Public School Funds Feeding International Private School Chain, Basis Education, Inc.

Since the late 1990s, Arizona has become a tax haven for corporate charter operators, including Basis Charter Schools.  Basis has built a school and real estate empire, in fact, from public school money that has allowed them to expand their mostly white schools to Texas and Washington, DC, where they are under a federal Civil Rights investigation at present.

Business is so good, in fact, that Basis Charter Schools has spawned the creation of an exclusive private school chain that has plans to become a multinational schooling corporation, Basis Education, Inc. to educate the children of the elite from Bangalore to Brooklyn.

In fact, the new Red Hook Independent plans to open between Park Slope and a huge public housing complex in Brooklyn. From DNAInfo.NewYork:

RED HOOK — An Arizona-based charter school operator is building a private school in Red Hook that will charge $23,500 in annual tuition — and the school won't offer any scholarships to local kids next year.

The 1,000-seat Basis Independent School, which will be located in a five-story building at 556 Columbia St., will feature 43 classrooms, a 389-seat black box theater, a gymnasium and a parking garage with 42 spaces and an elevator, according to the school’s architect and officials.

The school is just a few blocks from Brooklyn's largest NYCHA housing development, Red Hook Houses East and West, and median household income for the immediate area is $16,748, according to recent data.

Mark Reford, CEO of Basis Schools, told Community Board 6 last week that he decided to build the school in Red Hook because of its proximity to Park Slope, Carroll Gardens and Williamsburg, but that he also hoped the school could help Red Hook as well. . . .