Times: lat.ms/ZnjuSB I watch the work of the [bit.ly/1qOxr2z] Pro Education team: @CaitlinZEmma orcemma@politico, @alliegrasgreen or agrasgreen@politico, @mbmarklein ormbmarklein@politico, @MaggieSeverns or mseverns@politico, @StephanieSimon_ or ssimon@politico.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 03:01:40 +0000
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