Charter schools have been the beneficiary of a myth, the myth that a free market in schooling will produce miraculous results. Unfortunately, like most myths, it is not true. Deregulation translates into lack of supervision and oversight. In the absence of supervision of public funds, scams, frauds, and corruption flourish.
Jeff Bryant here reviews some of the egregious examples of charter school corruption in Ohio, Michigan, and Florida. Billions of taxpayer dollars are being transferred to the private sector, where no one supervises how those dollars are spent. Worse, the businesses that get the money spend large sums to hire lobbyists and to contribute to key legislators to make sure their charters remain free of oversight.
It is alarming that Congress is about to hand more money over to the same shady entrepreneurs and to encourage more of them to jump into the unregulated, very profitable charter industry.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thanks Diane! It is important to note that these are just the charter school scams that have been revealed by reports filed in just the past two months. The array of fiscal malfeasance and lousy education practice is just astonishing. I know there are good charter schools out there, but the whole sector is being discredited by the myriad bad actors out there and the charter school proponents who do nothing, NOTHING, to rid the sector of these awful scammers.
The only way to reverse or stop this trend will be to sweep out the old leadership and replace them with carefully vetted individuals who are progressive in their thinking and who will support the public schools.
It will not happen overnight. It may takes years and several elections but with persistence and long-term dedication of the resistance that is fighting aback against the fake education reformers, a majority of those adults who vote will be exposed to the facts and then vote accordingly. All it takes is a small majority to turn the tide.
Only the White House is immune from the popular vote, because the president is elected by a few hundred members of the Electoral College. We can take back the Congress, state legislatures, governors, and the elected school boards, but we may never have a president who will support us.
In Ohio, with the recent egregious gerrymandering, it will be a decade before lines are redrawn.
The Federal Elections Commission has a responsibility to get involved.
It’s going to be a long fight. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn bloody.
In 2010 the Democrats, as I recall, decided to stand for nothing and so got their heads handed to them in state after state resulting in the Republican gerrymandering you mention. Sadly, I don’t see where the Democrats have learned anything since then, except how to raise more corporate money and attack the very union support which helped elect Obama, and if they persist in being Republicans lite, then it will be many decades before the lines are redrawn.
Billionaire Nick Hanauer, interviewed at Politico, says revolutions are gradual, then sudden. He says his plutocratic friends won’t know “when the tipping point is from merely crappy for the masses to dangerous and socially destabilized.” He says it’s not a question of if, it’s when.
A prognosticator might worry about economists- lack of private security and easy to find because they’re tethered to jobs, linked to oligarchs. Their work has been used in arguments to gut pensions,
cut employment and wages, defend the 1% taking GDP gains, unfair taxation, regimented schooling based on race, austerity plans for the benefit of the wealthy, etc.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I really don’t see what difference party lines make. We’re talking here about voters & non-voters of any party affiliation throwing their taxes down the toilet.
Our legislators should know. For profit colleges drain tax money. They spend huge amounts of money on advertising, charge exorbitant tuition, and students – if they are able to finish – have horrendous debt, cannot get a job because of totally substandard classwork ad nauseum.
Our returning military have been caught up in that, government provides college monetary help and taxpayers are caught because of the money provided to the military people’s help in their education, and the students are saddled with debt they cannot pay as they cannot get a job that they were often promised by these for profit colleges. If memory is correct, tuition is often twice that of state supported colleges. The for profits just rake in money in what amounts to a kind of scam.
Charters are much the same but politicians seem either incompetent to figure it out or are bought off by the moneyed interests.
Personally I’d go with “bought off by the moneyed interests.”
There was an article in today’s San Jose Mercury News regarding Rocketship Charter Schools. Stating that, “Rocketship is scaling back amid plummeting test scores, criticism of ambitious plans…
Perhaps, this will shed a new light on all the attention and praise of Charter Schools.
Here is a recent one online: http://www.progressive.org/news/2014/04/187666/scathing-report-finds-rocketship-school-privatization-hurt-poor-kids
We need to change our words. Charter Schools should be called Taxpayer Funded For Profit Private Schools. Ask anyone about what a Charter School is and they don’t have a clue, ask them what a Taxpayer Funded For Profit Private School is and they will understand.
Phil, not all charters are for-profit. But all charters are privately managed. There is very little oversight or accountability and some charters refuse to allow public auditing of their use of public money.
Because they don’t care about these states. We get all the charter garbage, while they do swooning reviews of charter schools in Boston and NYC and DC.
When’s the last time charter promoters even mentioned ed reform in OH or MI or FL or PA? They know it’s a disaster. Who cares? We don’t live in large media markets and we’re never, ever covered by the media they read and listen to.
No one in the charter school sector will hold Ohio up as a model when they get together next week in Las Vegas for their industry conference. We’ll hear about Uncommon Schools and KIPP and the rest of the prestige brands. South Florida for-profit scam schools? Please. They’ll never be mentioned.
There has been and will be a lot of discussion about badly performing charters and scandals. That’s because there are many involved with charters who readily acknowledge mistakes, errors and problems inside of schools.
Here’s the Broad Foundation Twitter feed, Joe.
Try to find a single negative mention of a charter school or a single positive mention of a public school.
Reading ed reform sites, I’m not sure public schools still exist. Come to think of it, reading the US Department of Ed site I’m not sure public schools still exist, but then there’s an enormous amount of overlap between ed reform lobby groups and the US Department of Ed, isn’t there? The two groups are basically identical.
The only charter oversight in Ohio and Michigan has come from local media. Without local newspapers, there wouldn’t be any at all.
In the Michigan expose, the head of the charter school lobbying group insists Michigan is a “model for the nation” Really?
https://twitter.com/BroadFoundation
You asked for a positive mention of a district public school from Broad:
June 24: Praise for Dallas Public Schools “DISD is on the right path”
June 27 – “Maryland state officials, teacher unions announce teacher unions announce unique partnership on new state teacher evals.”
Since someone probably will ask, no, we have not received any $ from Broad.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Since you’re obviously on the up-and-up, Joe, can’t imagine you’d be against laws that require any user of public funds, such as charters, to make their finances transparent.
Yes, Spanish and french Freelancer. I agree that any school receiving public funds needs to be transparent about how those funds are used. Here’s a link to the National Alliance of Charter School Authorizers Principles. It uses the word transparency regularly:
Click to access Principles.Standards.2012_pub.pdf
Joe
What is your opinion about Eric Heubeck’s parallel structures, exemplified by charter schools? The Eric Heubeck entry at Wikipedia provides a synopsis of the work,which borrows from the writings of ALEC founder, Weyrich.
In light of the religious underpinnings of the Hobby Lobby court decision, is it reasonable to assume Heubeck’s goals are being achieved?
Many people who helped create alternative schools (as I did) and who are helping create charters believe in what Ted Kolderie calls the “split screen” approach.
That means working simultaneously to help improve existing public schools, and provide opportunities for people to create new public options. I’m not in favor of devoting all the energy to create new institutions.
Joe Nathan, how do you feel about unions in charter schools? Very few have them now.
Diane – From the beginning, a number of us have said that if teachers in a charter wanted to have a union, they should be allowed to do that.
Sorry – should have added this. The option for teachers in a charter to vote for a union was in Minnesota’s law from the beginning, and remains an option.
As you and others may know, the United Federation of Teachers in NY City has helped create 2 charters. Several years ago, the Minneapolis Federation became the first teacher’s union in the country to create an organization that authorizers charters. It’s called the “Guild”.
http://www.guildschools.org/who_we_are/
The 6 person board of directors of the Guild includes the current president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, the former president of the Minnesota Federation of Teachers, and a former president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers who also was national vice president of the American Federation of Teachers.
Joe, how do you explain the fact that only 10-12% of charters have unions, that their teachers routinely work 50-60 hour weeks, that they depend on low-wage workers at the bottom of the salary scale, and that the teacher turnover rate is as high as 50-60% every year? Of course, with such poor working conditions, the turnover rate is easy to understand and it enables a steady inflow of low-wage teachers who will never collect a pension. It seems to be the charters’ business plan. Like Rocketship, where they boast about having many TFA, low wages, high turnover, and many computers.
Several factors involved. First, in virtually all state laws charters that are not are district schools do not receive local property tax levies. This pays a substantial part of o public education in many states. So in many states, charters receive less money per pupil.
Second, in most states, charters do not receive separate funding for buildings. Unlike local districts, they can not go to taxpayers to ask for additional funds either to construct a building or to fix it up. So they have to use some of the dollars that would otherwise go for salaries (which in most schools are about 80% of the budget) to help pay building costs.
Charters have developed various reactions to these two facts. Some rely primarily on younger teachers. (Personally I recommend against this as I think the strongest schools have a mix of experience, including strong veterans from whom younger teachers can learn). Some pay lower salaries.
Some pay similar or even higher salaries than local district schools.
Joe,
I appreciate your answer to my question. I think I understand. I could use help getting over the last hurdle,
Tax dollars lost to greed, politicians rewarded to enact special treatment for charters/for-profits, students harmed as a result, the loss of spending in the community, as dollars go to investors, etc. is lamentable but, acceptable. It is collateral damage. The existence of a prototypical ideal of education, charters, is imperative.
The part I don’t understand- weakening the defense against the Heubeck/ALEC over-arching theme of destruction, of the successful democratic system of public education. Using chess as an analogy, the row of pawns, charters in this case, are protecting the king, queen, bishop, i.e. the multinational corporations seeking profits. The opposing side must first find a way to battle the pawns and as a result they lose strategic position. Can you help me reconcile this part?
Thank you.
Linda, I don’t think charters are a “prototypical ideal.” Neither do many people who work in charters. They see the charter process as one part of public education that offers opportunity for students, families and educators.
In terms of chess…great district & charters schools offer families and students is hope and encouragement. In our work with districts, we help them tell stories about progress some/many students are making, and good things they are doing. Here’s an example of a terrific district school program that I wrote about. It’s great for the students and it draws in community people to help. It is a lot of work for educators but the ones with whom I talked say it’s worth the work.
http://hometownsource.com/2014/04/30/joe-nathan-column-powerful-portfolio-process-for-high-school-students/
Joe,
I predict the charters will exist in the future, if they meet one of two conditions. They enroll the children of the 1% or, they provide a monetary return on investment, on the tax dollars that support them.
I can’t foresee a model in which they survive unscathed, from the powerful forces seeking profits.
After reading the article you referenced, I wish it was otherwise.
Eli Broad is from Michigan. Perhaps he’ll use his enormous political clout and influence to get some regulation passed. In fact, the head of his charter organization is a former big shot at Arne Duncan’s DOE.
Surely those two big political players could change the ed reform status quo in these midwest states.
http://www.freep.com/article/20130428/OPINION05/304280058/Education-Eli-and-Edythe-Broad-Michigan-Education-Acheivement-Authority
I’m still looking for someone to post a plan of action. It’s nice the choir is informed, but what about the people outside the church?
A plan of action? I suggest you do what most people seem to be doing and get involved with reform organizations in your state. ALEC gained so much power by concentrating on state elections and policies. We are probably have to undo bad policy the same way. It was not that long ago that reformers dismissed those who were opposed to their agenda. That is no longer happening. Many of the national organizations we would hope would be leading the push back have bought off. Local groups, however, have had an impact that is getting noticed beyond state borders.
Marilyn,
Join the network for public education. They have links, contacts to many state groups as well.
Get involved in ant local group you can find.
Inform yourself, then inform others. Neighbors, family, friends. They all can vote!
Write letters to the editor.
Comment on online articles.
Write, call your state representatives at every opportunity.
The choir must sing out, every day, at every possible opportunity .
Remember we are trying to counter over 30 years of ontentional misinformation, disinformation regarding public schools.
Good luck
I had the opportunity to meet David Pepper, candidate for Attorney General in Ohio, last week. He spoke passionately about the need to address corruption in Ohio. He said charter schools were definitely on his radar. I just copied and pasted this from his website (he has a section he posted for Mother’s Day): TRANSPARENCY IN EDUCATION: Moms are working hard to find the best education possible for their kids, but problems associated with Ohio’s charter schools have made navigating that path far more difficult. Too many students have lost precious years of their education to underperforming and failing charter schools. As Attorney General, Pepper will be a watchdog over charter schools, fighting to ensure that they are held to the same standards of accountability and transparency as other Ohio schools so that Ohio moms can make the most informed decisions for their kids. When charter schools fail, as they do too often today, Pepper will aggressively recoup the funds to get them back to the mission of educating our children as soon as possible.
I was very impressed with him and his willingness to listen to other education related issues. He was very interested (even if somewhat bemused) by my thoughts on a class action lawsuit on behalf of the taxpayers of Ohio against Pearson, among other things. Anyone in Ohio willing to have him speak to their group?