I wrote about this scam last year. Others are diving deeply in to the ripoff of State funds also.
Now the Charter owner who spent $1.35M of Charter non-profit funds on a resort style home (claiming it was a "school property") had the gall to do it again, bringing the total investment on the two side by side resort homes up to nearly $2.5 Million
If you love Great Hearts or BASIS, you should be as angry as District school constituents are. These scam artists rip off funds that belong in classrooms - not resort pools.
There is no credible hint of Charter financial oversight - none at all. The 550 licensed Charters are the greatest place for scam artists to operate in the Western United States.
It is time to take back control of Charters from our State. Scottsdale gets nothing from the State Charter Board. We can do this ourselves and in the process increase funding to all of our schools - Charter and District.
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Read the whole report at Arizonans for Charter School Accountability.
If you don't follow that page, do so. Great research and consistently sound fact based conclusions.
Getting Rich: Part 2
Charter Owner Steven Durand buys luxury homes with his 51% profit margin (Full report at azcsa.org)
Public school districts are allowed to carry forward up to 4% of their unspent budget. The average charter holder had 7% of their revenue left after expenses in 2019, a very reasonable cushion.
There are, however, 31 charter owners that made over 20% profit last year.
Steven Durand’s non-profit Educational Options Foundation school received $4.6 million in tax revenue but he only spent $2.3 million in 2019 – keeping 51% of the money the state paid him to educate children. Durand also owns Kestrel Schools (44% profit margin) and James Sandoval Prep (27% profit margin). And, you guessed it - Durand’s schools are alternative schools using online instruction.
Just the one Durand Educational Options School has generated $14.7 million in increased net assets since 2011.
Twenty-six of the high earning charters are non-profits like Educational Options that merely add profits to the net assets of the company. You might wonder what is the point of a non-profit hoarding money?
First is a hefty salary for the owner paid by the non-profit. Steven Durand took home $243,933 in salary and benefits in 2017 from his four charter non-profits (from the latest 2017 non-profit 990 tax return available).
Secondly, the non-profit charter is able to buy equipment, materials, and real estate with their assets. Steven Durand bought a $1.35 million house on 6710 E Calle Legos as a “school” site in 2017….using the assets of the non-profit Educational Options Foundation.
The next year, Durand’ Educational Options Foundation bought a second “school” site right next door at 6790 W. Calle Legos for $954,000
Please look at the photo of the real estate charter owners are purchasing by refusing to spend tax funds on the most at-risk students in the state. Then read this article on AZ Central about school districts that are unable to fix leaking roofs because of a lack of funding.
https://www.azcentral.com/…/rain-damages-some-a…/4250177002/
The pot that should be funding public district school repairs is the same pot that is buying luxury homes for charter owners like Steven Durand.