What can Jeff Cogen’s new charter school job tell us about how Oregon charter schools work?
Kelly House, The Oregonian
Jeff Cogen has worked as an organic bakery owner, a nonprofit communications director, a political staffer and as Multnomah County’s top elected official.
One field in which he has no background? Education, the arena he’s entering as the newly hired executive director of the nonprofit behind Portland’s Leadership and Entrepreneurship Public Charter High School.
The salary is $79,000 a year.
The embattled former county chairman’s job switch is a reminder of the many ways charter schools, which have become a major feature of Oregon’s educational landscape, differ from traditional public schools.
Although Portland Public Schools’ nine charters receive district funding – last year, the district passed along $1,820,952 to Leadership and Entrepreneurship — charter administrators with political and social pull are often as valued as those with educational experience.
Christine Miles, a spokeswoman for Portland Public Schools, said the district began fielding calls almost immediately from people who thought Cogen’s new job made him a district employee and wanted to know why he was hired.
“We want to be very clear that we have nothing to do with their hiring practices,” she said of Portland charter schools. “We monitor them and house them, but we are not a part of their decision-making process.”
The ability to do things differently from mainstream public schools was part of the pitch for establishing charters, which began cropping up in Oregon in 1999 after the nation’s first opened in Minnesota in 1992. Oregon now has 125 of them.
Charters are public schools – in Portland, charter high schools receive just 4 percent less state funding per student than traditional schools – but parents or community members operate the institutions independently from the district. They are given more flexibility; licensing requirements for their teachers are more relaxed.
They must meet state and national testing standards along with specific performance goals outlined in their charter, a kind of written contract with the district. How charter school leaders achieve this is largely up to them.
Cogen addressed his qualifications to run a charter school in an email to The Oregonian on Thursday.
“While I’m not an educator,” he wrote, “for the past 15 years I’ve worked on children’s issues, first at the Commission on Children and Families and then in politics through policy and advocacy to help kids succeed.”
Tapping Cogen’s connections
One important limitation of charter schools helps explain Cogen’s role. They can’t seek voter approval for bonds to buy things like new buildings and technology. To make up for it, charter organizers must fundraise.
Kara Kerwin, president of the Center for Education Reform, said someone like Cogen can be a huge asset in this regard. Charter schools often tap well-connected politicians, community leaders or even celebrities to pull in more funds.
Cogen, who resigned as Multnomah County chairman last September following the exposure of his affair with a county staffer, still has deep roots in Portland politics.
“Having someone who can do that development is really important,” Kerwin said. “If the role is to raise the profile of the school, then you need somebody who knows how to do that.”
A few examples: Tennis star Andre Agassi sponsors charter schools across the nation, including in Indianapolis and Las Vegas. Rapper Pitbull opened one last year in Miami. Frank Biden, brother of Vice President Joe Biden, is president of theFlorida Charter School Alliance.
Cogen’s employer is the nonprofit board of KOREducators, which operates theLeadership and Entrepreneurship school.
Board chairman Gary Berger said Cogen will spend his days forging partnerships with the public and private donors that help charter schools like LEP succeed financially. Two vice principals will handle the school’s day-to-day operations.
Cogen’s is a new position at LEP, where fundraising was formerly a duty of the principal. This year, the KOREducators board decided to rearrange the school’s leadership structure.
“We’re doing well enough financially, but we’re not doing as well as we would like to,” Berger said.
The school has regained financial stability after budgeting problems in 2009 nearly led to its closure. Now, LEP leaders hope to find a bigger building with a library and gymnasium. They also want to buy more classroom resources for students.
But, Berger noted, they need more money to accomplish those goals.
Berger said Cogen would also be responsible for convincing local business leaders to participate in the school’s internship program. Every LEP student must complete an internship before graduating.
“With a political background, obviously he’s able to engage people and do that work effectively,” Berger said.
Hiring standards
Cogen’s lack of a professional background as an educator is one common question about his hiring. The other is the ethics inquiry that led to his resignation as county chairman in 2013.
Cogen said he doesn’t expect his controversial past to undermine his ability to recruit partners and donors for LEP.
“I think most people in our community care more about the work I’ve done than the personal mistakes I’ve made,” he said. “More importantly, I think people and organizations will want to support LEP because of the great work they are doing with kids.”
The state Department of Justice conducted a lengthy investigation to determine whether or not Cogen violated any laws while carrying on an affair with an employee, some of which unfolded on county-paid travel out of state. The investigation also turned up allegations by the employee, Sonia Manhas, that Cogen used illegal drugs.
Investigators concluded that no charges should be filed.
Berger said the charter school’s hiring team, which picked him over more than 20 applicants for the job, was confident Cogen has worked out any issues of infidelity or claims about drug use with his family, but “of course, we were looking for his professional capacities.”
None of the Leadership and Entrepreneurship school’s teachers are Portland Public Schools employees, and the district has no say in the school’s hiring policies.
State law requires all charter school employees to receive background checks through the state, but it doesn’t mandate drug tests. Cogen said the high school doesn’t drug test its employees, either.
“We believe in second chances,” Berger said, “and we think he has a lot to offer.”
