Let Them Know..No More Charter Schools!!

This just in from the Albany School Board:

The City School District of Albany Board of Education will hold a public hearing Thursday, August 19 to give community members a chance to comment on the renewal requests for Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys and Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls.

The public hearing will be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at Albany High School in advance of the regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting. The current charters for both schools expire in January; both are seeking a five-year renewal through January 2016.

Any individual wishing to submit comments as part of the public hearing record must submit them in writing at the public hearing. No comments, written or otherwise, will be considered or accepted after the public hearing is closed. Speakers will be permitted three minutes for comments. Comments also can be submitted in writing only.

The Brighter Choice elementary schools will be among 11 taxpayer-supported charter schools operating in Albany during the 2010-11 school year. The 11 charter schools will enroll about 2,000 Albany students in grades K-11 alongside the district’s 15 public schools, which serve about 8,500 students from prekindergarten through grade 12.

The 11 charter schools will include three new schools opening this fall: two Brighter Choice middle schools for grades 5-8 (one for boys and one for girls) and a girls’ high school.

The district will spend about $26.5 million on charter-school expenses in 2010-11, about 13 percent of the total budget. The district also could be forced to pay charter schools $5 million-$7 million more unless Gov. David Paterson’s July veto of the charter-school tuition freeze is overturned. The district is maintaining regular contact with our legislative leaders on this important issue.

The Brighter Choice elementary schools each serve about 235 students in grades K-4. They are the only charter schools in Albany authorized by the New York State Board of Regents. The city’s nine other charter schools, as well as the recently closed New Covenant Charter School, are authorized by the State University of New York Board of Trustees.

I’m hoping I have something else going on that night but scheduling is tight. If I can’t be there in person…I’ll be there in spirit. I hope to see everyone at this meeting…stick together to stop the advancement of Charters.

I created a facebook event if you want to let folks know you’ll be there!

 

Brighter Choice Asked For a Fight…They Got It!

For a second night in a row, I’m sitting in the chamber of the Albany Common Council. There is one big differrence between tonight and last night…tonight I have the company of about 70 citizens here in protest of the Charter School expansion at the dead end of Bradford Street. Seems they’ve created a network of opposition that will fight this project to the death.

The Board of Zoning Appeals will consider the case of BCF regarding a Special Use Permit and Parking Lot Permit for the proposed school. Seems they want a 40,000 square foot charter school with a 42 space accessory parking lot. The proposed charter school is a special permit use and the proposed parking area requires Board authorization in the C-2 Highway Commercial zoning district.

Now, I’m a little unsure why this is even before the BZA as the planning board has put it on hold anyway. But, here we sit….contemplating ignoring the zoning in the adjacent residential area. Well, that’s not really it, that’s how I see it. Ya see, there is some dispute as the whether the actual site of the school is a C-1 or a C-2, which, I understand seems to have transformed somewhere along the way when we weren’t looking. My concern, whether its a 1 or a 2…the impact of the development is going to effect a residential area. Ya see, the deadend street is going to be opened up for a commercial entity and where is that commercial entity going to have the greatest impact? Not on the vacant property behind a car dealership but on the serene neighborhood it’s going to treaspass.

Several county legislators are in the chamber, several city legislators, the city auditor, chair of the school board at least one school board member, a NYSUT guy and, most importantly…the citizens. Over an hour into a meeting, in which the Brighter Choice school was third on the agenda, without flinching, the BZA skipped the project and moved it to last on the agenda. (Nope, didn’t even mention it to the attendees…just continued on their way.) The last time this was done with a project it was removed from the agenda after two hours of waiting. Only in Albany.

Chris Bender has hit the floor explaining how thorough his group has been in this zoning request. This hearing brought the BCF legal eagle into the room. He seems to be present only to explain the law to the BZA…and explain to them their jurisdiction. He has pointed the finger at the audience and put out a pre-emptive complaint of their behavior. Drawing boos from the audience. (I feel like I’m in Parliament.)

Mr. Hershberg takes the microphone with the support of Mr. Bender….pointing to a easel which only the board and they can see. Hershberg draws snickers when he explains that the public told him, or, he said “he thought he heard the public” wanted a parking lot. Right…the citizens of a serene tree lined community want a parking lot inserted into the middle of it.

Mr. Hershberg declares that this street…which I’ve been to…which I’ve walked…which was not wide enough to get an ambulance down the other day is, indeed, 66′ wide. Hmmm…fibber. Now, Mr. Hershburg seems to be addressing the audience more than the BZA as he is answering concerns raised in the Planning Board decision and in this blog.

The BZA is now questioning Bender as to why he doesn’t move into one of the four schools standing empty in the community rather than ramming this down the throats of the Bradford Street folks. Now, may I tell you a story about one of these empty schools? Seems da Mayor wanted the Library to move into St. Theresa’s rather than building the new library….now, oddly, when the library didn’t move into St. Theresa’s the library couldn’t get their construction permits.

Now the BZA is asking how BCF is going to prevent children from going down into Albany Dodge…no answer…haven’t thought about protecting the children…haven’t thought about moving into one of the vacant building…these people who promote choice have ONLY got one Choice.

Sally D’agostino takes the stand and says…I don’t care what he wants to do with the property…that “66′” road, as claimed by Mr. Hershberg is actually only 18’…she knows…she’s lived there for decades. Seems that the city is working with a map from 1968 and that the application for the Special Use Permit is grosslly inaccurate…fibbers. This lot was a cemetery and they spray paint on the shop…contaminating the site.

Another citizen takes the stand to explain that this is NOT about Charter Schools, as insinuated by Bender (me thinks he is confusing my blog with the citizens concerns.) The citizens are against this street turning into a commercial highway. Vincent Riguso…councilman #16 is speaking out against this school and Charters…New Market Tax Credit.  Seems Vincie has an issue with converting this taxed property into a non-taxed property.

A visually impaired citizen walks to the microphone with her service dog….she lives in the hood and obviously, loves the residential street. She claims that she now has trouble navigating the neighborhood and with this construction, she will now be dodging school busses…she is speaking for the disabled in the community…the wheelchairs…the blind…she says “it ain’t fun playing chicken with a school bus.” She yells, “oh, by the way…I AM OPPOSED!!” Say it loud…say it proud girlie.

Another citizen to the microphone, she points to the saturation of the Charter Schools and the lack of need of this school. She sums it up with, unless you would like a 40,000 square foot building next to you…if you want this impact on your life…build it next door to your house.

Judy Doesschate, Public School Board member takes the microphone to let folks learn that
She lets the board know that the charter is only for 3 years and that this school is being built for 450 students but that their charter is only for 230 students. Not only that, it’s on probation for not accepting certain students. So, ya see, the impact is not for 300 students…it’s for much more than what the Brighter Choice folks predict. Judy points to the rendering of the lovely proposed charter school…”as far as how the school looks…its lovely…she says, pointing at the picture…”but I think you need to think about how it’s going to look boarded up.”

Yet, another citizen who lives on Colonial Street. Seems Colonial was once a dead end street and they opened that up to put in six residential houses at the end of it. She says that the impact of just those residential houses were a dramatic impact (negative) on her community…she can’t imagine a 40,000 sq. ft. building and its impact. Seems that her street was much larger than tiny little Bradford Street.

Mr. Kurlyuk asks why he was never notified of this construction prior the planning of it. He is outraged, yes, outraged that nothing in the planning provide an honest assessment of the traffic and how the zoning change on which the site is positioned will impact the residential street adjacent to the commercial property. He’s now discussing the current bad neighbor who has buried a house in the back lot (I guess that’s on top of the cemetary.) Kurlyuk also sites the fact that there is a problem with groundwater which will bring flooding to the neighborhoods. Oh yes, and the porch of Robert’s house…well, that’s going to be lopped off…he will have to jump out of his house.

Tom B. is now speaking against the project…he sights the fumes from the busses, trucks, cars, fire trucks, recycling trucks, garbage trucks…he sites 300 students coming into the area every day and the possiblity of blight brought on by the activity of the children. (I might argue that one but, what the heck, Tom’s on a roll.)

May I point out that not one person (so far) is here to speak on behalf of BC. Woops, spoke too soon. She wants her son to go to that school…she wants a new school and a new building so they can “learn better.” Well, put it in your hood, Babe. One of the teachers of BC is at the microphone…he drifts into the schools history…violating the rules the BC lawyer reminded the board of…he is cast aside…not much to say other than “I want to keep my job.”

Kathleen R. is up next, she counted the cars on her street now…32 for just the current citizens. She notes that, afte the earthquake today, and a couple of minutes after that earthquake a large truck was out in her road (similar in size to the busses) and she thought it was an aftershock. She can’t even imagine the traffic issues which will be in her front yard if this school is injected into her hood.

Leon Mirsky, you remember him, right? Takes the stand and gives the BZA a piece of his mind. A woman goes to the mic, she bought the house at the corner of Cleveland and Bradford…since moving in in January, she says the traffic and the proposed BC traffic has her regretting her decision to become a homeowner in Albany.

Ray Joyce steps up, he is the County Legislator for the district and he used to deliver papers in the area. He states that he is shocked that they’ve (BC) bought a “land locked” parcel and THE PLAN is to direct the access through a residential communty rather than through the property benefitting from the sale of said property. Joyce calls for a tabling of the discussion until the SEQRA process going on over at the Albany Planning Board is complete…it will certainly show that BCF was fibbing. Applause from the audience.

Bullhorn, County Ledge, steps up and echoes the sentiments of Joyce saying that this is changing a residential road to a  highway…he calls for tabling…he gets applause. Next up, Jim Landau, from King Avenue…he lived there 60 years and had the American Dream. He says he can’t back out of his driveway now and that will just get worse. Mr. Egan, Chair of the School Board goes to the microphone…the chamber is still packed, standing room only…flowing out into the rotunda…we’ve been here for 2.5 hours.

Mr. Egan points out that BCF has issues and has been cited for discrimination and that the Institute is on probation due to material deficiencies and financial deficiencies and it’s under enrolled. He predicts closure…he says that, “if you want to destroy public education in this city and destroy a neighborhood, approving this construction would be a good first step.”

 
Tom Ellis speaks about the beauty of this quiet oasis in the middle of Albany and how this school would ruin the neighborhood. If BCF needs another building (as the one parent bold enough to come on down stated) then take over one of our FOUR abandoned schools in the city. Yes, I said FOUR! He predicts a lawsuit should this move forward at all. He notes that no one person in the community has been in favor of the school…notes unanimous opposition to the school.

Next up, a principal Albany Prep…hmmm…biased? She believes that Albany Prep needs a permanent home. Hey, chickie, move on over to St. Theresa’s. So she says, if you want your kids to be able to play outside…we want that too. She has a petition from parents stating they want the school. Duh. Never woulda guessed that.

MOB, who should be the last speaker, takes the mic and I let out an audible sigh of relief. He notes that the attorney for BCF made a point to say…as he was shakily outlining the rules for the board, that some inappropriate comments were made at the last meeting…MOB points out that what’s inappropriate is the lies contained in the applications submitted by Brighter Choice.

He points that nothing contained in the application’s diagram is accurate showing one house 30 feet further back than it actually is…the Board shuffles their papers to view the diagram. Seems this house, 100 years old, will have its porch lopped off. MOB directs a comment to the principal of the school who wants to be a good neighbor to the community….would you want this school next door to your family? Question these people…don’t follow blindly…they are not what they say they are.

Seems I missed Mr. Konev’s point (I often do) and MOB reminds me…Seems we have invested in a Master Plan and that this construction project and evolution of a residential area into a commercial highway isn’t part of our Master Plan because this is being done by piecemeal…in opposition to the Plan. MOB calls for an archeology report, a SEQRA process. The BCF suddenly yells out…”I object to this!!” (Woke me up!!) he yells, “Point of Order.” (Yeah, that’s what they always yell when it’s going the way they don’t like, obviously this guy has never been in front of an Albany Board before…point of order? I got your “point of order.”

MOB calls for dismissal of the application as it is completely incomplete and has “errors and omissions.” (I wonder if that BCF lawyer understood that.) Mike (MOB) nearly gets a standing O after he calls for an immediate halt to BZA consideration.

Mr. Hershberg takes the microphone with the BCF attorney at his side. He responds to the road costs…clearly…the applicant will take care of the costs. He submitted the traffic review to the Traffic guy but hasn’t heard back yet. He now swears that the road has always been 66 feet and all the city folks signed off on that….have they been to the community? I have….it ain’t 66 feet. The attorney starts pointing out where the zoning board should look for the zoning rules…gosh…how bold. He doesn’t like the the accusation of “secrecy.” He says…that’s NOT true. Naw…and there’s no public opposition…I’ve been listening for three hours to public opposition.

Mr. Sweeney could teach this guy a thing or two.

We be done…they will take the matter under consideration and give a decision soon.

 

Another Brighter Choice Show Down (and Albany Med)

First, I must apologize to my friends over at the County Ledge, I’ve been neglectful of your committee meetings but I’m sure Googly has been showing up. Seems she’s finally caught on to fact that the County is running out of money…she would have known that last year had she been attending the meetings she’s reporting on. How does that work?

Did I miss anything interesting?

Tonight will be a busy one…that nasty old Brighter Choice school which is encroaching on serenity over in the 12th ward is going before the Board of Zoning Appeals. Now, I’m not really sure why, since the Planning Board put a stop work in place. But, onward they march. Seems there’s a little issue with the type of xone the school would be built in. Seems there is a discrepency between what the city says the area is zoned and what the citizens (and common council) believe it is. The citizens have some concerns that the zone may have been changed from a C1 to a C2 (or vice versa…I’m not a wiz with that stuff) when they weren’t looking.

My thing is that regardless of the commercial zone, the impact of the school is on the adjacent residential community. The citizens of this street have a right to maintain their neighborhood and not have it turned into one large driveway for Brighter Choice.

So, come on down to City Hall tonight at 5:30 to show your support for the Bradford Street residents…you may be the next that needs support against the financial monster that is Brighter Choice.

After supporting your Bradford Street neighbors, hope on over to Albany Med to learn about the expansion. Here’s Mr. Conti’s description of the project.

Presenters will review AMC’s plans and answer neighbors questions about what the expansion will mean for us with regards to parking and transportation, job opportunities, street scape and building plans and its impact on the Park South neighborhood and the Park South Urban Renewal Plan. By was of background, Albany Medical Center is in the process of a large expansion. In three years, when complete, the expansion will result in the creation of many new jobs and increased medical services. Plans include some building demolitions that will result in increased office space, parking facilities, eateries and housing. Currently, about 10,000 people per day use the Medical Center, by the end of the expansion, the expectation is a 50% increase to 15,000 people per day. Part of the plan includes permanently closing the block of Myrtle Avenue to vehicular traffic (pedestrians and bicycles will still be allowed) between Robin Street and New Scotland Avenue to ease traffic congestion on New Scotland Avenue. Please mark your calendar for this important meeting regarding AMC’s expansion plans and its impact on our community, especially the Park South neighborhood.

This is a community meeting, everyone is invited, with Albany Medical Center and Columbia Development on Wednesday, June 23 at 7 PM (Albany Medical Center Lecture Hall – ME Building – ME700).

 

Education Reform Costs…Integrity Loss

On May 28th of this session (this is how I think…in session…not in session) the Senate voted to lift the cap on the Charter Schools in New York which will lift the cap for Wall Street to continue to make money from our citizens in the name of “school reform.” With all the issues concerning Charter Schools, with the City of Albany taxed beyond its limit to sustain two school systems, one open and accountable the other secretive, sparsely populated, ethically challenged with a questionable mission.

Now, sure, the Guv still needed to sign the bill, and the Assembly, which I had thought was on lock down with Shelly Silver hanging tight with the unions, still needed to vote on the bill. But, still, when the cantankerous folks in the upper chamber voted to lift the cap on Charters, I got a little worried about the future. My worries were warranted.

The other day I heard about a guy named Steve Bahar. Seems that Steve was running for the Assembly down in Queens against Assemblywoman Carrozza…he was anti-charter school expansion. (Seems they have many of the same issues in the city that we have in Albany!! Can you imagine?) When Steve was gaining on Carrozza he got a call from a couple of Charter “bundlers.” What’s a bundler? Why, I’m so glad you asked.

A bundler is, essentially, a lobbyist who can deliver funds to candidates which are not easily tracked back to the donors and are not easily attached to the candidate. Interesting news, I hear there is a new database which will track “bundling” though it’s not yet searchable.

So, back to Bahar. Seems he gets these calls and the bundlers offered to “bundle” $100,000 to $200,000 for him if he changed his stance on Charter School expansion and joined the Wall Street savvy pushing for lifting the cap in development of more Charters. Of course, he turned them down but didn’t provide the names of the bundlers for fear of scaring off future donors to his campaign.

So, I got to thinking about the recent vote in the Senate which brought me such disappointment in my favorite of chambers. So, I pulled the list of those who support charter schools and I researched donations provided to our electeds (and opponents) from known supporters of Charter School Expansion. Contributors researched include: Democrats for Education Reform, Whitney Tilson, Anthony Davis, Boykin Curry, Coalition for Public Charter Schools, the Waltons (Walmart, Walton Family Foundation…biggest funder of Brighter Choice), Brian Meara, Joel Greenblatt and a little bit of Lynch…of course.

Those Senators who consistently voted in support of charter school expansion is listed here along with the contributions they accepted (besides the ever popular but untraceable bundling) here.

I also extracted much of the history of “contributions” to our legislators, potential legislators and our governor. See those contributions here. Wanna know how much it costs (on the books…wink, wink) to buy the Senate? Here ya go…$302,600. The largest pricetags for their support belong to Craig “Mr. Honest” Johnson… $52,400, Kevin Parker….$26,800, Jeff “Pay to Play” Klein…$28,950, freshman Senator Daniel “fast learner” Squadron…$34,000 and our fearless leader Malcolm Smith’s pricetag this time…$35,000. Perhaps Eric “show me the money” Adams should get some pointers from his cohorts he only got $5000 for his vote.

Now, I didn’t even take a glance at what money changed hands with these “supporters” over in the Assembly but you can if you just look up your favorites right here. Now, we all know that this expansion wouldn’t fly through without the support of the governor, right? I mean, he’s the man with the “plan” down at the cap, right? Wanna know his pricetag for just this one little lifting of the charter school cap? Remember, this is just the money he’s accepted “on the books” from these Charter School supporters over the years…(not counting the funds his Lt. Guv campaign)…$169,400.

We don’t need more Education Reform (read that with sarcasm: Charter Schools) we need government reform…we need the Citizens to regain their voice in this State.

 

Brighter Choice: Good, Bad and Ugly

The building of another charter school on the end of a dead end street in the 12th ward has gotten quite a few folks riled. The riling seems to have worked. And while I’ve picked up the sword in defense of the citizen, many are confused with my criticisms. Many of my fellow citizens have questioned my criticisms of this project as being supportive of the teacher’s union and not in support of “freedom of choice.” This, seemingly, is in clear opposition to my standard criticisms.

Let me clarify for those who haven’t figured it out yet, ACO supports what is in the best interest of the citizens. I’m not against unions, I’m against the abusive “power” of a union. I’m not against charter schools, I’m against the citizens in the community having their taxes raised to insert an unwanted/unneeded charter school in a residential neighborhood. I’m against this eminent domain by the charter schools and I’m against bypassing proper procedure to insert said school before the citizens realize what’s happening.

Let me break this down for you…

Here’s the Good with Charter Schools:

Charters provide an alternative learning environment for those who may not be able to afford private school.
In New York, Charters provide a non-unionized work environment (for the most part)
Charters are not saddled with tenured teachers well beyond their prime

Here’s the Bad with Charter Schools:

Charters, though they don’t admit it, don’t often accept students limited in learning capability, emotional well-being, physical development, language limitations.
Charters send their underperforming students back to public schools.

Now, here’s what’s wrong with Albany Charter Schools….errr…Brighter Choice.

Brighter Choice is a shining example of great capitalistic strategy…a strategy which has cost the citizens of Albany a whole lot of money while earning the BC elite a whole lot of money. Brighter Choice was begun by Thomas Carroll. Seems that Tom Carroll along with Brian Backstrom, Albany Prep’s chairman, were president and vice-president of Change-NY, a conservative think tank that helped push Mario Cuomo out of office and brought us George Pataki. (Incidently, while they billed themselves as a taxpayer advocacy group they seem to have no problem going after government money when it is for their own projects. Like “Race to the Top.” )

Ya see, Carroll got a few of his guys together from the back chambers of the Capital building, Pataki’s boys…Brian Backstrom, Peter Murphy, John Carl…you know the folks. And they figured out how to make some bucks off the citizens and block criticism of the abuse by endearing themselves to the minority community with a brilliant public relations strategy.

They created a “choice” mantra and reached out their hands to the public schools which, and the ASD must admit this, could have been providing a better product. That “choice” opened up an educational competition which, hopefully, increased the quality of education in Albany. With their first success, Brighter Choice filled their boards (Brighter Choice Schools, Brighter Choice Foundation and all their Schools) with political strategists (lobbyists), public relation firms (lobbyists) Budget Department Insiders (Executive/Legislative…lobbyists), Investors (political donors), financial insiders (political donors), and they dotted those boards with “community insiders.” You know, the type that BC (Brighter Choice) might think could convert an urban distrust of “the man.” Victor Collier, Ken Wilcox, Kelly Kimbrough. (I’ve mapped out the BC Board Web here for ya.)

Genious…pure genious.

(Note: Even though BC has checked the box stating they don’t lobby on their 990, they do have a contract in place ($37500 per filing) and they have several lobbyists (including Bender) on payroll…and several, I’m sure, that aren’t recorded anywhere.)

Like anything else that is Albany, this plot enriched the construction companies, greased the palms of the politicians, abused the very system put in place to prevent overdevelopment and it got out of control…it lost the balance between its feigned concern for the community and its true mission, financial enrichment. Of course, those BC financial wizards would have had to anticipate the “breaking point” in this economic climate…combined with the growing frustrations of the citizens.

While I’ve showcased Juan Gonzales’ article illustrating how Brighter Choice is benefiting from the New Market Tax Credit and several other credit schemes. I’ve looked beyond the scheme for money grubbing financial institutes nearly doubling their money within seven years of keeping a struggling Charter alive.

Now, one major concern I’ve encountered when examining the infrastructure of Carroll’s brainchild, are the Boards. The Boards are ingeniously constructed to not only benefit BC, but to benefit each board member. (I’ve put all board members into a spreadsheet including their daytime jobs…you figure out the conflicts of interest…oh, and shoot me an email and I’ll point that out in the speadsheet!) Contracts have gone to board member’s companies without competing bids and they even voted to have BC enter into contracts with their own companies.

As you’ve probably guessed, not only do the contract winning companies benefit in this board relationship, so does BC. Ya see, several of those no-bid insider contracts are to School Performance, Inc. This company is charged with reporting “unbiased” data regarding the Charter students academic performance. Slight conflict…me thinks. Here’s a view inside the Charters offered from NYSUT and integrated with ACO (yeah, I know there’s motivation but it’s all backed up):

Charter schools in Albany’s Brighter Choice network have awarded contracts to a non-profit testing and data company operated by Albany charter board members. Four contracts obtained so far through the Freedom of Information Law indicate all four contracts were approved without competitive bidding. Contracts between Albany charters and the company, School Performance Inc., show that the company oversees the reporting of test score data which charters then submit to authorizers for their renewals. Other board members at Brighter Choice charter schools have benefited from contracts to provide software, advertising and public relations services for charter schools in the Brighter Choice network.

School Performance (SPNY) is a non-profit charter consulting, data and testing company providing standardized test support and other services to Albany charters. The initial board of directors of included, Thomas Carroll, Chris Bender, Bill Phillips and Peter Murphy (all Charterbots). As of June 2008, directors of School Performance, Inc. included other board members at Albany charter schools, including Brian Backstrom, vice president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability and chair of the Albany Preparatory Charter School; John Carl, trustee of the Albany Preparatory Charter School; and SPNY’s president, Paul Thallner, trustee of the Albany Community Charter School.

Here’s another, at a meeting of the Henry Johnson Charter School on January 25, 2008, former SPNY founding director Peter Murphy moved to have the school enter into a $10,000 contract with SPNY. Board minutes from that meeting do not reflect any discussion of his past role in creating the company or any potential conflict of interest.

And another, on Sept. 26, 2007, the Albany Preparatory Charter School entered into a contract with SPNY based on a discussion led by board trustee John Carl and seconded by Brian Backstrom. There is no record of either Carl or Backstrom recusing themselves from the vote to avoid a conflict of interest. Both voted on the motion, even though School Performance’s IRS Forms for 2007-08 show both Backstrom and Carl served on SPNY’s board of directors that year.

As if this little bit of self-dealing weren’t enough of a concern to me, I had to look at BC’s 990 (IRS Information Form). (This data hasn’t been updated since 2008 online so I’m working with old data here). Seems that BC had, in 2008, 38 million in assets, and it felt that M. Christian Bender deserved over $192,000 in salary and, get this, over $18K for housing?

Go figure, is this nonprofit really worthy of a 501(C)(3) status? Perhaps the IRS exempt organizations department should take a look at this situation and that of School Performance Inc. seems they are doing pretty well on the citizen’s dime for nonprofits. (Oh yeah, Thallner makes over $125K…makes ya sick, huh?) Interesting also, looking at those who hold the notes on BC, the New Market Development Corp…where, I understand, Carroll is on the board, Broadway 915 (don’t look too closely…this is Omni) Oh shoot, I’ll just send this over to the IRS. Nice to have a strategic network in place!

Now, if there weren’t enough concerns with accurate academic reporting after we find out the “reporters” (School Performance) have ulterior motives, there remain more concerns. You remember me telling you how the Charters are, for the most part, grossly under-enrolled with SUNY making annual adjustments to better help them meet their goals. While the enrollment gaps are enough to call into question test-score comparisons between charter and regular public schools, charters and district schools also experience a “churn rate” that affects who gets taught and who gets tested.

Nearly 150 students have returned from Albany charter schools to the city school district during this current school year.The district began compiling data on students who returned in late November. The chart below, in which parents explain to the district why their students are returning from Albany charters, offers a glimpse at the turnover, or “churn.”

Of the 146 students who have transferred to Albany city schools from charter schools as of Febuary 1, 2010, the numbers include 48 from the New Covenant CS; 22 from Brighter Choice’s Achievement Academy CS and 16 from Brighter Choice’s Albany Preparatory CS. The city school district also reports 14 students each have left the Brighter Choice’s Green Tech and Brighter Choice’s KIPP Academy charter schools this year.

In 2008-09, 191 students transferred to district schools from Albany charter schools, about 9 percent of the city’s total charter enrollment. The largest number, 72, returned to city schools from the New Covenant Charter School that year, but 27 left Brighter Choice’s Achievement Academy; 24 returned from the Brighter Choice Girl’s and Boy’s charters; and 23 were discharged from the Albany Preparatory Charter School.

Albany and its charter schools illustrate the inherent unreliability of comparing student test results, given the lack of comparable student bodies and the “churn” or mobility rate among schools. For both the regular public schools and charters, how is it possible to determine whether the students being taught are the same ones being tested?

Exemplifying the problem of “churn” – and the unreliability of test score comparisons – is the KIPP Tech Valley Charter School, which is now up for renewal from the SUNY Charter School Institute. In 2009, KIPP Tech Valley Charter School graduated its first cohort of students to go through all four years of its program. The school reports that 100 percent of its eighth-graders scored level 3 or Level 4 on the 2009 state math test, and 92 percent met state standards on the ELA test.86 However, KIPP’s Class of 2009 also had a four-year graduation rate of 31 percent District records show only 27 of the 88 students who attended the charter school as fifth-graders in KIPP’s first year completed the charter program four years later. Fifty-five students left the school, and six remain enrolled in 2009-10 after being held back. In 2008-09 alone, 14 KIPP students returned – or were removed – to Albany city schools

Even more discouraging is the enrollment of the special education students….of course, I’m sure School Performance will find a “work around.” Despite a random lottery, the Brighter Choice Boy’s and Brighter Choice Girl’s charter schools in Albany enroll a combined 13 students with disabilities out of a total enrollment of 443, for a special education rate of 2.9 percent.67 Albany’s special education population is 14.6 percent.68 Brighter Choice Charter Schools were recently found not in compliance with their charter for inquiring about students’ special education needs on their application form. The State Education Department report instructed Brighter Choice, “As the child’s special education status is not relevant to admissions, please provide an updated lottery application.”

The New York State Charter School Association, the management and lobbying arm for many operators, went to court to block financial and operational audits by the Office of the State Comptroller. Brighter Choice appealed to the Court of Appeals two rulings forcing it to disclose the names and salaries of its teachers under the Freedom of Information Law, information that is a required part of the public record for regular public schools to protect against nepotism and fraud. The for-profit National Heritage Academies, with which the number two at BCF, Maureen Blum seems to be rather well acquainted, is seeking to block teacher efforts to unionize as public employees. NHA’s legal effort – in the face of 100 percent of teachers signing cards seeking union representation in March 2009 — suggests charter management wants to avoid the natural checks-and-balances that occur when teachers have a voice through a union. Now see, this is a good place for a union.

You remember me mentioning Maureen Blum right above? She’s a staffer at Brighter Choice Foundation. Ever heard of her? I hadn’t either even though her apartment is directly across the street from me. She is, get this, the Brighter Choice Community Outreach Director. Now, I’ve been a Community Outreach Director…what might you think one of these might do? Right! (You musta gone to public school.) They reach out to the community. Well, this Albany based school has a Community Outreach Director who lives in Washington D.C. but stays in a BC owned apartment when she’s here….lobbying. Yup, that’s right, she’s a lobbyist…living in D.C.

While I’m outraged at the violation of the rights of those citizens down on Bradford Street being targeted for yet another Charter School on their serene dead end street, I’m even more outraged at outright unlawful activity which has become acceptable within this nonprofit system. This continued abuse is the reason this system has thrived…it is not because of academic achievement, it’s not because there aren’t enough slots for all of our students to have a “choice,” it’s because everyone is getting rich and living the high life on the backs of Albany citizens!

Here is a link to file a complaint against a nonprofit with the AG’s office.  Remember this is the AGs office…an AG who is running for governor. Here’s the link to filing a form 13909 with the IRS and here is the form.

Here’re a few other articles on the Charter School situation in Albany…if ya wanna catch up.
Charter Interuptus…a Win For the Citizens
Charter School Spending
Brigher Choice and the Sin of Greed

Brigher Choice: Quality and Conflict
Brighter Schools: Chummy Relationships Advance Expansions

 

Charter Interruptus

Perhaps you’ve heard about the battle to build a brand spankin’ new charter school on the dead end of a serene street where the neighbors have lived for decades and know each other’s grandmothers and their grandchildren. This neighborhood, claims Robert Kuryluk, is my “life’s work.” When he moved in the bank told him the land was worth more than the house….not anymore. I’d never met Mr. Kuryluk before, nor had I met his daughter April…I was caught off guard when they introduced themselves…”Robert Kuryluk…Cleveland Street,” “April Kuryluk, Bradford Street.”

Yes, the pride in the neighborhood these two share with their neighbors, Leon and Michell Mirsky, among dozens others, was deafening. Unfortunately, those dozens others were working at 9AM on Thursday morning and weren’t able to show up…I understand they are 600 strong in opposition to the Brighter Choice Charter Schools.

The suits sat on the left side and the community on the right. Hershberg and his Brighter Choice guys made their case, reiterating that the application for construction was accurate. (They indicated their was no public oppositon to the project.) Not much there…more lies and money grubbing.

Each neighbor spoke about how they hadn’t been notified of the project, how the plans were inaccurate, lopping off whole sections of yard and home. They spoke about how their property values would drop and the two family homes would have trouble luring tenants to a highly travelled street filled with construction, buses and sparse parking (might as well live downtown,huh?) They spoke about how the traffic pattern change had not been addressed. Seems that the road is not wide enough for two cars to pass through but Brighter Choice claims that the constant flow of construction trucks and eventually parents and school busses would be no problem….no disruption to the citizens.

MOB took the stage armed with ammunition, citing everything from errors and ommissions, traffic flow “flaws,” lack of public notification and comment. He clarified and defined the overt acts of fraudulence committed by both Brighter Choice and Hershberg & Hershberg and demanded the immediate halt to the full speed ahead which had been demanded by BC for a July 11, 2011 school opening. Next up, John Merrill, owner of Albany Dodge who, for some reason, is in favor of the charter schools owning his property in his back lots at the dead end, which he points to as home to criminal activity and he tells the neighbors they should be happy it’s being “improved.” Nothing like an objective opinion…Naw, that dog won’t hunt.

The Albany Planning Board seemed amazed as they took in all the information which seemed to indicate that the Charter Schools were beating the neighhbors into submission without them knowing it. A motion is made to elect themselves as lead in the SEQRA process for this process and then demand a “public hearing” on the matter of building a three story Charter School at the end of a dead end street in the middle of a serene neighborhood…the kind I’ve only dreamed of.

So, the project will limp forward with a huge crowd expected to question zoning components of the application at next Wednesday’s Board of Zoning Appeals at City Hall (5:15PM). While this was all interesting, it wasn’t nearly as interesting as the exchange outside the chamber with components yelling at each other over lies that had been told…underlying motivations…and more lies.

Put one in the win column for the citizens! I’ll keep ya posted!

 

Quality And Conflict At Brighter Choice

Oh, no, you didn’t think you’d heard the end of the Brighter Choice expansion did you? I’ve got a lot more to add to that discussion. For today, let’s revisit #2 on Albany Councilman, Mike O’Brien’s (MOB) initial “stop work” submitted to the City of Albany in reference to the Brighter Choice construction of yet another Charter School.

Perhaps this is a good place to let you know that, after the “stop work,” MOB was lucky enough to get a meeting with Mike Yevoli, Commissioner of Planning, the City Department pushing this construction through, and he, through his staffer, cancelled said meeting with a mention of Mr. Yevoli being unavailable for personal reasons. At that cancellation, MOB requested a reschedule and/or an alternate rep from the Planning Department. To which, neither request has been responded.

Also emerging after MOB’s stop work order and the focus of this blog post, Mr. Dan Hershberg of Hershberg and Hershberg. In response to MOB’s observation of impropriety with the appearance of a conflict of interest in Mr. Hershberg’s operations, Hershberg sent out the below memo to, MOB assumes, clients (it was a blind copy.)

I just wanted you to be aware that an issue has been raised by Common Council Member Michael O’Brien (12th ward) regarding his perception of a “conflict of interest” which he perceives exist whenever Hershberg & Hershberg represents private clients.

I believe that this attitude, in addition to concerns over a specific project for Brighter Choice Schools, is at least partially the result of animus developed between Michael O’Brien (and others) regarding my opinion that the Albany Water Board could not deny a sewer connection permit in connection with the proposed University at Albany dormitory based upon the proper mitigation of any negative impacts.

I have been involved on City of Albany projects since 1963. As many of you are aware, I have worked as a consultant either on specific capital works projects (i.e., Melrose Avenue Recharge Basins, Rose Court Storage basins, Ryckman/Hansen Drainage Solutions, Beaver Creek Sewer Storage Projects) or as a consultant to address specific programs (i.e., 5 Year Capital Program, Backwater Grant Program, DEC Consent Order) by the Department of Water & Water Supply as an agent for the Albany Water Board. In addition we have, only occasionally, been a consultant to the City Engineer (most recently for the Mohawk Hudson Bike Trail). In addition we have been employed on occasion by the Corporation Counsel’s Office (providing property line surveys) and the Division of Building & Codes (regarding slope failures on an emergency basis). These business relationships do not impact the level of scrutiny received by projects designed and presented by Hershberg & Hershberg.

Applications receive a thorough review by the Department of Development & Planning and by all city departments. These departments afford me no special considerations and all reviews are responded to in a professional manner. Applications for storm water systems, sewer or water connections are reviewed by staff from the Department of Water & Water Supply and I am never consulted about any project on which I represent an Applicant except through formal review responses.

I believe that the statement attached constitutes an unwarranted personal attack on me and my professional demeanor.

Any questions, please call.

Wrong, Mr. Hershberg, while the SUNY situation you mention certainly is an irritant, it is not reason for MOB’s conflict of interest complaint. MOB is not the only person mentioning this situation, he is the only person with the balls to call you on it. Ya see, Mr. Herschberg, you have been around since 1963 and have represented many, many interests in our city, inclusive of the city. I go to many meetings and have often thought you were representing the city in some of those meetings only to find out you were representing the client. Ya see, folksies, the staff with the “oversight” sit to the side and Mr. Herschberg does all the talking…he has the knowledge…he is both the city’s and the client’s mouthpiece.

It’s easy to confuse, more often than not, Hershberg’s represented both. The relationship is chummy….with good reason. Mr. O’Brien mentions that the City’s paid minimally, $167,000 for Hershberg’s services last year. That’s 1670 hours for the year. Now, there are maximum work hours (by HR standards) 2088. Yes, I know there’s a staff involved but “the appearance of impropriety” is because Mr. Hershberg is the only rep ever seen at the meetings, behind or in front of the camera. Now, if Hershberg is spending this much time on the City’s projects, when is he working on Albany’s Water Board contract. Yes, yes, while only 1670 hours were shown with the City, Hersh also has contracts with Albany’s Public Authorities. Yup, and those contracts are not as available for scrutiny. Yup, so Mr. Hershberg reps the “independent” Water Board and the City…I can think of no better business relationship, No wonder the firm is called Hershberg and Herschberg. One man is in the room repping the best interests of several clients. So, I guess if several clients are paying $100 per each hour, and several interests can be represented at the same time…that artificially low hourly isn’t so “artificially” low, is it? Here are a few of H&H clients…think about the City’s projects…might there be some overlap? Me thinks.

Capital Hills at Albany (formerly the New Course at Albany)
City of Albany Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Westland Hills Park
Washington Park Amphitheatre (home to the Park Playhouse)
Pastures Urban Renewal Area
Washington Park Tennis Courts
Lincoln Park Tennis Courts
Boght Baseball Complex
West Albany Ballfields
Park South Urban Renewal Area
New Albany Medical Center Administrative Offices (22 New Scotland Avenue, Albany)
CDPHP offices (Patroon Creek Corporate Park)
Broadway Center (677 Broadway in Albany)
400 Patroon Creek Medical Office Building
United Jewish Federation of Northeast New York
NYSDEC Region 4 office
Great Oaks Office Park
First Niagara Bank
SEFCU Corporate Headquarters and 80 State Street Centre
Student Center at the Albany College of Pharmacy
University Heights (a consortium of Albany Law School, Albany College of Pharmacy, Sage College and Albany Medical School)
Wildwood School
College of Saint Rose Campus Activity Center
Opalka Gallery & Schacht Fine Arts Center at Sage College of Albany

Now, don’t get me wrong, I like Mr. Hershberg a whole lot and I know for a fact that MOB likes him but….BUT…at $100 an hour, a rate with which NO ONE is able to compete, has created a engineering monopoly in Albany. Hershberg’s 45 year chummy relationship has solidified his position as the sole expert on Albany’s infrastructure with each project. He is the “go to” guy if any business wants to get a project through Albany’s web of permits, codes and boards. I admire H&H ability to create this dependency…capitalism at it’s finest. (Wouldn’t it be nice to have a City of Albany employee with this knowledge?)

Now, while H&H provides the city and, seemingly every interest doing business in the city, a nice little price, it comes at a cost. Seems as if the paperwork submitted by H&H had countless errors and omissions. That’s just one thing a chummy relationship with all parties involved will buy you. Heaven help me if I didn’t cross all my ts. Oh, and do you have any idea how many folks have been denied their requests in front of the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Historic Resources Commission or the Planning Board and are told there are no appeals? Lots. H&H goes in front of the any Board and he is asked for input…he bargains, he is NOT denied. Or, I have NEVER seen him denied.

If you still don’t believe me regarding ability of H&H to provide a low quality product because of his relationships and position as the sole knowledge keeper for the City’s infrastructure, drive on over to Bradford Street. Seems that one of the residents has taken H&H’s plans for Bradford Street and, using spray paint, has drawn the changes on the lawns of the residents showing how much of their property is going to be gobbled up by this Brighter Choice project.

Most startling in this City so obsessed with the preservation of history, one of the Brighter Choice drawings lops off part of a 100 year old home. One house is shown 30 feet farther back on the drawings than it actually is located. Take note, all you folks trying to work a project through the Albany process for construction…reality and fantasy are interchangeable if the project is “favorable” to the powers that be.

Update: This morning was another scheduled meeting with Mr. Yevoli and was cancelled. MOB contacted me to let me know that Yevoli got in touch and that he (MOB) is to call for an adjournment at the planning board at 9AM on Thursday morning and at the BZAs next meeting. I will be there!

 

Brighter Choice And The Sin Of Greed

Perhaps you’ve read my previous post in which Mr. O’Brien (MOB) calls for the immediate halt of construction plans for the next site of Albany Prep at Albany Dodge. You’ll remember MOB provided several reasons for the “stop work order” none of which incorporated the “need” of adding yet another unnecessary charter school to Albany’s bloated school system. We all know the reason, right? Greed.

If you’ve read me before, you already know that I believe that the Charters are not here as benevolent saviors of the modern day education in our minority communities, I believe, instead that they are exploiting our community with the sole mission of making money. So, I took a look at a couple of our Albany Charter Middle schools, Albany Prep and Achievement Academy. I was shocked to read through their reports at SUNY’s Charter School Institutes. Of course, this was my first perusal of the reports so there may be an improvement over previous years but I had no idea that these institutes, leeching the life out of our public school systems, were so questionable.

In 2008-9, the Achievement Academy, according to SUNY, did not maintain adequate financial resources to ensure stable operations resulting in limited cash flow. They go on to say that AA ended the school year in “less than stable financial condition.” With total net assets decreasing by over $300,000, they ended the year $90K in the hole. SUNY goes on to mention that this “difficulty to balance revenue and expenditures” is mainly due to low enrollment. Low Enrollment…LOW ENROLLMENT!!

The Brighter Choice Foundation, Mama’s teat for Albany Charters, was generous to provide AA with a loan to make it through the night but is that loan going to help them make up the gap in enrollment this year? AA has NEVER hit their enrollment numbers but has continued to increase them. This year they are aiming for 300 (same number they missed last year). They recruited 232….hey, that’s better than last year’s 173. Now, with their budget dependent on enrollment, it seems they should be a little more realistic in their projections. As explained in the report, the “leaders” believe that, based on last year’s increased enrollment, they can hit their numbers. Right, these are the leaders. Dear leaders, there is a finite number of middle school students in Albany, even with suburban recruitment, reality must be glimpsed occasionally.

Oh, and did I mention that with this increased enrollment expectations, the school has cut their “days of instruction” by 19.5 days. Doing more with less? I think not. Odd, this is stated in the oversight report but AA’s website doesn’t acknowledge the cutbacks in “days of instruction.”

Over at Albany Prep, which is prepping to move into a nice newly constructed school on the site of Albany Dodge, abandoning the resurrected St. James church over in the DANA area. I’m betting you’re already familiar with the stop work order” post but are you familiar with the complete disregard for reality in their plan of action?

Ya see, like Achievement Academy, AP has NEVER hit their enrollment numbers. Idealistically, AP projected an increase of 100 for four years in a row. All of those years were revised to much lower numbers; in two of those years, (07 and 08) the revised number was 50% of the original projection. This year, the enrollment was revised from 400 to 300 but only had 190 students enrolled. (Interesting, AP requested a revised enrollment to 230, rather than 300, and they were denied.) So, AP is sitting at 63% of the enrollment they’ve budgeted.

Now, if it’s not enough that this school is operating in the enrollment red, indicating the financial red, in their budget, Albany Prep has projected a “per pupil” increase of 9% per student. Yeah, these are the people teaching those kids. Do they read the paper? An increase of 9%?? One good sign, the AP folks did propose an alternative which would include a smaller increase (2%) in the per pupil payment. I’m thinking financial disaster here. And these are the folks moving full speed ahead with construction at the Albany Dodge location.

I bet you’re thinking, where’s the logic in this…here it is. Ya see, if Albany Prep moves into a newly constructed school the investors can take advantage of the New Markets Tax Credit which will double their investment in 7 years. Along with a bunch of other credits available to them, the investors will be raking in rent from Albany Prep in gradually increasing amounts regardless of the ability of Albany Prep to keep up with their enrollment numbers. As Juan Gonzales points out, the advantage of the charter schools is not to the community, it’s not to the children, the advantage is to the lending institutes getting rich off of our minority community and then abandoning them after the inevitable failure.

Now, let’s think logically again, we have two Charter schools in Albany which were elementary level schools, next year, they will be expanding to include 5th through 8th grade levels. See, this way, they don’t need to go out and recruit as aggressively…it’s easier to retain than to recruit. So, that cuts another 160 students out of the recruitible pool of middle school students Albany Prep (and Achievement Academy) will be able to recruit to reach and maintain their enrollment/financial goals needed to continue operations. Essentially, should the new location be built, within a few years of struggling and injections from Brighter Choice Foundation, Albany Prep will scar the Albany community with not one, but two abandoned buildings and the mess will be the Public School’s and City of Albany’s to clean up,

Regardless of the Brighter Choice mission, their operations and actions speak volumes as to the real mission which is to make rich folk richer. By first creating a “community dependency” and then prostituting that dependency. All while the financial institutes behind Charter Schools pad their wallet and leave a devastated community in their wake as they move onto their next starlet willing to begin construction.

 

Albany Councilman Calls for Immediate Halt of Brighter Choice

The Councilman in Albany’s 12th ward has called for an immediate halt in the construction of the newest of the Brigher Choice projects. Mike O’Brien, today, sent a the demand to Mike Yevoli, the Commissioner of Planning and Development to stop all permit advancements citing:

1. A conflict of interest regarding the engineering firm, Herschberg & Herschberg, who seems to represent all parties involved…finally someone has pointed this out!

2. Countless errors and omissions in the documents.

3. A required approval from the Common Council was bypassed.

4. There has not been a full SEQRA and, with that, citizen review.

5. The site is potentially contaminated with pesticides and is a RCRA generator site.

6. There will be a significant financial loss to the property owners living near the proposed site due to heavy traffic associated with student transportation, deliveries and refuse removal.

Oh, and there is so much more! Seems as if a fast one was almost pulled on the citizens of Albany, thank goodness we have a councilman on top of this issue early enough to do something about it.Read O’Brien’s document here.