Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

LAUSD Will Not Renew Gulen-Linked Schools' Charters

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • LAUSD Will Not Renew Gulen-Linked Schools' Charters

    LAUSD Will Not Renew Gulen-Linked Schools' Charters

    Wednesday, August 27th, 2014
    http://asbarez.com/126408/lausd-will-not-renew-gulen-linked-schools%E2%80%99-charters/

    The Gulen-affiliated Magnolia Science Academy 6 in Palms will not have
    its charter renewed


    LOS ANGELES--The Los Angeles Unified School District Board on Tuesday
    voted unanimously to not renew the charters of two schools operating
    under the Gulen-affiliated Magnolia Science Academy.

    The Magnolia Academy 6, a middle school in Palms and the Magnolia
    Science Academy 7, an elementary school in Northridge, were both
    slated to be shut down after an LAUSD audit deemed them insolvent
    based on IRS standards due to a $1.7 million deficit and charged
    financial misappropriations by the school administrations. The audit
    also found that the school had
    However, in late July LA Superior Court Judge Luis A. Lavin granted an
    injunction in order to not disrupt the student community, but ordered
    a strict investigation into the finances of the MERF and the Magnolia
    schools. Lavin's ruling means that the schools will remain open after
    Tuesday's vote but their charters will not be renewed for operation
    beyond that.

    This ruling comes a week after the Joint Legislative Audit Committee
    called for a statewide audit of the Magnolia Science Academies of
    California, which runs 12 tax payer-funded charter schools in the
    state that have ties to the Gueln Institute, affiliated to the Turkish
    cleric Fettulah Gulen.

    The audit, requested by State Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, brings
    forth major concerns of misappropriation of tax payer funds of the 12
    Magnolia charter schools and their parent company, the Magnolia
    Education and Research Foundation (MERF).

    "Charter Schools play an important role in the public education system
    by delivering a high quality education to our students. I am deeply
    troubled that public education funds are being abused by the Magnolia
    Academies. It was important to bring this request forward to ensure
    that our tax payer dollars aren't being misspent, at the expense of
    the students, and the taxpayers who support public education." said
    Nazarian.

    On the national level, Gulen-affiliated schools have come under
    investigation for questionable financial practices, to filling teacher
    positions with often unqualified people brought in from Turkey.

    Gulen-affiliated charter schools in Arizona, Louisiana, Pennsylvania,
    Texas and New Jersey have been under investigation by the FBI since
    2011.

Working...
X