School Choice & Charters

Multimillionaire Buys Major Charter School Manager

By Rhea R. Borja — June 09, 2004 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A new education management company, led by the former head of a global electric company, has acquired Chancellor Beacon Academies, the nation’s second-largest for-profit manager of charter schools.

Imagine Schools Inc., based in Arlington, Va., concluded its acquisition of Coconut Grove, Fla.-based Chancellor Beacon for an undisclosed amount last week. With that deal, Imagine Schools now manages more than 70 charter schools, serving almost 20,000 students, in nine states and the District of Columbia. Edison Schools Inc., of New York City, is the largest for-profit manager of the publicly financed but largely independent schools.

Chancellor Beacon was a good fit for Imagine Schools, said Dennis Bakke, Imagine’s chief executive officer. Mr. Bakke is also the co-founder and chief executive officer emeritus of Arlington, Va.-based AES Corp., a power company that distributes electricity in 27 countries.

Mr. Bakke founded Imagine Schools in January with his wife, Eileen, an educator and a vice president of the company.

“We aspire to live by the shared values of integrity, justice, and the creation of fun school environments,” Mr. Bakke said in a statement about the acquisition.

Chancellor Beacon had appeared to be ripe for a takeover. Like some other charter school managers, it had struggled financially. Low student enrollment, high start-up costs, and legislative cuts to district funds had hurt the company, according to a Chancellor Beacon official.

Some schools and school foundations in Florida, for example, owed Chancellor Beacon almost $3 million, and the Philadelphia school district ended its $2.9 million, five-year contract with the company last year. Chancellor Beacon officials refused to disclose the total amount of debt the company has incurred.

“We’ve had a lot of success and also a lot of bumps along the way,” said Octavio Visiedo, the former CEO of Chancellor Beacon and now Imagine Schools’ chief adviser and board chairman.

“We’re in a business that’s capital-intensive, and frankly, Dennis … is willing to commit a lot of capital to grow this company,” said Mr. Visiedo, who is also a former superintendent of the Miami-Dade County schools.

Deep Pockets

Imagine Schools does appear to have deep pockets.

Mr. Bakke was once No. 312 on Forbes magazine’s “world’s richest people” list, and the Bakkes are significant shareholders of AES Corp.

The couple will initially invest $100 million in their new company. They plan to spend another $40 million to build and open several charter schools in the District of Columbia, they said, as well as two charter schools in Baltimore in the fall of 2005.

The Bakkes will also pledge an additional $20 million to open charter schools in South Carolina, they said, if the state legislature adopts a bill creating a statewide charter district.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the June 09, 2004 edition of Education Week as Multimillionaire Buys Major Charter School Manager

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Inside PLCs: Proven Strategies from K-12 Leaders
Join an expert panel to explore strategies for building collaborative PLCs, overcoming common challenges, and using data effectively.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Making Science Stick: The Engaging Power of Hands-On Learning
How can you make science class the highlight of your students’ day while
achieving learning outcomes? Find out in this session.
Content provided by LEGO Education
Teaching Profession Key Insights to Elevate and Inspire Today’s Teachers
Join this free half day virtual event to energize your teaching and cultivate a positive learning experience for students.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Choice & Charters Opinion Teachers Might Embrace Private School Choice. Here's Why
School choice is often discussed in terms of student impact. But what's in it for teachers?
10 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Private School Choice Will Keep Expanding in 2025. Here's Where and How
The conditions are ripe in at least a dozen states for proposals to invest public dollars in private educational options for families.
12 min read
budget school funding
iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Trump Wants to Expand Private School Choice. Does the Public Agree?
Both fans and opponents of private school choice argue that public sentiment is on their side.
4 min read
Artistic image of multiple paths leading to a school building.
Laura Baker/Education Week via Canva
School Choice & Charters Voters Rejected Private School Choice. A Trump Administration May Push It Anyway
Pro-school choice initiatives failed in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska.
6 min read
Photo illustration of school building and check boxes.
Education Week + Getty