Education Community Rethinks 'Pennies for Peace' Support

At the opening of Pushghar Village Girls School in the Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan, in July, 2009, Three Cups of Tea co-author Greg Mortenson, left, shows the locations of future village schools to U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

—U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley/Department of Defense/AP

Allegations surface that funds were misused

By Mary Ann Zehr

Educators and education groups are weighing whether to cut off support for Pennies for Peace after allegations surfaced that the best-selling author who founded the program mismanaged money collected by thousands of schoolchildren.

In the wake of financial allegations about Greg Mortenson, and challenges to the veracity of his nonfiction book Three Cups of Tea , several schools have already decided to withhold their contributions until the matter is resolved, and at least one district has chosen not to make any more donations to the Central Asia Institute , which runs Pennies for Peace .

The CBS news program “60 Minutes” broadcast allegations last month that Mr. Mortenson, the executive director of the Central Asia Institute, fabricated two major stories about himself in the book, one of which has been a jumping-off point for students to collect money to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The news program also alleged that in 2009, the Bozeman, Mont.-based nonprofit institute spent less on schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan than on “programs” in the United States, including activities to promote Three Cups of Tea and another of Mr. Mortenson’s books, Stones Into Schools .