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Nashville's 4 P's : Politics, Power, Public Schools, #Pfffft

12/28/2015

 
Grab the popcorn, Nashville is on.  Oh, not the TV show. This is real life drama in Tennessee's capitol city.  And it involves public schools so you know Momma Bears are watching with keen interest.  And it all starts with a defunct newspaper that is not so defunct. Pfffft….
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If you missed it last week, the Nashville Banner released its “Power Poll” on education in Nashville. “Wait...” you say, "I thought the Nashville Banner went out of business???"  You're right, it did.  But the URL remarkably lives on to capture the hearts of old 'Banner' readers. 

The website domain was cheaply snapped up by former Banner reporter and power suck-up, Bruce Dobie. He owns the website and the old newspaper logo. He is using those tools to convince the gullible public what he thinks Nashville needs. His latest pet project is convincing the Nashville public that they want an appointed school board so he can have more charter schools for himself and his friends to profit from.
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To do this, Dobie created a “Power Poll.”  Ooooohhh, sounds impressive and incredibly powerful, doesn't it?  Ha ha, no.  It is really just a list of the people you'd expect to find on Dobie's Christmas Card list of people he wants to suck up to like the 1%, business owners, doctors, lawyers, lobbyists, country music singers, elected officials, the Belle Meade set who have never set foot in a public school, etc.

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It is an interesting list of people. You can see the whole list below. Hey, it looks like the whole family gets invited to the Power Poll club if you are important enough. Strangely, there are duplicate names on the list like Bill Frist (founder of the self-serving SCORE organization that pushes charters and common core).  Who knows why on earth certain people got their names on the list twice, or even three times, but they did.
It makes you wonder if those lucky duplicate people got to vote more than once in his "power poll?"  Who knows, but online polls are easy to manipulate and we've heard there are ways people can vote multiple times, so we wouldn't call his poll accurate at all.  Dobie also claims his list has 819 power poll members, but with the duplicate names, there certainly aren't 819 live humans in his friend club.  Here are some of Dobie's duplicate friends we noticed, and we may not have caught them all:
Momma Bears sees some friendly public education fans on this contrived list.  It looks like they got power sucked into this sham.  "Sucked" being the key word.  And looky there.  It's Tim McGraw's name!  He's on the list too???? Nice.

So, Nashville... W
ho the heck is Bruce Dobie to make a list?  Just who does he think he is….Santa Claus???

Why does he get to decide which persons' opinions are significant enough for the "power" list? 

Anyway, Dobie and his ed-reformy friends would love to see the public school system controlled for their special interests (aka their own pocket-books).  Did you know that Bruce Dobie has even tried to sell some of his property to an ASD charter school?  And while trying to broker the deal, he just couldn't resist taking a jab at the MNPS elected board.  You can see that in his email below where he cited a recently learned quotation attributed to Mark Twain: "God made the idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board."

Well, Twain may have thought school boards were beyond idiotic but that's nothing compared to what he thought about those who published newspapers: "A publisher is by nature so low and vile that he -- that he -- well from the bottom of my heart I wish all publishers were in hell."  
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So, back to this "Power Poll" of Dobie's...  Here is what Dobie wrote about the people polled: 
ABOUT THE SURVEY:
This survey of 819 Power Poll members was taken Dec. 9 through Dec. 13. 283 members responded, for a response rate of 35%. The Power Poll is not a scientific measure of the broad electorate. It is, instead, a measure of how influential and powerful Nashvillians view issues facing the city. Responses are anonymous. Power Poll members come from non-profits, politics, government, Music Row, law firms, neighborhood groups, labor unions, and many other avenues of life here. Members share an ability to shape the narrative of the city and influence the discussion. 
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So, Bruce Dobie called on his education reformy friends to vote?  

The press knows they walk a line.  If they smear the public school system too much, it will drive growth to Williamson, Wilson, and Sumner Counties.  So, the press is sure to never have anything positive to say about MNPS unless it is a magnet or charter school.  We are also pointing out that the whisper campaign only goes on with Nashville insiders, political operatives, and the cocktail conversations that move the cogs of politics behind the scenes in Nashville. We guess these who's-who lists are fodder for influence.  Totally outside the mainstream press, void of the what parents and the community want.

Smart people will take their back-room conversations, opinions, and power polls with a grain of salt.  Smart people, and even poll members, will see past the Dobie smoke & mirrors.  Smart people will see how the elite are trying to convince the public we don't need to vote to elect our school board.  Smart people will see that the reformers desperately need an appointed school board (appointed by them and the politicians they fund) in order to get privatization and charter schools opened in Nashville.   Smart people will not fall for that, and won't give up their rights for elected representation.

Dang it, Nashville can’t seem to keep enough of the bottom 5% of schools in the state for the ASD to legally take-over public schools and give them away to charter entrepreneurs.  So they have to rely on MNPS board approval to expand the charter school business model.  And the MNPS board isn't being very nice to charters lately... wanting proof and accountability and all that, and then those pesky board members see firsthand how the charter schools are draining money from existing public schools.   Gosh, what a hassle to get tax-payer funds!  What was once an easy sale is becoming more difficult now that the public is educated, questioning motives, and following the money trail that leads back to the reformers' wallets.​

Eggnog and prep for the new political year
The Nashville newbies coming to the “It City” don’t know this.  The clear public message from reformers is to “blame the school board” because the vision for public education to model New Orleans and Chicago is not being implemented fast enough.  So Dobie must convince the general public that the power broker reformers are not causing this problem (even though they really are), but a school board who disagrees with the political power is the problem (nope, they are not).

Always, always, this is a brawl over money.  Even the power brokers know that!  The second hottest issue in Dobie's power poll is the “lack of funding”.  But he is quick to blame the state and the underfunded BEP for that problem.  The ability for the reform agenda in Nashville to distract from the issues of over-testing, teacher turnover, and the selection of a new director of schools works well with the press to push political misdirection to keep the charter school argument front and center so the elected school board looks incompetent.  Nice try, "Nashville Banner," but we are not falling for it.
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To summarize the argument from the Momma Bear’s side: 
The disagreement within the MNPS school board is around the management of charter school entry into the district.  Nobody is getting rid of charter schools unless it is the charter schools themselves.  Performance, financial struggles, and business-model decisions have triggered closure of charter schools, not the MNPS school board. The disagreement centers around some great board-led questions that need answers, not blind implementation.  How many new charter schools does Nashville need? Where should they be located? And how will Nashville pay for them? Because it is impossible to build an unregulated, parallel school system without tax payer cost.  Gee, that sounds like responsible school board questioning and what you'd want of those elected to represent the public's best interest!

And behind these elected school board members are Nashville public school parents who don’t want schools closed and neighborhoods divided.  Parents want the churn of policy to stop, a commitment to their neighborhood schools, and the instability caused by school choice to be better managed.  And they certainly do not want funding reduced.

We do not want our children affected by “market disruption.”  Our children are not for sale.  They are not pawns in a political game.  Momma Bears worry about the children most affected by education reform: children in poverty, of color, immigrants, the disabled, and families who can't navigate school choice.  These groups of kids need stable, reliable school communities to support them and give them a path to a productive, valued future.  Parents want their children’s success to come before profits and political budgets or filling employment niches.  They want a school system that serves the community and engages learning, not a school system that serves the reformers through business ventures for charters and test prep.
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The oligarchy does not want you to be an engaged voter
Which brings us the the “next big thing.”  Watch how the superintendent selection goes down in Nashville.  To read the press you would think this decision will be made by the Mayor and the Chamber of Commerce.  Nope.  By law, this is the biggest job Nashville's elected school board will take on in 2016.  The Chamber and the Mayor can spew all the PR they want, but in the end the vote will come down to the MNPS elected board to select Nashville’s next public school leader.  Democracy will be in charge representing the neighborhoods of Nashville, not the mayor’s office or the Dobie power poll.  Yay for democracy!

Nashville struggles to serve their diverse and international population.  A public school population that is increasingly diverse and impoverished and judged solely by test scores.  Public schools are a public service. Public education is not welfare, not a charity case. It is an investment in our future as a city and a country.  Families struggling to adjust to new opportunities in a new country or trying escape generational poverty need more than “basic services.”  Meanwhile the “Power Poll” spends their time criticizing the school board for inaction.  Maybe the inaction lies elsewhere?  We Momma Bears would love to see those of power and influence (including the MNPS board and a new director of schools), fighting for what our kids really need: funding for ELL, smaller classes for kids who are behind grade level, less standardized testing and more teaching, more opportunities to read and be curious and less scripted micromanagement of teachers, preserving the arts and physical education, and increasing social-emotional services for children trying to find their place in an urban school system.  Nashville's school board is united behind these issues. They really are. Charter entry pushed by the Nashville business community is the distraction.

Behavior is another "Banner" criticism of MNPS board members.  Why do twitter arguments erupt?  Because the press is not writing balanced reporting anymore.  Heck, Momma Bears blog exists because some moms were frustrated that the public school parent perspective is not represented in the press nor in political decision-making.  Momma Bears thinks the press needs to take some blame for the dysfunction because they helped create the mess.  And, honestly, the press spreading dirt about the elected school board members to discredit them and push the reformers' agenda is only harming the education system and the students it serves.

WARNING:  If public school parents don't vote in school board elections, Bruce Dobie really will shape public education in Nashville.

In the meantime, the search for a district director of schools that is "reformy-enough" for those trying to shift public education power will apply pressure on the MNPS board scrambling to keep governance and a reputation held together.  And what director candidate wants to step into that fire pit?  The press, chamber, and mayor’s office need to provide the financial resources (and demand them from the State), be supportive, back off, and let the MNPS board do the job it was elected to do which is to provide policy and governance that serves ALL MNPS students and helps teachers be the best they can be for our kids.

​We need leadership from all corners of Nashville to commit to making ALL public schools as great as the Nashville Symphony, Hall of Fame, and Convention Center.  Time is what is valued in education... time to teach, time to tutor, time to slow down and give kids the attention they need to learn.  There is not one answer.  

Maybe Momma Bears needs to assemble its own list of “powerful public school parents and teachers” and survey them?  Missing is the insider view of the inability to capitalize on changes that have actually been great for public ed mostly due to lack of funding, thin implementation, political arguing, grant money that dries up, unfunded mandates, teacher turnover, and a shell game to recruit the best students with school choice to mask the struggle to serve all kids at all levels of ability.  Economic class and ethnic-based education services are not the answer either.  We are slipping dangerously to 'haves' in magnets, charters, and private schools and the 'have-nots' in "government schools."  Some might say Nashville is there already.  Take a trip in the Momma Bear "way-back time machine" to 2012 and think about what has come to pass in Nashville.  This power struggle is not new or built on the shoulders of the current school board.  Also take note that Mr. Dobie is mentioned in our way-back linked "Nashville Scene" article, along with education name drops that match right up to education reform members of the power poll today.

So, at the risk of Momma Bears being targeted by these money-hungry reformers, we will keep on blogging and educating those who will read and share.  And because of that, we're sure none of us Momma Bears will ever make it on Dobie's Christmas card list or on his sloppy "power poll friend list."   Darn.  Join the club with us!
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MNPS Board Member, Will Pinkston says it best:  "Bruce Dobie is a known charter zealot with a history of ridiculing the Nashville School Board. It doesn’t surprise me that he would stoop to a push poll. Whatever the ‘results’ turn out to be, I’m focused on representing South Nashville — not Dobie's chattering class at Belle Meade Country Club. People who actually care about public education spend their time trying to support the board and our schools, not tearing them down."
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Urban Dictionary #pfffft

Ravitch review

11/21/2014

 
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Momma Bears, BATs, and TREE are still on cloud 9 after Wednesday night's event with Diane Ravitch.  It was powerful to see so many "just Moms," Dads, grandparents, teachers, administrators, elected school board members, and legislators there to support the PUBLIC education of children.  It was uplifting, it was inspiring, it was definitely something we will do again!

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The highlight of the night, of course, was hearing Diane Ravitch speak.  This was her first time to travel since her knee surgery in April.  At 76 years old, she's got a lot of energy and stamina!  She was also speaking the next morning at a convention of education technology people.  We asked her what on earth she was going to say at such a reformy convention of people eager to cash-in on education dollars.  She said "well, they aren't going to like what I am going to say!"  Diane Ravitch fearlessly speaks the truth.  She is opposed to the profit-driven reform that includes Common Core, excessive testing, and charter schools.  She bases this on facts.  She's got a wealth of wisdom and knowledge in her head, and she's not afraid to use it! 

Words of widsom from Diane Ravitch's speech:
  • Race to the Top... What is the top?  As long as we have 25% of children in poverty, we cannot reach the top.
  • They say that charter schools are for black and Hispanic children so the Democrats will fall for it, but the money goes to the Republicans.
  • Public education is a civic responsibility, not a consumer good.
  • We should reduce poverty and segregation as a matter of public policy.
  • Billionaires love the free market because it worked for them.
  • Reformers want us to think as consumers, and not as citizens. 
  • Education is a basic human right.
  • Charter schools will never take over an entire district. There must always be public schools to dump the struggling students.
  • The biggest hoax of all is that school choice is the civil rights issue of our time.   
  • We are the most over-tested nation on earth.  We are the only nation testing every child every year.
  • Japan has the highest test scores in the world, but a stagnant economy.
  • If we want to raise test scores, we need to reduce the number of 'have-nots'.  
  • There's this crazy idea that if kids can't pass the test, just make the test harder.
  • The Opt-out movement is the biggest way to say 'no' to the testing.  It is growing day by day.
  • Test results don't show student learning, they show who is in the class.
  • The strongest educational systems in the world don't allow amateurs to become state superintendent.
  • Reformers love data more than they love children.
  • Poor kids get computers to teach them, rich kids get teachers. That's not right!
  • Charters today look like the schools of the 19th century (with regards to segregation and rigidity)
  • We are many. They are few.
  • Merit pay  for teachers is like a zombie... It never works and it never dies.
  • Teach For America makes a lot of money renting young people to school districts.  It is destroying the teaching profession.
  • There is no 'Teach for Finland'.  You cannot fire your way to Finland.
  • I think it is very important to interact with children before becoming a teacher. (referring to TFA-like programs)
  • Don't hire amateur teachers, amateur principals, amateur superintendents... or amateur commissioners of education!
  • Poverty is not an excuse.  It is a reality. 
  • There are too many billionaires in America for so many children to be in poverty!
There were so many great things she said.  Even the Q & A at the end was terrific!  Watch the entire event below or click HERE to open it in a new browser:


Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
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Shocking news:  this was NOT a grassroots event.  
No, it was something much more terrifying to reformers... Click HERE to see what we mean.


Every fashionable Momma Bear, BAT, and TREE should have a shirt!  Click HERE to get your very own festive green shirt just in time for the holidays!  You can order and pay online via Paypal.  To get a shirt:
   1. Log into Paypal. 
   2. Click "Pay for goods and services"
   3. Enter April's email:  wawinton@gmail.com
   4. include $15 per shirt + $2.50 shipping for a total of $17.50 per shirt 
   5. In the notes, include your shipping address, shirt size, and contact info (your email or phone).
The proceeds from these shirts will help to make other such events possible in TN.  Thank you!!! 

CHARTER SCHOOL CORRUPTION SERIES #1 - Rocketship Invasion: from Rocketeer to Racketeer

10/20/2014

 
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Your tax dollars... given to unqualified, inexperienced people who have no oversight and pay themselves huge salaries and give lucrative contracts to their friends & family...  to teach the most precious, priceless things in our world... children.

When they screw up, politicians and the government turn a blind eye.

Why do these charter schools get away with this?  Because they are smart and sneaky and rich.  They deliberately donate money to politicians who pass laws to benefit them and protect them.

So, what's a Momma Bear to do?  Yep, we blog about it.  And let the Legislators know that the voters are on to them.  So, this is #1 in a series of exposing Charter School Corruption, courtesy of www.tennessee-education-matters.net, who generously gave us permission to share all the dirt they dug up on Rocketship.  We know you think this stuff can't happen to your schools.  But, it is here and coming to a school system near you.  Read this clever and insightful blog, share it, and tell your elected officials you're not fooled.  You want excellent public schools for every child in TN.  You want community schools that are governed by the community; schools that are not there just to make a buck on the backs of kids with your tax dollars; schools that will not flip the school into a real estate deal and skip town when it doesn't work out.  Who loses?  Well, it is not going to be Rocketship. It will be the kids and the taxpayers.  

Rocketship Invasion: from Rocketeer to Racketeer

A 1950's type horror movie is playing out in Nashville...
Tennessee Parents is reporting that "ANY family that went to an info session about the new Rocketship Charter Schools had their records pulled [and] their children were registered at Rocketship without their permission."  Read the full details here.

Is Rocketship snatching children from their public schools then enrolling them in blended learning environments where they become mindless robotic test-takers?
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Can They Be Stopped???
Rocketship is a California based charter school chain with plans to expand across the United States. It is known for its blended learning approach to education. As many as 50 rocketeers (otherwise known as students) are piled into a learning lab where they spend much of their time in front of a computer screen. Rocketship curriculum relies heavily on on-line lessons reducing the role of a classroom teacher. It has its fair share of critics. A Forum article reveals that education experts are less than impressed with Rocketship's methods. The charter school chain has experienced plummeting test scores and legal setbacks. Another problem for them is the angry parents who created a website devoted to stopping Rocketship. As a result, Rocketship seems to be re-thinking its approach and reducing its class size as it rolls into Tennessee. More about that here. 

In 2012, Rocketship was expected to join Tennessee's Achievement School District (ASD) and open charter schools in Memphis and Nashville for the 2013-2014 school year. But things did not go as planned. Katy Venskus, vice president of policy at Rocketship, says that it was challenges with growing the CMO [charter management organization] in new regions that have slowed new schools. “Moving into new regions as a national network was more complex than we expected,” she says.
By the way, the spokesperson for Rocketship that was just quoted above... Well, she's a felon
Katy Venskus also known as Katherine Heringlake "was charged with felony theft and forgery in April 2002 in Dane County Circuit Court and pleaded no contest to the theft charge in August of that year, with prosecutors dropping the forgery charge." At the time, Venskus was the board president of NARAL-Wisconsin. Years later as a lobbyist for Education Reform Now, a group that favored mayoral takeover of the Milwaukee Public Schools, Venskus once again faced theft charges. This time she was accused of felony theft and felony identity theft related to prior employment with the lobbying firm, Public Affairs Company. Now, she is employed as a VP at Rocketship.
A year later than anticipated, Rocketship opened its school in Nashville with the help of Andre Aggasi and his buddy, Bobby Turner who operate the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund. Their company locates and purchases real estate to build a new charter school. Turner-Agassi also fronts the construction costs and acts as general contractor. After the school is built, they execute a long term lease with the charter school operator and assist them with securing long term financing. 
He's a Playah
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For those who don't know, Andre Agassi was a famous tennis player in the 1990's. Since then, he has become an author, Las Vegas Hotel Casino investor, sports themed restaurant owner, luxury resort developer, furniture designer, nightclub owner, cable network investor, charter school operator, and involved in a multitude of litigation over his business dealings. You can read about those lawsuits and failed business dealings here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. But that's not all. He has also been sued over his charter school causing him to be the subject of Hollywood gossip. Perez Hilton chastized Agassi as "not good" because a biology teacher at Agassi's Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas launched allegations of racial discrimination against the school. 

Agassi is married to fellow tennis player, Steffi Graf, who has also suffered her share of controversies. The owner of real estate around the world, a supermarket chain, and a multitude of investments known as the Steffi Empire; she and her father were investigated for millions of dollars in tax fraud. Her father served time in a German prison and Steffi was investigated for US tax evasion and other wrong-doings. When Agassi broke ties with his long time business partner and childhood friend, Perry Rogers, a lawsuit resulted where Rogers sued Graf for fees owed. This prompted speculation that Graf's empire was crumbling due to bad investments.
Here's how the deal works:
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The Turner-Agassi or The Canyon Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund provides the investment capital to purchase property for the site of a future charter school. After buying the real estate, the Agassi group designs and constructs the school building. Upon its completion, the Agassi group will retain ownership of the property but the charter school operator will receive a long term lease with an option to purchase. Agassi's group helps the charter school operator obtain a loan and will even provide bridge financing if necessary. The loans are paid with tax dollars earmarked for public schools. So, basically, Agassi's land investment company is enticing charter school operators into a rent-to-own deal with the tax payers footing the bill.

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Andre Agassi makes no apologies for "his market-driven approach toward helping schools despite criticism that comes with it." In fact, he told USA Today that he embraces the concept of profit with a mission. But what exactly is his mission? 

In Palm Beach County, Florida, Agassi purchased a ten acre tract in Boynton Beach to build Franklin Academy, a K-8 charter school located within 2 tenths of a mile (a three minute walk) from Hidden Oaks Elementary School, a PK-5 public school built in 2005. Hidden Oaks serves a large population of special needs students having 4 classrooms for students with Autism, 1 Pre-Kindergarten classroom for students with Autism, and 3 classrooms serving students with Intellectual Disabilities. But Franklin Academy's website is devoid of any mention of special education, bragging instead on its enrichment programs and academic enhancements. So, what's the mission? To segregate special education student from those who are gifted? Or could it be something more basic? Like making money?

According to the Palm Beach County property records, the Florida Charter Foundation has a 29 year lease on Franklin Academy. The lease contains a provision for two 10 year extensions. At the end of the lease, the Florida Charter Foundation has an option to purchase and a right of first refusal. The leased property is valued by the tax assessor for over $9.2 million. But this multi-million dollar property is exempt from taxes. Even though, the property is owned by a private investor, it is considered a public school. This means Agassi's investment group gets to collect money from its lease without having the expense of paying property taxes.

Property records also show two deeds (see here and here) recorded in 2013 where Agassi took ownership of the property. The total purchase price for the land was $1.97 million. On December 26, 2013, Agassi investor group recorded a mortgage on the property in the amount of $11.4 million.

Click the pictures below to go to the links to view them on line.  

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Green Cards for $ale
From the Washington Post: Wealthy Americans [like Andre Agassi] have been funding U.S. charter schools for years now through their hedge funds, private foundations or personal fortunes, but it turns out that super-rich foreigners are forking over big money to American charters too.

Do you think it’s for the kids?

Guess again.

There is a "federal program known as EB-5, [where] wealthy foreigners can in effect buy U.S. immigration visas for themselves and their families by investing at least $500,000 in certain development projects." In particular, foreign nationals are buying up American charter schools. Their investments are rewarded with an immigration visa. Much of the foreign investments are finding their way to Florida charter schools through Chinese investors who have already put in at least $30 million as of 2012 with promises to invest even more in the future.

Promotional materials for Agassi's Franklin Academy project explains how the EB-5 program works: "Foreign investors seeking a direct route to a U.S. Green Card via the EB-5 immigrant investor program are offered the unique opportunity to invest as little as US$500,000* in a first-rate American Charter School project. The investment will take the form of a loan made to an experienced developer, which is a partnership between Discovery Schools, Inc. (a Florida based Charter Management Organization) and Turner-Agassi, a leading charter school development company, founded by the tennis champion, Andre Agassi." 
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Charter school projects are only one of many different types of investments eligible for the EB-5 program. As the program has grown, many foreign investors have become leary of bad deals. Fortune Magazine reported in July, 2014: "Because the EB-5 industry is virtually unregulated, it has become a magnet for amateurs, pipe-dreamers, and charlatans, who see it as an easy way to score funding for ventures that banks would never touch. They’ve been encouraged and enabled by an array of dodgy middlemen, eager to cash in on the gold rush. Meanwhile, perhaps because wealthy foreigners are the main potential victims, U.S. authorities have seemed inattentive to abuses."

However, Agassi is able to lure foreign investors to put their money into Franklin Academy 
by promising a safe investment where government funding provides a steady source of income to the charter schools and that the government will remain responsible for overseeing the school’s financial and academic performance.
They're Here Already---The Nashville Deal
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In Nashville, Agassi purchased property at 2526 Dickerson Pike for $375,000 then invested another $7 Million in construction costs to build the new Rocketship charter school. “We’ve been looking at Nashville for a while and really respect the local players there,” said Glenn Pierce, CEO of Los Angeles-based Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund.
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It's interesting that the Rocketship charter chain felt the need to purchase property and build a new school when there were plenty of vacant school facilities in Nashville available to charter school operators. In fact, Tennessee law requires that school districts provide a list of vacant and underutilized properties to the state for use as potential charter schools. See below for latest MNPS list of properties.
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“We just thought that was a good site and a neighborhood we wanted to serve, and it made sense to build ‘ground-up,” said Laura Kozel, Rocketship’s vice president of facilities. “The next time we open a school there, it very well could be a renovation.” But notice that Rocketship didn't go forward with its planned school in Memphis.... 

Could there be a reason for Nashville getting a newly constructed Rocketship school while the Memphis project was put on hold? Hmmmm....could it have something to do with Nashville being more attractive to real estate investors? According to The Tennessean, "in the past four years, while Nashville was adding almost 17,000 people, Memphis lost more than 8,000."

Critics of the Nashville Rocketship construction project say, it's all about the rich getting richer instead of helping children. Gary Miron, an education professor at Western Michigan University and a member of the National Education Policy Center in Colorado who studies and monitors charter schools says, “It’s really a scam.” To really follow the money, you would have to really understand the facilities companies.” He goes on to explain, Rocketship will pay a facility fee to Agassi's investor group. For the company’s California schools, the fee is about 18 percent. He anticipates a facilities fee in the high teens for the new Nashville school. In the end, Rocketship will own the building and “the taxpayer’s interest is not protected,” Miron says. If the charter school closes, the building is still owned by the company, even though it was paid for with tax dollars via facilities fees.

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Exit Strategy...
Rich people usually have a back-up plan called an exit strategy. For real estate investments, the exit strategy is an alternative use for the property. Take a look at the locations below for Turner-Agassi charter school real estate investments. Notice anything? They all seem to be in cities with hot real estate markets: Philly, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Palm Beach County FL, Dallas, Michigan, San Antonio, Detroit, Nashville. St. Petersburg, Newark, New York, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. 
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Albany, New York is an example of how investors get richer and charter school operators struggle to keep up with the rent payments. Jonathan Turley explains:
"The result is, you can put in ten million dollars and in seven years double your money. The problem is, that the charter schools end up paying in rents, the debt service on these loans and so now, a lot of the charter schools in Albany are straining paying their debt service–their rent has gone up from $170,000 to $500,000 in a year or–huge increases in their rents as they strain to pay off these loans, these construction loans. The rents are eating-up huge portions of their total cost. And, of course, the money is coming from the state."
So what happens when charter schools go out of business or default on the lease? What are the exit strategies for these multi-million dollar properties? 

In California, Rocketship attempted to by-pass local ordinances and locate its new school without regard to the zoning code but was defeated in a ruling by a California Superior Court. Critics contend this is too much power for a private investor with no public accountability to have over land use decisions. In the event of default by the charter school, real estate investors such as Agassi would have valuable "get out of zoning free card" and the upper hand against competing investors. In states with hot real estate markets, we can only imagine the unlimited profit-making potential exit strategies. As for Agassi, well, in a USA Today article, he "declined to discuss profits of his organization."
From Rocketeer to Racketeer...
"In short, education reform is a good cause. Experimentation is good — and some of the best charter schools today have experimented in what could be valuable ways. But the push, coming from Wall Street and the extremely wealthy, for this specific form of charter schools, for this specific way of funding them, is part of both short-term and long-term drives for profit that will accrue to the wealthiest while weakening the middle class. The question is not whether we should back away from the cause of education, or the cause of education reform. The question is in whose interests it should be done and who should most strongly influence the outcomes."--Jonathan Turley
Thank you to Tennessee Education Matters for their Contribution
This is the first of our three-part series on charter school corruption in Tennessee. 
Be sure to also read parts two & three. Click on the links below:
  • #2 - Secrets in the Suburbs in Germantown
  • #3 - Emerald Charter Schools in Knoxville, Oh My!

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