California continues to outpace the nation in the growth of charter schools and charter enrollment, with 104 new schools and 48,000 additional students, according to a report by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
California now has 1,130 charter schools serving 519,000 students.
“The state figures represent a 6.1 percent increase in schools since 2012-13 and a 10.3 percent rise in charter student enrollment. Nationwide, the number of charters rose 7.3 percent. There were 436 new schools and 288,000 students added, for a total of 6,440 schools educating more than 2.5 million students.”
The president and CEO of the National Alliance, Nina Rees, pointed out that this was “the largest increase in the number of students attending charter schools we’ve seen since tracking enrollment growth.” Rees previously served as an education advisor to Vice-President Dick Cheney and to Michael Milken.
At the same time, a member of a charter school in Newport Beach, California, was accused of stealing $750,000 from the school by promising the other members of the board that he could invest it and parlay it into $3 million. He “didn’t return a dollar.” The alleged theft would be the largest from any California charter school. The organization runs five online charter schools.
Charter schools are virtually unregulated and unsupervised in California because the state education department lacks the staff to oversee them. Misdeeds are almost always dependent on whistle-blowers, not official investigations.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
$ ¾ million here, $ ¾ million there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money …
“At the same time, a member of a charter school in Newport Beach, California, was accused of stealing $750,000 from the school by promising the other members of the board that he could invest it and parlay it into $3 million. ”
He promised them a 300% return and they believed him? If that is true, this board has no business running a school.
They were probably appointed.
Charter School CEO/Principial/Supt. generally appoints his/her own board. It can be comprised of his relatives. Then they generally vote as to his salary. It is phony nepotism and should be illegal. It is also why so many ill equiped people decide to operate charters.
How do we stop charters? This is a terrible march over the cliff.
Why did the board have the authority to hand over $750,000 to anyone who promised to invest the money? Are educational dollars, especially such an allowance, allowed to be invested in a for-profit money making venture?
Daniel, It is a charter school. It is not subject to the same state laws. It can squander public money as it chooses.
You are absolutely correct, we don’t regulate, provide oversight or supervise our numerous charters but guess what, the state board of ed does the same to the public school districts. These districts, like LAUSD, are virtually running themselves and doing whatever they want to do. Violation of special ed laws, english language laws, no problem, because the state board of ed will slap them on the hand and allow them to continue violating California ed codes and state and federal laws. This deform and destruction of public schools goes all the way up the national ladder. These things are being done but there is no will to reign these criminals in. Even when brave teachers put everything on the line to whistle blow about these crimes, nothing gets done except that the teachers are retaliated against, fired and generally taken out of the picture. This is the state of public and charter ed in California.
Paula, the difference is that school districts have supervisors who report to the state and have a board of education, accountable to the voters. Charters are deregulated and unsupervised and accountable to no one but their own handpicked board.
Unfortunately, members of the LAUSD BoE do not feel they are accountable to the voters.
They charged ahead and renewed the contract of the Supt., John Deasy, with a majoritiy of the public, and 91% of the teachers, having no confidence in him.
They do not answer emails, and even at Bd. meetings, avoid answering the public questioners who confront them. They seem to collude with Eli Broad and the charter lovers, and today we see that the former mayor, Villaraigosa, who created so many charter schools with Deasy, has gotten into the mix again by endorsing the opponent of the recently deceased Marguerite La Motte, and is pushing her candidacy for school board to replace La Motte.
Perhaps in some communities the School Board works for the voters, not in LAUSD.
Dear Diane,
I thought it worth mentioning too that public school districts also have a very strong union UTLA that is working from the grass roots to help teachers fired for no reason. UTLA is in a very difficult battle but it does provide a voice for teachers and it has helped a lot of teachers. Charter teachers, on the other hand, have no such protection and are fired at will for any or no reason at all.
Charters are sucking the finances out of LAUSD. We have more than 200 ifI remember correctly.
At last count I believe LA now has 243 charters, with new ones passed by the BoE almost weekly. Deasy and Eli Broad are getting what they want, and as they state often, “rapidly,” in their push to privatize our schools.
I urge everyone to read the Tilson Report to see how the hedge funds are poised to rake in the billions based on the Broad Academy CEO/Supterintendents now implanted nationwide who are doing the same charterizing . Eli has graduated thousands of these ersatz business people, not educators, since his start up in 1999.
Forgot to mention that the woman running for La Motte’s seat is a supporter of Parent Revolution. Might be that Ben Austin is running her campaign.
So crooked. Charters are the biggest scams. It is unreal that this garbage is allowed to spread and steal tax money.
fantastic story, hilarious — so long as you don’t think too hard about the kind of people who fell for not-even-a-ponzi scheme or the consequences.
Those of us in the front lines of trying to save US, California, and LA’s, public schools do not see this story as “hilarious” but rather we feel that with all the information available to an uninformed (ignorant) public on the wide variety of misspent taxpayer money to support total crooks, and Gulen Islamists fomenting revolution in Turkey on our money, and so many frauds, our fellow citizens are either too lazy to learn and act from these facts, or too greedy to care about children.
The point, however, is that public school elected school boards betray their constituents too. Why not call for reform of public governance as well as accountability for charters. Not to do so is the rankest mere self-interested hypocrisy.
Harlan I totally agree. CA voters are apparently sticking fingers in ears & saying ‘la, la, la’ as their gov walks away with their $, unmonitored.
Reblogged this on 21st Century Theater.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-lausd-libraries-20140224,0,5992443.story#axzz2uHbRJCX0
Many L.A. Unified school libraries, lacking staff, are forced to shut
“Budget cuts leave about half of L.A. Unified’s elementary and middle schools without librarians, and thousands of students without books…”
Wow, where is Arne Duncan. Obama, and all the others? Where is the outrage?
Diane says: “Misdeeds are almost always dependent on whistle-blowers, not official investigations.”
Makes me wonder if there are any protections for workers in education who take on the job of being a whistle-blower.
Best guess is no, and expect to spend a fortune in legal fees
Big money is footing the bill for DC-based lawyers to get rid of teacher unions in California, amping up the charters and “choices” of parents. Resources of this kind are unlikely to be available for savvy whistle blowers.
Laura…despite the whistleblower laws, whistleblowers lives are too often finished. We have a wonderful woman in No. Calif., and attorney who saw so much waste and fraud in the public system where she worked that she spilled the beans. Some of you in Calif. know who this is…and she is in terrible straits with finding work now.
The article also states that California leads the nation in CLOSINGS of these things. They have a short shelf life, folks. Let us finally learn from the awful lessons of the “free-market model” Chile is a great example.
Reclaim our nation’s schools, they belong to the people, not the corporations.
Take back anything the privatizers say they do better, because remember we thought of it first, and gifted it to the nation, because that is who true public educators are.
As far as powerless whistleblowers, it only takes one person to call the emperor naked.
http://www.nbc4i.com/story/24778722/nbc4-investigates-taxpayers-left-holding-bill-for-charter-schools
If you are from California show this to everyone you know. Ohio has had charters for years and the taxpayers are finally being told about how they are a total rip-off. The privatization of schools is nothing more than another financial scheme cloaked in the phony idea of helping minority and poor children. The people of California will get ripped off and the politician’s cronies will get rich. The taxpayers will be left holding the bag.