The Michigan State Board of Education passed a resolution calling for reform of the state’s charter law. The vote was along party lines; the state board is dominated by Democrats but the legislature is not.
The resolution was passed following a series in the Detroit Free Press showing that the state spends nearly $1 billion each year on charters, which are neither transparent nor accountable.
“Among the recommendations: The board wants the Legislature to require private management companies that run charter schools to post online the same kind of information that traditional public schools must post, bar management companies from also being a charter school’s landlord, require lease agreements to reflect fair market values, set clear standards for who can open charters and hold charter authorizers accountable for the academic performance of their schools.
“The resolution, which was rejected by the two lone Republican members of the eight-member elected board, came after more than an hour of debate. Eileen Weiser, R-Ann Arbor, argued the board should delay voting because she believes some of the recommendations are already covered in state law.
“And then we can have a conversation that’s different than what we’re having now,” Weiser said.
“She and Richard Zeile, R-Dearborn, developed an alternate report…..
“The “State of Charter Schools” series showed that Michigan charters receive nearly $1 billion per year in taxpayer money from the state, often with little accountability, transparency or academic achievement. No state superintendent has ever suspended an authorizer since the charter law was adopted in the mid-1990s.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Cross-posted at http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Michigan-State-Board-Calls-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Accountability_Change_Charter-Schools_Diane-Ravitch-140813-101.html
I day…CLOSE Charter Schools! They are scams.
Meant “SAY”….and yes Charter Schools are SCAMS for big $$$$$.
My quote in context was that by asking the Legislature to create new laws for requirements & powers already in statute, SBE was not performing due diligence (I read the statute and the points out loud that were covered in both the majority statement and in the existing statute). Better to first determine what is already required, and to whom responsibility falls for compliance before demanding the same thing again. Because of the partisan makeup of both the Legislature and the Board, this would have been prudent if legislative action were desired.
Given our Constitutional charge for all K-12 oversight, the statement should also have requested that any new legislation apply equally to both traditional schools and public school academies – a point made even more strongly by a fellow Democrat SBE member later in the conversation.
Eileen,
Why does Michigan allow for-profit charters? Most charters in the state operate for profit. That’s a waste of taxpayer money. And they don’t deliver good education because profits come first.
That Michigan charter schools are accountable is demonstrated by the closure of 90 in 20 years for failure to meet standards for academics or financial accountability; that they are transparent was demonstrated, ironically, by the Free Press series itself which obtained much/most of their material from the authorizers themselves without mentioning that the authorizers had discovered and were dealing with it; and that charters in Michigan are effective was demonstrated by the CREDO study which showed that minorities in particular performed better in charter schools. Yes, the Free Press had a lot of facts but they just did not substantiate the charges that charters, more than any other class of public schools, lacked accountability, effectiveness, or transparency.
If charters are public schools then their books should be as open as any other community public school. Not a difficult concept, eh!?
Richard Zeile,
Why does Michigan allow for-profit charter schools? Shouldn’t every dollar of taxpayers’ money go directly to students, teachers, schools, and administration?
Diane Ravitch
Mr. Zeile,
I would ask how it is acceptable that management organizations engineer such sweetheart real estate deals that enrich themselves with taxpayer money. NHA is making a fortune off the bloated leases.
That problem must be addressed.
And the CREDO study has been the source of a lot of debate. As noted here, any side can find any study to substantiate their claims.