Some people say Kansas should be more like Florida when it comes to education policy. We disagree. Here’s another example of why.
“A new Pine Hills private school led by the 23-year-old daughter of a woman who was banned from Florida’s school voucher programs may be allowed to accept those scholarships, despite objections from state education leaders who suspect fraud and fear the mother actually would be running the new school.
“The Academy of Education School seeks to open on the campus of the former Agape Christian Academy, which was banished from Florida’s school voucher programs in 2017 after it was accused of submitting falsified fire inspections, hiring people with criminal records and not paying some of its teachers. The new school would operate under the leadership of the daughter of Ingrid Bishop, the former Agape director.
“Blaire Bishop’s LinkedIn profile indicates she’s an aspiring entertainment reporter.
“The education department, which must approve campuses that want to receive state scholarships or vouchers, rejected the Academy of Education School’s application last year because of Blaire Bishop’s ties to Ingrid Bishop and Agape. Blaire Bishop appealed to the state’s Division of Administrative Hearings, which overturned the denial, sending the application back to the education department and putting up the new school’s application for review again, a spokeswoman said last week.
“Agape Christian Academy, which first opened in 2002, was featured in the Orlando Sentinel’s 2017 series, ‘Schools without Rules.’ The school was engulfed in problems, including financial ones, by the time the campus shuttered. A cash advance lender, a former landlord and a contractor charged with maintaining the campus fire alarm systems allege the school owes them a combined nearly $1 million, court records show. Some of the cases are still pending.
“Even as Agape repeatedly violated the state’s rules governing its scholarship programs, the school continued to receive funding. Agape received $5.6 million over a five-year period ending in 2017…”https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-ne-agape-new-school-20210114-s5qmaedpebcjhgx6ojnw6nwy2e-story.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Don%27t%20Miss&utm_content=5611610671880

Published on Facebook 1/18/2021