FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
June 24, 2014
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org
National Heritage Academies Spends Tens-of-Thousands on Advertising in Response to Detroit Free Press Investigation
Proof that Michigan’s charter schools need better financial oversight
MICHIGAN — This week, the Detroit Free Press is running an in-depth series highlighting wasteful spending, self-dealing, and other problems associated Michigan’s charter schools.
In response, National Heritage Academies, Michigan’s largest for-profit charter operator, is running advertisements on the Free Press website’s front page as well as the front page of the Detroit News.
“For years, critics of Michigan’s charter school laws have pointed to the same issues that the Free Press is reporting on this week,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “The response by National Heritage Academies and other charter operators show that they are not interested in talking about real charter school reform. Education should be centered around making successful students —not profits.”
According to the public advertising rates obtained from Michigan Media Solutions, the company that sells advertising for the Free Press and Detroit News, the approximate cost for one day of this type of advertising is $37,500.
“One day of advertising like this could put a teacher in the classroom and one week of ads would fund an entire classroom,” Scott continued. “The use of education dollars for internet advertising is further proof that Michigan’s charter schools lack proper oversight. Clearly, NHA is more concerned with their reputation than they are about educating Michigan’s children, which is precisely the problem.”
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