[Mpls] Peebles' ties to foundation probed

[Steve Brandt]

Doug Mann posted:  Jenning's assumed responsibility for a reorganization
plan earlier this year that included the district's sponsorship of more
charter schools, and raised the idea of closing down all of the district
run schools and replacing them with charter schools. The district would
play an oversight role, etc.

Brandt:  Sorry, I let this thread slip while I was out of the office. 
Doug cites this proposal as proof that Jennings is a charter school
advocate.  After rereading Jennings' idea of expanded chartering, I'm
not convinced that he was talking about charters as we know them today. 
The district sponsors charters now, but there's little real control,
just an evaluation before the school board decides whether to renew a
charter.  The Jennings proposal envisioned a type of charter that had
substantially more district control than is common today.  I would keep
in mind that this idea was one of three proposals for redoing district
organization.  Both of the others maintained the board of education and
the district, albeit with modifications that decentralized decision
making.  People who want to read his proposals for themselves may do so
at
http://search.mpls.k12.mn.us/search?q=cache:Iu7mcuhB6kk:http://doc.mpls.k12.mn.us/sites/3ab69bed-343f-4692-80cb-86c05ea9cf88/uploads/change_2.pdf+case+for+change&site=MPS-main&output=xml_no_dtd&client=MPS-main&access=p&proxystylesheet=MPS-main

Steve Brandt
Star Tribune