Reply #5: More about the charter school founder, it's ok to break laws if you run a charter school. [View All]

[madfloridian]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/01/29/2010-01-29_rush_to_create_charters_a_recipe_for_cash_scams.html

"Last June, a Manhattan federal grand jury charged its founder and chairman, Richard Izquierdo Arroyo, with stealing more than $200,000 from a nonprofit South Bronx housing organization. Prosecutors say Izquierdo spent the money on designer clothes, fancy restaurants and trips to the Caribbean for his grandmother, state Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo, and his aunt, City Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo.

Another board member of the school, Margarita Villegas, an employee of the housing group, was indicted with Izquierdo. Both have pleaded not guilty. They immediately resigned from AECI's board and from the board of the South Bronx Charter School, where Izquierdo was chairman.

Virtually all the teachers who began at AECI when it opened its doors in September 2008 resigned within the first year.

This month, 17 of the 19 new staff members at the school filed a state labor petition to have the United Federation of Teachers represent them. The angry teachers claim that Victory Schools Inc., the for-profit management company hired by AECI to administer their school, is charging an exorbitant management fee.

Meanwhile, DOE has posted little information on the academic performance of AECI students.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/01/29/2010-01-29_rush_to_create_charters_a_recipe_for_cash_scams.html#ixzz0fzo3EJqt