05 March 2014

Looters Gotta Loot

It's not enough that schools get tax dollars, and get showered with funds from private "charities" dedicated to destroying public education, they want taxpayers to pay for their rent as well:
Eva Moskowitz said she would go to the president of the United States to help her students if she had to. For now, she's stopping at Andrew Cuomo.

Moskowitz, C.E.O. of Success Academy charter schools in New York City, helped organize a massive rally outside the state Capitol on Tuesday, where she said she was “delighted” to have the governor's support.

………

During the mayoral campaign, de Blasio threatened to charge charter schools rent and pledged that Moskowitz's schools specifically would not enjoy the same treatment under his administration as they did under Michael Bloomberg's. He fulfilled that promise last week when he overturned three Bloomberg administration approvals for co-locations, all Success Academy schools.

“We never expected... I mean, I frankly thought the rhetoric of the mayor would change once he got into government,” Moskowitz said, responding to de Blasio's decision to reverse the co-locations. “Campaigning is generally different, so I didn’t expect to be in this position. And we're feeling very vulnerable.”
So, in addition to your getting taxpayer money, you want your basic overhead paid by the taxpayers as well, meaning that the schools are getting more funding than the regular public schools, which cover both their and your building costs.

And while we are at it, I would note that she pays herself a lot of money with taxpayer dollars:
The 990s for Success Academy are public record and located here, so see for yourself: http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2012/205/298/2012-205298861-095c435d-9.pdf

According to their 2012 tax filings, in 2011, Eva’s salary was $475,244.00 with an additional $12,459.00 in other compensation, totaling $487,703.00. The tax statement also says that was for providing “management and administrative supporting services to nine district charter schools…” Let me repeat, NINE SCHOOLS in 2011.

By comparison, the pay the same year for NYC Schools Chancellor Walcott for managing 1,700 schools was $212,614.00. Let me repeat, ONE THOUSAND AND SEVEN HUNDRED SCHOOLS. Then there is US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who oversees the massive federal Department of Education and earns a base salary of $179,700.

Eva’s salary is obscene. Charters want to be called public schools except when it’s more convenient to be labeled private, such as when asking for CEO salaries similar to private corporations, but their revenue is tax dollars –and for schools that pay no rent. If Eva wants a CEO salary similar to private enterprises, she should open up her own privately funded schools, not raid the public coffers.
See also here, where we discover that the "hero" of Waiting for Superman Geoffrey Canada pays himself over ½ million dollars a year.

Like I said, looters gotta loot.

H/t Atrios.

0 comments :

Post a Comment