The New York Times published a searing account of the charter schools operated by Southwest Key.

“At East Austin College Prep in Texas, raccoons and rats invade offices and classrooms. When it rains, the roof of the main building leaks. Room 106 was so rickety a chair leg fell through the floor. Yet for all this, the secondary school pays almost $900,000 in annual rent.

“It has little choice: Its landlord is also its founder, Southwest Key Programs, a charity that is the nation’s largest provider of shelters for migrant children. The nonprofit says it formed the charter school and three others to help disadvantaged students get to college, but Southwest Key has financially benefited from the schools. Not only does it collect rent, but it has forced them to hire its for-profit companies, which have charged high fees for everything from maintenance to school lunches.

“We don’t even have a cafeteria — we eat in our gym,” said Yamilet Perez, 18, the student council president at the Austin secondary school. “You’re sitting there eating your lunch, and you can still smell the sweat of the class before.”

”The operations of the charter schools, serving about 1,000 students, show how Southwest Key profits off public money, boosting compensation for charity leaders and stockpiling tens of millions of dollars.

”The charity has been awarded almost $1.8 billion to run migrant shelters over the last decade, but is now under federal investigation for possible financial improprieties, prompted by an article last December in The New York Times. Two top officials, including the founder, Juan Sanchez, have stepped down. And a complaint about mismanagement at the schools, which have received more than $65 million in government money over the last decade, is under review by the Texas Education Agency.

“A spokesman for Southwest Key, Neil Nowlin, disputed that the charity had unfairly taken money from the schools. In a statement, the new superintendent, Salvador Cavazos, said that “our teachers and administrators come to work every day dedicated to supporting students and families….”

”A dozen years ago, Southwest Key decided to open charter schools and for-profit companies, including a florist, that ended up funneling money into the charity. The charters, called Promesa Public Schools, pay almost $1.4 million in rent annually to Southwest Key….

”Money from the schools and for-profits helped raise salaries for charity officials, letting them collect pay far beyond the federal cap for migrant shelter grants — $187,000 in 2017. Mr. Sanchez was paid $1.5 million that year, the most recent tax return available. His wife, Jennifer Nelson, earned $500,000 as a vice president, and Melody Chung, the chief financial officer, was paid $1 million.

“Mr. Sanchez resigned on Monday. Neither he nor Ms. Chung, who left Southwest Key last month, would comment for this article.

“As of last month, the charters were almost $3 million in debt, largely because of a decision last year to add schools in Brownsville and Corpus Christi. The schools — and students — have felt the squeeze.

“Teachers have left and not been replaced, forcing others to take on new roles. A Spanish instructor is teaching world history; a special-education instructor is teaching photography. Sports teams do not have enough equipment or any practice fields. Officials also cited problems from leaks, including mold and structural and electrical issues, according to an October 2017 email….

”Southwest Key Maintenance would charge about $192,000 for janitorial work at the Austin secondary school. But an outside company, Vanguard Cleaning, would charge about $93,000, records show.

“I was shot down,” said Mr. De Los Santos, who soon quit. The schools were finally allowed to hire in-house maintenance workers in 2017.

“Southwest Key’s for-profit food company, Café del Sol, drew many complaints about high prices, poor quality and limited offerings. Students staged at least one hunger strike. Yet the vendor collected almost $3 million from the schools, records show.”

Texas public schools are underfunded but there’s lots of money for Southwest Keys.

As Betsy DeVos would say, as long as parents make these choices, who cares about the kids and the money and the mold?