Founder of closed Ohio charter schools is accused of robbing Near East Side home

[madfloridian]

From the Columbus Dispatch.

Founder of closed charter schools is accused of robbing Near East Side home

The founder of three failed Columbus charter schools tried to escape after a woman says she found him burglarizing her Near East Side apartment last month, the woman said.

Andre Rasheen Tucker, who founded the two Talented Tenth Leadership Academies, pleaded not guilty yesterday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to a count of burglary. Tucker faced a wall, apparently to avoid a television camera, and then left the courtroom saying he had no comment. He is free on bond.

Tucker is also being prosecuted on two counts of theft unrelated to the burglary. Prosecutor Ron O’Brien says Tucker stole checks made out to his charter schools totaling about $7,500.

....The founder of three failed Columbus charter schools tried to escape after a woman says she found him burglarizing her Near East Side apartment last month, the woman said.

Reasons for the school closing.

Those schools lasted only a few months before their sponsor, North Central Ohio Educational Service Center, shuttered them, finding a variety of problems, including not providing adequate food to students, fights between school staff members and other building tenants, and failure to hire licensed teachers.

Accountability should not just be for public school teachers. If public money is given to charter operators they need more oversight.

[shenmue]

1. Yes

[madfloridian]

2. A great post from the comments section. I totally agree.

The comment:

"So this man opened a charter, took the money, refused documents, and his charter closed by his own sponsors. Mistake #1 of the State's poor charter school experiment. THEN he opened TWO new charters with a new sponsor. Had the same problems, same results, and broke into a house to steal? This is how my $ is being spent. Angering."

[rpannier]

3. Another success story for the deformers

Bill Gates, the Facebook Twit and Amazon guy will be there to comfort him and blame the unions

[madfloridian]

4. Not just them either.

The Democratic Party, the GOP, and the billionaire boys club (Diane Ravitch's term) will join them.

The tiny little squeaky voices of bloggers will not even be heard against such power.

[madfloridian]

5. News video.

http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2015/02/11/columbus-ohio-former-charter-school-director-charged-with-theft-appears-in-court.html

The Ohio Department of Education says as a result of the mess with Tucker's schools, as well as the premature closure of other charter schools, it now more closely reviews the people and finances of charter school sponsors and staff.

Sure do hope so.