http://www.harmonytx.org/forum/14/bond-financing-for-charter-schools/
The purpose of this Harmony Leadership Luncheon Forum is to provide an overview of bond financing. Panelists will discuss how to help charter schools through tax-exempt bond financing and discuss the importance of school bond financing, issues related to school bonds, and facility financing specifically for growing charter school organizations.
Charter Schools have witnessed dramatic growth considering many obstacles they have had to overcome. One of the main obstacles is acquisition of adequate school facilities specifically securing facility financing. Recently, some charter schools have started taking advantage of tax-exempt bond financing to fund capital improvements and expansion. Bond financing can be used for land acquisition,
Please join us in our discussion of charter school bond financing, charter operations, financial needs and opportunities for investors.
COSMOS FOUNDATION DBA HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMIES FILES FOR AN S & P RATING-
http://www.alacrastore.com/research/s-and-p-credit-research-summary_texas_public_authority_charter_school_finance_corporation_cosmos_foundation_charter_schools-842775
excerpt below:
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned it's BBB rating to Texas Public Finance Authority Charter School Finance Corporation's (TPFA) series 2011A and 2011Q education revenue bonds, issued for Cosmos Foundation Inc. (dba Harmony Schools). At the same time, we affirm our "BBB" rating on Cosmos Foundation's outstanding series 2007, 2008, and 2010 bonds issued by the TPFA and La Vernia Higher Education Finance Corporation. The outlook is stable. The rating and outlook reflect our view of the credit risks associated with the proposed incremental debt, which will support the foundation's aggressive growth strategy. The rating actions also reflect general credit risks associated with all charter schools and other risks specific to the foundation, including the need for multiple sites.
Here is Board Minutes from December 2009, when Tarim e al asked for $80 million:
http://www.tpfa.state.tx.us/csfc/minutes/CSFC%20minutes%20121409.pdf
Excerpt:
Tarim mentions there is a waiting list of 9,000 students. How can this be when the Harmony Schools only have 13,000 students? Did Tarim inflate the waiting list? Tarim show the waiting list so we can validate the students. update 1/20/2011 according to the PBS article posted on this blog Harmony schools are now saying the waiting list is 21,000 so which one is it? 9,000 or 21,000? never never have I known any student have to wait to be accepted at Harmony Science Academies
Education is not to be used by investors, it is for the future of our children not profit. Ask those hard questions and demand answers not the same Gulen Fluff or sidestepping. Refresh yourself on what a Ponzi scheme is. Here is a newspaper article about what happens when a bond-financed charter school shuts down. If anyone you know is going to attend this sales presentation "Harmony Leadership Luncheon" on bond financing for charter schools, please encourage them to hand out copies of this article.
Much to lose in charter school's slosure: Investors stand to lose millions if school closes; parents left in limbo-
http://www.allbusiness.com/education-training/education-systems-institutions-primary/14005722-1.html
So who is Umit Pecan? Why did he show up with Soner Tarim to the above board meeting?
Google his name, it says "Mercedes-Benz ML350, which is registered in the state of Illinois to Umit Pecan. However, the document that comes up when you lick on the link is:
http://www.fedreceiver.com/uploads/100311-1268355484-031010%20Declaration%20of%20Ramy%20Kassabgui-REDACTED.pdf
This document doesn't contain any mention of Umit Pecen. Notice how the document says "REDACTED," implying that some identifying material has been removed.
Notice also how this is an SEC Federal case about investment fraud, involving the Marlali Investment Corporation.
If you put the keywords "Umit Pecan" and "Marlali Investment Corporation" into Google, a few hits come up. For example this page:
http://comfibook.com/n/Mike+Pecen
which says
Recayi Pecen: University of Northern Iowa: Cedar Falls, Iowa: Umit Pecen: Marlali Investment Co.
Chicago, IL
suggesting that Umit Pecen had some affiliation with Marlali Investment.
If indeed Umit Pecen involved with Cosmo's financing was also affiliated with Marlali Investment Co., this would be significant, since Marlali defrauded investors in a Ponzi Scheme:
http://investorswatchdog.com/blog/investorswatchblog/?tag=marlali-investment-company
There is a Turkish connection:
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2010/lr21445.htm
A company called "Gulen Enterprises, Inc." is also involved. What is the connection?
UPDATE: 1/23/2010 UMIT PECEN, CFO FOR COSMOS FOUNDATION HAS DONATED $4,200 TO VARIOUS DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES - INCLUDING HARRY REID IN NEVADA http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=TX&last=Pecen&first=Umit
WHAT IS A PONZI SCHEME?
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. Ponzi scheme organizers often solicit new investors by promising to invest funds in opportunities claimed to generate high returns with little or no risk. In many Ponzi schemes, the fraudsters focus on attracting new money to make promised payments to earlier-stage investors and to use for personal expenses, instead of engaging in any legitimate investment activity.
As long as they give your kid a good education and do not MOLEST him/her, what's it to you.... what how and what they do with their $$$$.
ReplyDeleteTheir job is to education children free of cost to you as a citizen. They obviously do that quite well. That's WHAT MATTERS.
Dear Anonymous:
ReplyDelete1) They (Harmony/ Cosmos) do NOT give a good education, and molestation may not be too far off track, as there have been reports of Gulen Teachers arrested in S. Africa for molesting the boys and there was a teacher at the Harmony Waco Campus arrested (non Turk) Harmony does a lousy job on the background check of their teachers Turk and Non-Turk...but what do you expect when you advertise a teaching job on Craig's list?
2) It is not "their $$$$" it is AMERICAN tax payers money by about 70%, this money is going overseas to Turkish investors who now own American schools and control the thoughts of American children.
3) "Free of cost" what are you smoking? we all pay property tax and other taxes that go to an educational fund that is then in turn given to the Harmony schools on a per student per year basis. The Harmony School takes the money from Texas and it crosses over the state line to the other Gulen Schools managed by Cosmos Foundation in ARK, OK, LA and more.
They do nothing quite well except great advertising, Public Relations and Marketing. The only contests the children win are the ones that are owned or sponsored by a Gulen NGO like Raindrop Turkish House, Turquoise Council, etc., Math Matters, I-SWEEP, Math Counts, Science Olympiad, and the Ridiculous Turkish Olympiad.
I am a student at one of the Harmony schools and I proudly state that it has changed my life and many others. I find it amazing that when the progress and efficiency of your traditional public schools have been questioned, these cowards hiding behind these "anonymous" alias begin to direct their apparent disappointment and xenophobic judgments towards a system that WORKS. At my campus; ALL of the students of Class of 2011 graduated this year. 15 of 30 of them went to Ivy League Schools. They are ALL going to college. The class has received scholarships that overall estimates to about 1.2 million dollars- achieved ALL ON THEIR OWN. The students do not TAKE the money from Texas when being awarded with these scholarships, because they earn it. They earned it because they, we, have received the education and acknowledgement deserved from such an exemplary school. These allegations are truly upsetting and I both despise and pity all of you who are trying to stain such a commendable system.
ReplyDeleteSure Sure, you are a student. Your verbage it right out of the Gulen Schools playbook and the loser games the movement plays.
ReplyDeleteThey have earned nothing!!!!
It is all bribes, lies, cajole, manipulation, intimidation and downright money laundering of American Tax money.
Take that to your brethren and to Soner.
And as far as "anonymous" goes, take off your mask first you loser Hizmet!!!
How do you like what is happening in your Louisana Schools? The big Kahuna is coming your way, brace yourselves with more of your lies and media hyperpool.
You fool no one.
Name the students and the Ivy League Colleges they have gone to.
Name them!!!!
And while you are at it name and verify the 9,000-16,000 that Soner says are on your waiting list. Please you are laugh out loud funny and pathetic.
Acting like a student is worse than using a Christian sounding name as a "happy parent"
Oh we love all those posts, they are so predictable.
It is unfortunate to see this kind of bias people who really work hard to help to educate students.Please be patient and go to see the schools and talk to parents and students.I'm very sure you will change your mind after you talking to people.I always appreciated whoever help to kids for their education.
ReplyDeleteReally work hard? by teaching Turkish dance and language? or by having students clean toilets?
ReplyDeleteWe have spoken to enough American and Turkish teachers from these schools to have a good idea what is REALLY going on. You fool no one but yourself and will never realize the dream of the Golden Generation class that will rule the new Ottoman Caliphate that Fetos hopes to restore. It will not happen, your schools are having controversy worldwide. It is only a matter of time.
Suggestion to you. Get out now, while you can so you don't take the heat for Fethullah Mohammed Gulen, while he hides in his Poconos retreat counting his money, you will be deported out of the USA.
Your grammar is poor, lets hope that you do not teach American students.
They do work hard. They engage and support the students to go beyond the requirements of normal learning (math science and yes even language.) They do the same thing for Spanish. Students can learn Spanish language and dance. Does that mean that harmony schools are supporting Mexican Drug cartels? because they speak the same language. They don't have to enrich the education with other activities, but they do the extra work for the benefit of the students. Oh and out of curiosity which of these teachers did you talk to? Are they even real?
DeleteSorry Anonymous but according to the latest test results they (Harmony) is only mediocre. When talking about the results of these Gulenist operated charter schools in the USA, we have all learned to not listen to lip service from your CULT.
ReplyDeleteJust becuase you say you are "performing" or getting "awards" means nothing. The proof is in the testing and the amount of students flunking out of college because they are not learning the comprehensive approach to learning but rather they are parroting what the teachers are saying (if they can understand them)
Your comparison to the Mexican Drug Cartel doesn't make sense, because they are part of Mexico's government just as the Gulen Movement is part of Turkey's government.
Speaking of drug smuggling, Sibel Edmonds use to hear the conversaions between the Turkish officials and others and there was drug smuggling out of Afghanistan by Turkish officials. Gulenists have some agreements wit the drug cartel in Afghanistan just as they now have a link with the Boston Bombers via Graham Fuller who wrote the letter to DHS clearing the way for Gulen to stay in the USA via challenging his green card status.
Graham Fuller is the father in law of the bomber's uncle.
And remember they know about the miltant training at the Gulen Schools in Central Asia and other former Soviet countries. Where the Boston Bomber went to school.
Do yourself a favor check the lates posted article on here and check with the Texas Education on your Mediocre performance. Next, lets take a look at your "so called' waiting list LMAO.
We are real and many of your teachers work for the US government. Not to mention are Turkish secret police.
Care less about Spanish language or dance. No American likes your Turkocentric Narcisstic behavior. American kids don't need to learn Turkish (worthless language) or the Kolbasti.
Everyday, more and more Americans are banding together to throw you out.