Gulen Schools in California - Magnolia Science Academies, fund raising

Many parents are trying to ask if this is legal?  The answer is it is LEGAL but highly unethical.  They are a public school as all charters are.  Do not give them a dime of your money.  Starve the bastards out!

MSA SC Annual Fundraiser. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Download PDF copy of this document Download Donation Pledge Form Please fill out a pledge form so we can plan accordingly, even if you are not going to make the payment immediately. You can donate by clicking the donation button above or sending a check to the school. A copy of this document and pledge form was handed to your child on Wednesday the 6th. Dear MSASC Parent Community, The MSASC administration has determined that it is in the best interest of our school to adjust our annual fund-raising approach. As of this spring, MSASC is launching an “Annual Fund Drive” to collect $600 per year ($300 each semester). We are asking all our families to make a personal financial commitment in support of our school’s curriculum. Why do we ask our families to make a financial contribution to our school? We ask for financial support in order to help better sustain our school, STEM curriculum, and other programs. We do it for our children. There is never a shortage of financial needs in public education. Each year our schools, and school business office, are in need of balancing the budget and to pay for overhead, expenses, salaries and bills and planning for the shortfalls in the state’s budget and funding. We ask families to give so we can have a more successful program. While some families may have the means to do more than others, we do encourage ALL families to participate in supporting this education, which is so rich and generous, in itself, towards our families and children. California ranks among the last in the nation in per-pupil spending, and the funds that the state provides must often be supplemented by the generous support of parents, grandparents and community members. Virtually every public school in California — not just charter schools — must fundraise from families in order to continue quality programs like Science, Technology and foreign languages. There is a shortfall between the funds that the state provides for a basic public education and the enriched education offered at Magnolia Science Academy. Your contributions help bridge this gap and keeps our school alive and well with the rich, creative STEM curriculum that benefits our children. 1) What is the Annual Fund Drive? The Annual Fund Drive is the centerpiece of the MSA Santa Clara’s fundraising efforts. The Fund Drive will help us maintain many of our specialties and curriculum programs that are not funded by the State of California education-funding model. The money raised during the Fund Drive is a crucial portion of our annual operating budget. This semester based fund-raising effort raises money that is essential for ensuring the quality of the educational experience for our students. Every year we ask and invite all the families with children enrolled at MSASC to invest in their children’s education by making a monthly pledge as a tax-deductible annual gift for MSASC. Families are asked to please consider contributing, and budgeting for, $50 each month for each student enrolled at Magnolia Science Academy. While you can make these donations on a monthly basis, we prefer to have them each semester. You are welcome to donate a one lump sum during the year. We invite you to choose a plan that works for your family. Please review our annual pledge form, fill it out completely and return it to the front office. As the school is a non-profit organization, donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. 2) Do Charter Schools receive less money than traditional public schools? Yes. Charter Schools receive a specified amount of public money for each enrolled child. Unlike other public schools, however, Charter Schools do not receive capital funding to cover the cost of obtaining or leasing a building. Charter Schools also receive no additional funding for specialized programs. This method of funding leaves Charter Schools at a financial disadvantage as compared to other public schools. “The 1992 legislation that authorized charter schools in California created a funding model intended to provide charter schools with the same per-pupil operational funding as received by other schools in the same school district. The state subsequently modified this policy in 1998, enacting legislation specifying that “charter school operational funding shall be equal to the total funding that would be available to a similar school district serving a similar pupil population.” This policy remains in place.” This policy presents 7% inequity in funding for charter schools in the State of California. We must do more with less. The California Charter School Association, the lobbying agency for all California charter schools is fighting this policy on our behalf. 3) Why does MSA Santa Clara have additional financial burdens beyond most other public/charter schools? MSA Santa Clara pays $475,000 (15% of the budget) rent for the facilities. Due to demographic differences, MSA Santa Clara receives $270,000 less in Title I funding and Economic Impact Aid when compared to similar size Magnolia schools (8% of the budget). Moreover, MSA Santa Clara teaches much more than the state standards. There is no state standard for Robotics, AMSP, Science Fair Projects, Science Olympiads, and the state does not require Computer or Foreign language classes at the Middle school level. Providing faculty, materials and supplies for our curriculum and these programs cost our school money, and these programs are unfunded as determined by state standards. An increase in programs requires more facility space for programs such as foreign languages and computers. All of these rich Magnolia components increase our annual operating budget. Here is a comparison of ADA funding for MSA Santa Clara and other schools in the area as well as other Magnolia schools: Magnolia Science Academy SC: $5,679 University Preparatory Academy: $6,312 Rocketship Los Suenos $6,011 Flex Academy $6,034 Alum Rock Union Elementary $6,662 KIPP Heartwood Academy $6,167 Bridges Academy $6,169 Leadership Public School $7,107 Summit Public School $6,708 KIPP San Jose $6,809 San Jose Conservation Corps Charter $7,429 Fremont Union High $8,311 Los Gatos-Saratog Joint Union High $10,542 Mountain View-Los Altos Union High $12,833 Santa Clara Unified $6,992 Milpitas Unified $7,144 San Jose Unified $7,424 Rocketship Mateo $6,640 Other Magnolia Schools: MSA 1 $6,390 MSA 2 $6,188 MSA 3 $6,104 MSA 4 $6,211 MSA 5 $6,116 MSA Bell $6,125 4) Why am I being asked to give money? Isn't this a public school? California ranks among the last in the nation in per-pupil spending and the funds that the state provides must often be supplemented by the generous support of parents, grandparents and community members. Virtually every public school in California — not just charter schools — must fundraise from families in order to continue quality programs like Computers, Advanced Math, Art and Foreign languages. There is a shortfall between the funds that the state provides for a basic public education and the enriched education offered at MSASC. 5) Do other schools ask the parent and school communities for financial contributions? Yes, virtual all public, charter and private schools do ask for financial support whether they are elementary, middle, high school or college institutions. 6) How did the MSASC come up with the suggested monthly donation figure of $600 per student? The suggested annual donation of $600 per student was derived in order to meet the State of California ADA funding shortfall, while also considering the reality that not all families can make a financial commitment of $50 per month; therefore we ask more for those who can do more. Beyond the ADA funding shortfall, MSA is currently operating at a “bare bones” curriculum and programming level. To fund our school beyond its current programming level, MSA does need to raise more money than the ADA shortfall, alone. If we are to grow the quality of our school programs, we must raise these additional dollars. We are certain most MSA SC families will prioritize this Magnolia education opportunity for themselves and will consider budgeting $50 per month for their child(ren) to receive this rich and nurturing experience. 7) Where do my Annual Fund Drive donations go? Your donations to the Annual Fund Drive directly support MSA Santa Clara. Funds are allocated by the Magnolia Board of Directors and Finance Committee, which manage and approve the school’s annual operating budget. Program and curriculum are the top priorities of our Board of Directors and Faculty. 8) Are my donations tax-deductible? Yes. The Magnolia Public Schools is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. You generous donation is tax-deductible. 9) What is the most beneficial way for me to pledge? And what is the most ideal pledge amount for the school? The most beneficial way for you to pledge is online at: http://santaclara.magnoliascience.org/. You can also make payments by writing a check to Magnolia Science Academy Santa Clara. The most ideal pledge amount for MSASC is the suggested giving amount of $600. While some people are able to give at this level or higher, realistically some people are not. If you are able to make the sacrifice, investment and commitment to MSASC by pledging $300 per semester, all of our community would benefit greatly. 10) If I make a pledge, do I have to pay immediately? No. If you make a pledge to MSASC today, you commit to making your gift contribution in the future. MSASC is hopeful that all families will make a monthly gift contribution of an amount that is meaningful and sustainable for them. Pledges can be made online at: http://santaclara.magnoliascience.org 11) Are Annual Fund Drive donations voluntary? All donations to MSASC are voluntary. Your decision to participate and the amount have no impact on whether a child is accepted for enrollment or continues to be enrolled in MSASC. However, we want every family to understand that while government funding provides a basic free education to all children, the STEM curriculum and enrichment programs offered at MSA relies on parent participation, including financial and volunteer time contributions. We ask that all families participate in making a meaningful donation to MSASC. If this curriculum is a priority for your family, we ask that you consider a gift contribution that is satisfactory to your appreciation of our school. Our goal for the Annual Fund Drive is 100% participation among MSASC families to support our children’s’ education. We encourage every family to give as generously as possible. Every gift—whatever the size— is gratefully received and strengthens our community. 12) Can you show me how money earned through the Annual Fund Drive will be spent? The school’s finances and budget are public documents. The budget provides donors and our community with the school’s overall financial picture, including the funds raised and operations budget expenditures. 13) Will the Annual Fund Drive fundraising have impact on my child’s class? Yes, money raised during the Annual Fund Drive directly, and indirectly, affects each class and each student at MSASC. Whether the school can afford to retain the high-caliber of teachers we currently have and maintain the level of specialties offered each year is determined by the success of our Annual Fund Drive giving campaigns. 14) Can I fund a specific grade, program or specialty class? Money raised during the Annual Fund Drive cannot be accepted as a restricted or directed gift. The MPS Board of Directors and MPS Finance Committee together with the school principal manage the MSASC annual operating budget and set the priorities of program and curriculum goals each year. 15) Is the money raised during the Annual Fund Drive used for teachers and staff? Money raised during the Annual Fund Drive does affect the quality, caliber and retention of our faculty and staff. We hold our school to high standards. If we are not able to fund our rich STEM curriculum including faculty & staff salaries and benefits, the school could be at a risk of losing valuable faculty and staff members. 16) I volunteer so many hours to the school, why should I give money on top of that? Volunteerism is the cornerstone of charter school education. When families chose to enroll their child or children in a charter school there is an expectation of volunteering. Volunteering directly supports class teachers and classrooms, governing bodies and festivals and other school events. While your volunteering is crucial to the success of our school and your child’s education and directly aids our teachers and curriculum, MSASC must also stay financially viable. Therefore, fundraising and financial support do go hand-in-hand with volunteerism and both are equally important. 17) What if I can’t give the suggested amount? It is understandable that some families are able to make an annual contribution to the MSASC that exceeds our suggested gift amount of $50 per month. It is also understandable that some families are not able to make this level of financial commitment. We ask that families consider our school’s offerings as a priority for their family in giving a gift that is meaningful. 18) What if my monthly income is unpredictable or drops and I cannot pay the amount that I signed up for? We ask each MSASC family to make an annual pledge that is meaningful and fiscally comfortable. If at any time you would like to increase or decrease your pledge contribution, please contact the MSASC operations manager to adjust your pledge. 19) If everyone donated $600/student, what would our school look like? If each of our community of families was able to commit to contributing $300/per semester our school would be in the position to provide our faculty and staff with much-deserved and equitable raises. MSASC could also maintain all specialties programs such as Advanced Math, Foreign Languages, Art, Robotics, Computers, AMSP as well as provide a great portion of funding to all students for class field trips, athletics, after-school and other programs. MSASC would also be able to expand upon our current curriculum by adding a successful high school program. 20) What if I don’t give anything? If all of our families chose not to give a financial donation to our school, MSASC would look very different. Some of our specialties programs (Foreign Languages, Computer, AMSP, Robotics, Advanced Math) would be cut from our curriculum. Our caliber of faculty and staff would be diminished, as MSASC would not be able to keep our already over-qualified and under-paid faculty. We are confident that our community and families have chosen to be at MSASC because it is the best educational opportunity for their children to receive a rich, broad, nurturing education that meets the needs of your child. We have the highest API score among Middle schools, and would like to continue to provide the best education possible. 21) What is ADA? ADA stands for “Average Daily Attendance.” The state of California funds school districts based on each student’s daily recorded attendance. ADA is calculated by dividing the total number of days of student attendance by the number of days of school taught during the same period. MSASC budgets for program and curriculum based upon projected enrollment and ADA. Additionally, when students do not attend class or school, MSASC loses that daily funding, which equals about $33.50 per day. follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend Copyright © 2013 Magnolia Science Academy Santa Clara, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have a child at Magnolia Science Academy Our mailing address is: Magnolia Science Academy Santa Clara 2720 Sonoma Place Santa Clara, CA95051 Add us to your address book

Magnolia Science Academy 2011 MSA/PTS INEPO Competition

Magnolia Science Academy forfeits 2 charter expansions on West Coast

http://www.sccoe.org/supandboard/agendaminutes/2012-13/012313/9A.pdf

Their letter cites "Financial difficulties" also their November 2012 board minutes reflect a severe cash flow problem of Magnolia Public Schools. Of course, they blame budget cuts. I guess hiring Turks who don't speak English to teach isn't paying off for them.

 

also tweeks the charter application as they go

 

http://www.sccoe.k12.ca.us/depts/charter/docs/petitions_renewal/MSA-Santa-Clara-Petition-for-Charter-Renewal_redline.pdf

Despite concerns about finances, Magnolia Science Academy Santa Clara won a renewal

By Sharon Noguchi snoguchi@mercurynews.comcontracostatimes.com

Posted: 01/24/2013 03:58:25 PM PST

January 24, 2013 11:58 PM GMTUpdated: 01/24/2013 03:58:25 PM PST

http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_22444059/santa-clara-county-school-board-extends-charter-magnolia?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

SANTA CLARA -- Despite concerns about its finances, Magnolia Science Academy won a renewal of its charter to continue operating.

On Wednesday the Santa Clara County Board of Education granted a five-year extension for the public charter, which has more than 500 students in grades 6 though 9.

The school, located in Santa Clara, has had a negative cash flow, poor fiscal accounting and a problem with internal controls, according to Micaela Ochoa, chief business officer for the Santa Clara County Office of Education, which oversees the charter. Before cementing an agreement with the county office, the school will have to get its fiscal house in order, the county school board ordered. But on academic issues, the board complimented the school, which stresses science and math.

About 30 parents, teachers and children spoke to the board in praise of Magnolia's teaching and programs.

The county board voted 5 to 1, with trustee Anna Song dissenting, to extend the charter. Trustee Darcie Green abstained.

The school is one of 12 in the state run by the Magnolia Educational & Research Foundation.

-- Sharon Noguchi, staff

 

Magnolia Science Academy mentioned in Diane Ravitch "who will hold CA Charter Schools accountable"

http://dianeravitch.net/2013/01/14/who-will-hold-charters-accountable-in-california/

Recently, I wrote a post about Steve Zimmer, a member of the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Zimmer proposed that the board develop a policy to hold charters accountable.
He was picketed and jeered by charter advocates, who rejected any demands for oversight. The charter lobby is supporting someone to run against Zimmer in the March elections.
Zimmer acted responsibly. Los Angeles now has more students in charters than any other district (over 100,000), and California now has more charters than any other state.
Even the national and state charter associations claim they want more accountability and more weeding out of bad charters. But actions speak louder than words.
A reader sent this background to the current debates in California:
“The following report tells it all. The vast majority of charters, between 65-70%, close due to financial or mismanagement reasons.
http://www.edreform.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/StateOfCharterSchools_CER_Dec2011-Web-1.pdf
Recently, Jed Wallace from the California Charter School Association, wrote about charter school accountability in the publication “Ed Source”.
http://www.edsource.org/today/2013/why-california-must-lead-the-way-in-closing-underperforming-charter-schools/24755#.UObvM445Qts
Below are two sections from the report.
“The second state in the nation to allow charter schools, California has long been at the forefront of education reform. We must also lead the way in accountability, which is why the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) is proud to support the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) “One Million Lives” campaign, which kicked off in November. NACSA’s goal is to give one million children access to high-quality schools by encouraging effective charter authorizing, growing the number of high-quality charters across the country and closing those charters that are failing.
“NACSA has called for:
“All states to establish clear charter school performance expectations and close those schools that do not meet the standards.
Implement new laws to hold charter authorizers accountable for the schools they approve. Those that keep failing schools open will lose the ability to authorize schools.
Urge each state to create a statewide authorizer that will implement professional practices based on high standards and promote quality growth.”
“In order to meet the CCSA Minimum Criteria for Renewal, charter schools four years and older must meet at least one of the following criteria:
“Academic Performance Index (API) score of at least 700 in the most recent year, or
Three-year cumulative API growth of at least 50 points, or
Ranked “within” or “above” for at least two out of the last three years on CCSA’s Similar Students Measure.”
“There seems to be a lack of concern in this report about the financial and mismanagement issues. School districts apparently have no interest in appropriate oversight and/ or don’t have the resources to do it properly. Wallace did not address how to make these kinds of changes.
“Louis Freedberg, of Ed Source wrote the following articles to address these issues:
http://www.edsource.org/today/2011/state-looks-into-start-up-charter-school-loss-of-tens-of-millions-of-dollars/1541#.UOb1o445Qts
http://www.edsource.org/today/2011/state-burdened-by-oversight-of-more-charter-schools/1331#.UOb2XI45Qts
“As far as we know, the report promised by Mr. Zeiger on the millions in lost funds to failed charters either was never done or was not made public. No surprise here!!!!!
“Steve Zimmer did the right thing, but the charter lobby is incredibly powerful. It’s fine for Wallace to ask for tighter controls on charters, but again, he doesn’t address how this could and should happen. Zimmer tried. We know that Los Angeles has the most charters of any district in the U.S. It stands to reason that LAUSD should lead the way to tighten these controls.
“A recent example of massive failure by LAUSD to provide appropriate oversight is demonstrated in this audit done on three Magnolia(Gulen) Charter Schools. Sadly, the Board of Education has taken NO steps to revisit the renewal of these charters.
http://notebook.lausd.net/pls/ptl/docs/PAGE/CA_LAUSD/FLDR_ORGANIZATIONS/FLDR_OIG_PUBLICATIONS_AUDIT_REPORTS/12486MAGNOLIASCIENCEACAD.PDF
“Another controversial charter simply refused to participate in an audit as stated below:
http://notebook.lausd.net/pls/ptl/docs/PAGE/CA_LAUSD/FLDR_ORGANIZATIONS/FLDR_OIG_PUBLICATIONS_AUDIT_REPORTS/12492ACADEMIA%20SEMILLAS%20CHARTER%20SCHOOL.PDF
“The bottom line here is that hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars are being lost yearly. Public schools must make up the difference. It’s no wonder that CA has incredibly high class sizes and student to counselor ratios. We need more school board members like Zimmer to speak out and demand changes in the approval and oversight of charters.”

Magnolia Science Academy, renewal of their Santa Clara campus

https://www.sccoe.org/depts/charter/docs/petitions_renewal/MSA-Santa-Clara-Petition-for-Charter-Renewal.pdf

Magnolia Science Academy- The Audit August 2012

The Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation (MERF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 (under the name Dialog Foundation) and was granted a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service in 1998. The first charter school, Magnolia Science Academy was established in 2002. Since then, the MERF has established 12 charter schools (aka Magnolia Public Schools) in the State of California

http://notebook.lausd.net/pls/ptl/docs/PAGE/CA_LAUSD/FLDR_ORGANIZATIONS/FLDR_OIG_PUBLICATIONS_AUDIT_REPORTS/12486MAGNOLIASCIENCEACAD.PDF

More excerpts of the audit below:

“audit found that the MSA Schools were not in full compliance with the selected provisions, standards and procedures outlined in their respective Charter Agreements.”

The MSA Schools did not maintain all employment documentation in the employee files as prescribed by the California Education Code and the Charter Agreement

The MSA Schools did not maintain all the enrollment documentation required by the written enrollment procedures and by the provisions of the Charter Agreement

Review of the financial statements and accounting records noted: non-disclosure of related party transactions; failure to maintain required fund reserves; failure to appropriately apply accrual basis of accounting;

The processes and controls over the bank reconciliation were inadequate. We found one Charter School that dated all reconciliations three days prior to this audit

Conclusion: Our audit noted control weaknesses in governance structure, employment documentation and qualifications of staff, admission/enrollment requirements and various financial control issues managed by the Magnolia Public Schools

The conditions described above, along with their underlying causes, may have increased the risk of fraud, waste and abuse of the MSA Charter Schools’ funds that could potentially result from the inability to detect irregularities, improper use of public funds

The Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation (MERF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 (under the name Dialog Foundation) and was granted a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service in 1998. The first charter school, Magnolia Science Academy was established in 2002. Since then, the MERF has established 12 charter schools (aka Magnolia Public Schools) in the State of California.

Employment Documentation/Qualifications of Staff

The MSA Schools did not maintain all employment documentation in the employee files as required by the California Education Code and the Charter Agreements.

The California Education Code, Sections 442372 , 47605 (5) (E) and (F)3 and 494064 and the Charter Agreement require that school employees furnish the school with the following documents prior to the first day of work:

· Medical clearance including proof of medical exam and tuberculosis (TB) testing.

· Fingerprinting and the service fee to the Department of Justice for a criminal record check. Applicants will be required to provide a full disclosure statement regarding prior criminal record.

· Documents establishing legal status, and current copies of all teacher certificates.

Per Charter Agreement, the documents listed above should be kept on-site and be ready for LAUSD auditors

The Audited Financial Statements of MSA #1 for FY 2011 clearly showed a substantial balance in the “Other Assets-Loans Receivable-related party” amounting to $322,509. On the contrary, the “Cash and cash equivalents” had a zero balance. Further analysis of the general ledger and the bank statements revealed that on several occasions, the Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation had borrowed an aggregate total of $397,409 from the MSA#1. During the audit, we were provided with the copy of the Loan Agreement dated 06/30/11 issued by the Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation for the remaining balance of the loan. We noted that there was no definite time of repayment and the loan was interest-free.

Considering that the organizational structure of the MSA Schools is relevant information, the audited financial statements should provide the nature of its relationship with the Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation. For the MSA#1, the related party loan transaction was substantial and may have a material impact on its actual financial position. We believe that the information should have been disclosed in the “Notes to Financial Statements” in the interest of full disclosure and in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

Fund Reserves

The MSA Schools did not meet the minimum unrestricted reserves required by the California Code of Regulations.

The California Code of Regulations, Section 15450 states, “Available reserves for any of the budget year or two subsequent fiscal years are not less than the following percentages or amounts as applied to total expenditures and other financing uses:

a) the greater of 5% or $55,000 for districts with 0-300 ADA

b) the greater of 4% or $55,000 for districts with 301-1,000 ADA.” 8

Additionally, the Innovation and Charter Schools Division provides that the charter school will at all times maintain a fund balance (reserve) of its expenditures as required by Section 15450, Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. Currently, the required reserve is 5% of total operational expenditures.9

Cash Receipts and Bank Deposits

The MSA Schools did not adequately monitor the cash receipts and deposits process. Several accounting errors and lack of supporting documentation were noted.

The written accounting policies and procedures manual states, “All funds collected must be deposited intact in a bank account. To minimize the risk of loss or theft, it is recommended that bank deposits be made upon receipt but no later than seven days. Each bank deposit slip must contain the following information: i) the name of the school, ii) the bank account number, iii) the date the deposit slip was completed, iv) the total amount of cash included in the deposit, iv) the total amount of the deposit. Receipts should be adequately safeguarded and properly recorded on a timely basis using the account codes prescribed in the Chart of Accounts… A validated bank deposit receipt should be retained for each bank deposit... As part of the procedure, the Accountant counts the cash receipts and reviews the supporting documentation, Cash Receipts Summary, and deposit slip, then, indicates review on the cash receipts summary