Monday, June 24, 2013

PAVE Charter Pre-School Scam

We reported on this story a few times. I was at PS 15 the other day and actually saw some of the PAVE slugs in the building -- but that is a story for another time when I get permission to tell THAT story.

May 31, 2013
Yesterday we reported on the outrage of PAVE charter being handed 400 grand by Tweed to help them steal pre-k kids from the local public schools in Red Hook, which have had their requests to expand their own pre-k ...
May 06, 2013
Remember billionaire run PAVE charter? They moved out of PS 15 and got their own 34 million building. You see charters aren't supposed to have pre-k.
I thought they had taken the PAVE pre-k off the agenda of the May PEP but all they did was change the name of the corporation from PAVE to one of the slugs who works for them.

I posted the pre-k registration question from a PTA president to Walcott at the District 14 Town Hall last week asking for help in registering parents and Walcott pretending not to know what he was talking about. All the while allowing charters like PAVE to set up dummy corporations to register kids for pre-k 18 months in advance while public schools have to tell parents to go find a computer to register online.

Here is the link - go to minute 50 and watch for about 5 minutes as Walcott literally dances around the issue.

https://vimeo.com/68765728 

And here is an excerpt from a very excellent post by Leonie on the diversion of public money to charter schools like PAVE at
Crony capitalism and the inequities of NYC charter funding: Julian Robertson and the case of the billionaire scion's preschool -
Note the example of the PAVE charter school, run by Spencer Robertson, the son of billionaire Julian Robertson, a close associate of Mayor Bloomberg's.
In order to evade this prohibition, Robertson the son set up a dummy corporation for a pre-school for PAVE called the "Henry Cooper Westendarp" school, named after PAVE's  director of  finance. This pre-school  is being funded through a separate contract with the DOE to the tune of nearly half a million dollars, and it will help ensure a steady stream of students for Spencer's charter school. 

Julian Robertson, billionaire and non-city taxpayer
Along with Chancellor Walcott, Spencer is also on the board of the NYC Charter Center, which is headed by Phoebe Boyer, who runs both of Julian's foundations, the Tiger and Robertson Foundations, which help finance the Charter Center and other pet projects of the Mayor.  
Yet Julian, whose net worth is  $2.8 billion according to Forbes, refuses to pay city taxes, and has his secretary calculate exactly how many days he must travel out of the city and schedules him accordingly, to avoid doing so. 
See below commentary by parent Jim Devor, outgoing president of Community Education Council in District 15 on the need for an investigation into how the city is providing funds to pay for PAVE's preschool. 



THIRTEEN THOUGHTS ON WHY THERE NEEDS TO BE AN INQUIRY INTO  THE "PRE-PAVE" CONTRACT AWARD BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INVESTIGATION
See more at: Crony capitalism and the inequities of NYC charter funding: Julian Robertson and the case of the billionaire scion's preschool -

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm a PROUD PAVE PARENT since day one of Pave's opening day. I can't understand what is the problem with all who are bashing Pave and it's founder. Their are so many children in the NYC public schools like P.S. 15 whose parents have chosen the school, that is great, good for them. Then their are the children who attend CHARTER SCHOOLS, whose parents have chose, like PAVE good for us,also. I chose PAVE because it is of my liking and my choosing why can't you people just get a life and leave us alone at PAVE. I have the right to choose how and where my children will receive her education. First use had a problem with PAVE being housed at PS15 now use are finding another issue. Go and fight the real issues, like the failure at education and abuse in certain schools. So what if they are rich, they should be COMMENDED for wanting to give others a chance at a different educational system. GET A LIFE AND LEAVE US ALONE, WE ARE HAPPY AND THAT BOTHERS OTHERS LIKE YOU. PAVE AND MR. ROBERTSON #1!

Anonymous said...

Laughing my ass off while I puke! I think that was written by cooper; notice the fake grammar/syntax mistakes peppered in w more complex sentences and spelling. Puh-leese!!!!

Anonymous said...

What a tool. Is that another person on Spencer's payroll? Last year over 10 teachers ran screaming from #1 Spencer's school. I wonder how many will leave this year.

Anonymous said...

Well, I am a brand new PAVE parent-my child attends their PRE-PAVE division. I had no idea of all the bureaucracy going on in the background. I am just a parent who lives in the neighborhood and noticed that the children that attend this school that also live in the neighborhood seem to have an advantage educationally- they are well versed and well adjusted. I was happy to know my child was accepted, as I was a private school brat all the way through the 12th grade I am happy to know my child will receive the education I did as a youth. Since my child has been in attendance, I have noticed a very great change in behavior. Honestly, I wouldn't like to see bureaucratic fat cats get even fatter. Do what you have to as long as my child continues to receive the great direction received at PRE-PAVE,