From Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice:
K12 Inc.’s education track record is under growing fire – and we can stop their scheme to siphon tens of millions of tax dollars for public education from more than a dozen Fox Valley local school districts!
Local residents and school district members packed a Geneva church on March 18 to learn more about – and organize against – a rapidly breaking scheme by a for-profit charter school company to siphon thousands of students and millions in funds from school districts that serve Cook, Kane and DuPage County communities. The company, K12 Inc., has come under fire in other states for shoddy management practices that range from misleading investors to covering up poor student performance.
We can stop K12 Inc.’s attempt to establish a “virtual” charter school in 18 Fox River Valley school districts – but we need to mobilize! Local school districts are holding public hearings on this scheme from March 18-20 – and we need you there to ask hard questions of the company’s representatives and challenge this profit-taking scheme.
K12’s dubious track record includes charges from dozens of former K12 employees that management manipulated data on enrollment, student performance and attendance to cover up shoddy education and high student turnover in Pennsylvania and other states. InFlorida, teachers charged that K12 Inc. tried to force them to falsify attendance records. The company has been accused of assigning hundreds of students to a single teacher, and last year Georgia officials threatened to close K12 Inc.’s online school over issues with special education students – a state where K12 students fall in the bottom 11% of student performance.
K12 Inc. has one agenda – to take public tax dollars out of our publicly accountable schools and feed its executive salaries at the expense of quality education standards. Our kids, our parents and our taxpayers deserve better. Please spread the word about these critical public hearings among your friends, neighbors and family members – and be there to defend public dollars for accountable public education.
Upcoming public school district hearings on K12 virtual charter high school application:
Naperville District 204
Monday, March 18th at 5:00 p.m.
Crouse Education Center
780 Shoreline Drive, Aurora, IL 60504
Contact District 204’s school board:
Naperville District 203
Monday, March 18th at 5:00 p.m.
Public School Administration Canter
203 W. Hillside Road, Naperville, IL 60540
Contact District 203’s School Board:
Aurora District 131
Wednesday, March 20th at 5:30 p.m.
School Service Center
417 Fifth Street, Aurora, IL 60505
Contact District 131 School Board:
Aurora District 129
Monday, March 18th at 6:00 p.m.
West Aurora High School Library
1201 W. New York Street, Aurora, IL 60506
Contact District 129 school board:
Batavia District 101
Tuesday, March 19th from 6 p.m.
Rosalee Jones Administration Center
335 W. Wilson Street, Batavia IL 60510
Contact the Batavia School Board:
Geneva District 304
The first public hearing was already held on March 11. According to School Superintendent Kent Mutchler, K12 Inc. did not even show up to defend their charter school application.The first real vote for or against a charter school will happen on Monday, April 8th at 7:00 p.m., Williamsburg Elementary School, 1812 Williamsburg Avenue, Geneva, IL 60134
Contact the Geneva School Board:
Or write and call Board@Geneva304.org / (630) 463-3010
DeKalb District 428
Tuesday, March 19th at 7:00 p.m.
District 428 Education Center
901 S. 4th Street, DeKalb, IL 60115
Contact DeKalb’s District 428 board members: You can send one e-mail to all of the board members by writing: board@district428.org
Yorkville District 115
Monday, March 18th at 8:00 p.m.
602B Center Parkway, Yorkville, IL 60560
Contact Yorkville’s District 115 board members:
Kaneland District 302
Monday, March 18th at 7:00 p.m.
Harter Middle School, 1601 Esker Drive, Sugar Grove, IL 60554
Contact the Kaneland School Board:
Sycamore District 427
Tuesday, March 19th at 7:00 p.m.
Cafeteria at Sycamore Middle School
150 Maplewood Drive, Sycamore, IL 60178
Contact the Sycamore School District Board Members:
Central District 301
Monday, March 18th at 6:00 p.m.
Central High School
44W303 Plato Road, Burlington, IL 60140 (GPS use Hampshire, IL)
To contact District 301’s School Board, e-mail: 301board@burlington.k12.il.us
SD U-46 (Elgin)
Monday, March 18th at 7:00 p.m.
U-46 Office, 355 E Chicago Street, Elgin, IL 60120
Contact the Elgin School Board:
Plainfield SD 202
Monday, March 18, 2013 from 8:30-9:30 p.m., Administrative Center, 15732 Howard Street, Plainfield, IL 60544. Any person desiring to appear at the public hearing and present testimony concerning said proposal for a charter school should contact Glenn Wood, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction at (815) 577-4069.
Contact the Plainfield School Board:
CUSD 300 (Carpentersville)
Tuesday, March 19th at 6:00 p.m.
Westfield Community School
2100 Sleepy Hollow Road, Algonquin, IL 60102. You do not have to RSVP to have 5 minutes to present your position to the District 300 School Board. To share information with all board members simply write an e-mail to board@d300.org
Valley View District 365 U
Wednesday, March 27, 6:30 p.m.
755 Dalhart Avenue, Romeoville, IL.
Contact District 365U’s School Board:
Oswego District 308
Tuesday, March 19th at 7:00 p.m.
The Community Room of Oswego East High School, 1525 Harvey Road, Oswego.
Contact Oswego Distrcit 308’s School Board:
St. Charles District 303
Monday, March 18th at 7:00 p.m.
District 303 Office, 201 S. 7th Street, St. Charles, IL 60174
Contact the St. Charles School Board:
CUSD 200 (Wheaton)
Monday, March 18th at 7:00-9:00 p.m.
School Service Center
130 West Park Avenue, Wheaton, IL 60189. There will be a 5 minute limit on public comment and no pre-registration is needed.
Contact the CUSD 200 School Board:
Fred Klonsky 
Fred, late last week when I found out about this I tried to alert those that I know about this attempt to, yet again, take public tax payer money for private corporate profit. I’m surprised how quietly they have “snuck” onto the agendas of these districts.