Yes, there are charter schools that serve all kids. Yes, there are good charter schools that are not trying to drive the public schools out of existence.
But then there are the profiteers, who have spotted the charter industry as a chance to make money.
Surprise of surprises, this critical review of the profiteers appears in Forbes magazine. Fat City, indeed!
Regular readers of this blog know some of these stories. They know about green cards for foreign nationals who invest in charter schools. They know about the New Market Tax Credits. They know that sports figures without any educational qualifications are opening charter schools instead of summer camps. They know that the online corporation K12 pays its CEO$5 million, but did you know his pay is tied to recruitment, not to academic performance?
A few more new items:
“Charter schools are frequently a way for politicians to reward their cronies. In Ohio, two firms operate 9% of the state’s charter schools and are collecting 38% of the state’s charter school funding increase this year. The operators of both firms donate generously to elected Republicans.”
And:
“The history of publicly traded charter school firms is limited and ugly. Edison Schools traded publicly from 1999-2003. During that period, it reported one profitable quarter. Shares reached nearly $40 in early 2001… only to crash to 14 cents.”
And this:
“For now, the big money in charter schools is confined to those on the inside. In late 2010, Goldman Sachs announced it would lend $25 million to develop 16 charter schools in New York and New Jersey. The news release said the loans would be “credit-enhanced by funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.” Of course.”
And this:
“In Florida, the for-profit school industry flooded legislative candidates with $1.8 million in donations last year. “Most of the money,” reports The Miami Herald, “went to Republicans, whose support of charter schools, vouchers, online education and private colleges has put public education dollars in private-sector pockets.”
But, as the article says, both Democrats and Republicans have joined the game.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Ripe for abuse. Where’s the fringe right and Tea Party when you need them?
The formal name of the program is EB-5, and it’s not only for charter schools. Foreigners who pony up $1 million in a wide variety of development projects — or as little as $500,000 in “targeted employment areas” — are entitled to buy immigration visas for themselves and family members.
“In the past two decades,” Reuters reports, “much of the investment has gone into commercial real estate projects, like luxury hotels, ski resorts and even gas stations. Lately, however, enterprising brokers have seen a golden opportunity to match cash-starved charter schools with cash-flush foreigners in investment deals that benefit both.”
Many on the fringe right support “school choice” without understanding what it means. But the mainstream right, and fiscal conservatives of all stripes, should be fighting mad about all of this edu-corporate welfare for education profiteers.
Among a host of others, this line really bothers me:
“They know about green cards for foreign nationals who invest in charter schools.”
So basically, rich foreigners can buy their way to citizenship while everyone else has to struggle with the immigration process.
THIS IS WRONG ON SO MANY LEVELS.
Forbes has had some surprisingly good articles in it on the failures and corrupt practices of deform.
How do I send this to Gov. Christie?
Bill, the state website should have contact information. Too bad you couldn’t send it to his home via snail mail. You can disguise the return address as a charter school–I’m sure he’ll open it.
Diane, Texas Kids Can’t Wait has convened a new group called Texas Charter School Study Group. One of our projects is to monitor and influence the TEA commissioner and the State Board of Education as they evaluate charter proposals.
See this story in today’s Dallas Morning News:
5 Texas charter school proposals contain striking similarities http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20130925-5-texas-charter-school-proposals-contain-striking-similarities.ece
I’ll let you know more soon.
Sent from my iPad Bonnie A. Lesley, Ed.D. 1205 Windstone Dr. Waco, TX 76712 254-848-4483 254-855-0594 (cell)
I have NEVER had a child who transferred into my classroom (first grade) from a charter school who was anywhere NEAR the level the students who went to my school for Kindergarten were. They are chronically behind. We have to dance to the “flavor of the month/quarter/year”-you pick one-district assessments, yet they are exonerated. Charters feed off the public education dollar$ as our school system is gasping for money to solve issues they will never face. If THEIR curriculum is so great, why isn’t our district using it? This lunacy has to stop. As teachers we are to blame for becoming “sheeple”. STAND UP for yourselves and your profession. Corporations are bullies. We can handle the bullies. It’s the apathy that will do us in. If we don’t get involved, then game over. Keep fighting for us Diane………I truly think the sleeping giant is finally waking up.