In the news: Online charter school facing questions over $500 scholarships from nonprofit for essays
Primavera, an online charter school, is facing backlash over offering $500 scholarships to students who write essays on how the school helped them succeed, even when the school is facing being shut down by the Charter Board for poor student academic performance.
The funds for the scholarships come from Verano Learning Partners, a nonprofit organization run by Primavera's owner, Damian Creamer, which used to run the school before it went for-profit.
12News looked into the financials of both Primavera and Verano Learning Partners, and asked multiple experts to comment on their findings, including Dr. Robert Ashcraft of the ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovations.
“It’s highly unusual," said Robert Ashcraft, an ASU professor who specializes in nonprofits. "I just keep coming back to governance. How is that decision made and why? And if there is a reasonable explanation. It should be really transparent."
In the News Robert Ashcraft Transparency Ethics