Startlingly sad news about Pennsylvania schools (although not too surprising considering the Governers track record). “...State funding cuts to the most impoverished school districts averaged more than three times the size of the cuts for districts with the lowest average child poverty.” [PA state educational budget was cut by $1billion during the recession] ….. charter school officials in their state have defrauded at least $30 million intended for school children since 1997……. ….Startling examples of charter school financial malfeasance …. –just in Pennsylvania – include an administrator who diverted $2.6 million in school funds to a church property he also operated. Another charter school chief was caught spending millions in school funds to bail out other nonprofits associated with the school. A pair of charter school operators stole more than $900,000 from the school by using fraudulent invoices, and a cyber school entrepreneur diverted $8 million of school funds for houses, a Florida condominium, and an airplane…. ….What’s even more alarming is that none of these crimes were detected by state agencies overseeing the schools. ….The vast majority of fraud was uncovered by whistleblowers and media coverage and not by state auditors who have a history of not effectively detecting or preventing fraud…. ….Pennsylvania spends over a billion dollars a year on charter schools, and the $30 million lost to fraud documented in this study is likely the minimum possible amount….
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 23:30:05 +0000