Editorial: Greed is Good!
February 1, 2013
Hanna Skandera is the Gordon Gekko of Public Education. Harsh. No not really!
Gordon Gekko, the character from the movie Wall Street played so brilliantly by Michael Douglas is loosely based on Junk Bond King Michael Milken. Milken following his release from prison jumped head first into profiting from public education tax dollars. Milken is a co-owner of K12, Inc.
K12, Inc., the largest provider of virtual online learning in the country was kept from operating in New Mexico until Skandera came along. Veronica Garcia, the education secretary under Bill Richardson, along with the New Mexico Public Education Commission, refused to approve virtual charter schools run by for profit companies. Technically it is illegal for charter schools to be operated or managed by for profit companies.
E-mails show that Skandera’s administration worked closely with K12, Inc. who made an end run around the denial of its charters and the loss of a lawsuit, by teaming up with the Farmington School District. It didn’t hurt that Susana Fox whose law partner ran Skandera’s charter school operation at PED represented K12, INC.’s New Mexico front man.
But Skandera does not worry about things like the law. Remember that she tried to make an end run around state law allowing candidates seeking alternate credentialing for high school diplomas to use Spanish or Native American languages.
Skandera just overturned the Public Education Commission’s denial of virtual online charter schools operated by Connections, the second largest for profit operator of online charter schools.
So laws prohibiting for profit operation of charter schools don’t really matter. What matters is the extent that Skandera’s mentor, Jeb Bush and his Foundation for Excellence in Education (“FEE”) receive funding from K12, Inc. and Connections and in exchange for their money, these two companies get insider access to a market from which to make lots of money.
How much money? The president of K12, Inc. earned $5,000,000 in 2011. Not bad! Where does that money come from? It is siphoned away from public schools. What public school couldn’t use an additional $5,000,000 let alone the $800,000,000 the company siphons off from public schools each year.
And a detailed study of for profit virtual online schools in Colorado shows. These programs are less effective than public schools and the vast majority of students who sign up for virtual online learning leave quickly, though the companies get paid based upon enrollment early in the school year so they get their money no matter the drop out rate.
Thanks to Hanna Skandera. Public schools in New Mexico can look forward to losing millions of dollars to K12, Inc. and Connections. Greed is good!
_____________________________________________________________
February 1, 2013
Hanna Skandera is the Gordon Gekko of Public Education. Harsh. No not really!
Gordon Gekko, the character from the movie Wall Street played so brilliantly by Michael Douglas is loosely based on Junk Bond King Michael Milken. Milken following his release from prison jumped head first into profiting from public education tax dollars. Milken is a co-owner of K12, Inc.
K12, Inc., the largest provider of virtual online learning in the country was kept from operating in New Mexico until Skandera came along. Veronica Garcia, the education secretary under Bill Richardson, along with the New Mexico Public Education Commission, refused to approve virtual charter schools run by for profit companies. Technically it is illegal for charter schools to be operated or managed by for profit companies.
E-mails show that Skandera’s administration worked closely with K12, Inc. who made an end run around the denial of its charters and the loss of a lawsuit, by teaming up with the Farmington School District. It didn’t hurt that Susana Fox whose law partner ran Skandera’s charter school operation at PED represented K12, INC.’s New Mexico front man.
But Skandera does not worry about things like the law. Remember that she tried to make an end run around state law allowing candidates seeking alternate credentialing for high school diplomas to use Spanish or Native American languages.
Skandera just overturned the Public Education Commission’s denial of virtual online charter schools operated by Connections, the second largest for profit operator of online charter schools.
So laws prohibiting for profit operation of charter schools don’t really matter. What matters is the extent that Skandera’s mentor, Jeb Bush and his Foundation for Excellence in Education (“FEE”) receive funding from K12, Inc. and Connections and in exchange for their money, these two companies get insider access to a market from which to make lots of money.
How much money? The president of K12, Inc. earned $5,000,000 in 2011. Not bad! Where does that money come from? It is siphoned away from public schools. What public school couldn’t use an additional $5,000,000 let alone the $800,000,000 the company siphons off from public schools each year.
And a detailed study of for profit virtual online schools in Colorado shows. These programs are less effective than public schools and the vast majority of students who sign up for virtual online learning leave quickly, though the companies get paid based upon enrollment early in the school year so they get their money no matter the drop out rate.
Thanks to Hanna Skandera. Public schools in New Mexico can look forward to losing millions of dollars to K12, Inc. and Connections. Greed is good!
_____________________________________________________________