California has more charter schools and students than any other state, due to its size and its notoriously weak charter law. Add to that a progressive Governor with a blind spot for charters (Jerry Brown opened two when he was mayor of Oakland) and to a gaggle of billionaires in both parties who favor privatization.
in the new report by the Network for Public Education, Asleep At the Wheel, California was home to a large proportion of phantom charters. An amazing 39% of federally funded charters in California either never opened or closed soon after opening.
A new organization has been founded in California to encourage charter school reform, which can happen only by revising the state charter law.
The organization is “Reform Charter Schools.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
No tax payers $$ for Charter Schools!
Charter Schools are one of the BIGGEST SCAMS around.
It’s really been amazing watching newspapers (finally) ask questions about charter schools.
A couple of years ago it was Ohio and Michigan, and now we’re seeing California and New Jersey. Long-overdue questions are surfacing and never-conducted oversight is finally being done.
It’s kind of shocking that we’re just now asking “who owns these schools?” – after we put billions and billions of taxpayer funds into them. The State of New Jersey built tens or hundreds of schools and they are just now asking who OWNS the schools? How is that even prudent stewardship of public funds?
I don’t think creating an echo chamber did charter schools any favors. If they had permitted dissenters and debate they would have had better governance systems. It couldn’t last. Eventually someone was going to ask some real questions.
I am surprise it has taken the public and media this long. The waste, fraud, embezzling, cyber charters and phantom schools have been an issue for some time.
I am delighted that California is organizing resistance to privatization. It is the people that can stop the bleeding of public dollars and shine a light on all the corruption.
that a progressive Governor with a blind spot for charters (Jerry Brown
He also had a blind spot — and a deaf and dumb spot — to let Linda Ronstadt go.
They say, “strike while the iron is hot.” In this case, the iron is hot when we strike. Charter reform and regulation should never have become necessary on the left leaning coast. We got bamboozled by Wall Street. Yes, it is now time to take back our state from the rightwing forces of privatization.
Incidentally, I subbed many times at Linda Ronstadt’s high school (Catalina) – long after she was there — my very indirect brush with fame.
Catalina was an interesting place. One time a kid blew off firecrackers in the class. Another time, a student gave me a six inch knife as collateral for a pencil to take a test — and asked for it back after class! Another time, a girl tried to make off with a beaker full of Mercury from the chem class. I wouldnt let anyone leave class until someone fessed up to taking it. I got it back but the next week I came back to sub again and there were little mercury gobs all over the hallway outside the class
Good times!
Not that anyone cares (or should care) but that was supposed to go below my comment above about Jerry brown and Linda Ronstadt