Oakland To Close High-Performing Charter Schools

High-performing, sure, but the American Indian charter schools must go.

Citing illegal activity and fiscal problems, the Oakland school board voted 4-3 to close the three American Indian charter schools, according to the San Francisco Chronicle and the Oakland Tribune.

School board members admitted that the vote was tough, as school administrators "have not shown up on behalf of these children," whose test scores are some of the best in California, the newspapers reported.

An audit in 2012 found that school founder and director Ben Chavis directed payments totaling $3.8 million -- to himself and his wife.

Chavis is the school's landlord in Chinatown as well as its founder.

The president of the school's board says that they will appeal the Oakland school board's decision to county and state officials.

American Indian runs a high school, a K-8 and a middle school that predominately serve Asian students, who comprise 70 percent of the 700 students enrolled.