Curtis Cardine, former superintendent of both public and charter schools, is the preeminent expert on charter schools in Arizona. He created the Grand Canyon Institute to study education issues, and it keeps a close eye on charter malfeasance.
Cardine has written two books that are well worth reading to learn about the failures of the charter industry in Arizona. He is an expert in school finance, and he demonstrates in detail how charter operators are ripping off the public.
The first was Carpetbagging America’s Public Schools.
I quote that book extensively in my own new book SLAYING GOLIATH.
Cardine’s second book, recently published, is Schooling Alone, in which he compares the atomization of society caused by school privatization, and likens its effects to sociologist Robert Putnam’s classic study of social disintegration, Bowling Alone.
Cardine recently prepared a review of Arizona charter school closures and their relation to the bond debt incurred by charters.
Read his letter to two Arizona state senators here.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Social disintegration”
Robert Kraft and Alan Dershowitz were at a WH event for Hanukkah where Robert Jeffress was called upon to speak by Trump. Trump described Jeffress as a “tremendous faith leader”. Jeffress called Trump, “the most pro-faith President in history”.
Media reported about a prior sermon Jeffress gave in which he said Mormonism and Judaism “lead people away from God” . Jeffress said they go to hell. Omitted from damnation, were Catholics. The alliance of Catholics and evangelicals poses a threat to American unity. People normalizing Trump and/or voting Republican are playing with fire.
Evangelicals voted at 80% for Trump. White Catholics voted at 60% for Trump. I speculate that the wealthiest Jewish men voted at a higher percentage for Trump than did the rest of their faith’s voters. Trump is a divisive President.
Bellwether advised ed reformers to reach out to churches to achieve their goals.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote at its site that they have been strong advocates for parental school choice from the beginning. In 2018, Udi Greenberg, at The Journal of the History of Ideas, described the threat a Christian theocracy poses to democracy.
When someone calls Trump a “man of faith,” that’s defining faith very broadly.
Trump has no faith in anything but greenbacks and himself.
I’d like to know why Cheryl Pruitt, who was arrested for double-billing schools in Gary, IN was given the job of overseeing a virtual charter school in Chicago. Are people who hire really this dumb? Yep, they are.
……………………
Former Gary, Indiana Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt Arrested For Theft
October 8, 2018
CHICAGO (CBS)–Former Gary superintendent Cheryl Pruitt was arrested for allegedly double-billing Gary Community Schools Corp. for a three-day trip to a conference in Los Angeles two years ago.
Pruitt, 55, posted bond on Oct. 5, the same day she was arrested for charges of theft and official misconduct, according to Gary police spokesman Commander Jack Hamady.
The Northwest Indiana Times reports Pruitt charged $1,504 to a school district credit card for a three-night hotel stay, dry cleaning fees, two spa/massage appointments, two meals, a taxi ride and miscellaneous taxes. The district’s finance department paid the credit card using money from the district’s extra-curricular account, the Times reports.
Pruitt also allegedly submitted a voucher for personal reimbursement for $1,256 in expenses from the same trip, which she deposited into her own bank account, according to the Times.
Pruitt was superintendent from July 1, 2012, until her resignation in February 2018–more than a year before her contract was set to end.
……………………..
[NWI Times] Virtual charter school once overseen by Cheryl Pruitt to close at end of year
29 min ago
CHICAGO — A Chicago school once overseen by ex-Gary Community School Corp. Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt will close at the end of the school year.
The Chicago Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday night to revoke the charter of Chicago Virtual Charter School when the 2019-20 school year ends.
Pruitt served as chief executive officer of the school until this June when she was placed on leave pending an internal investigation of school management and finance.
Chicago Virtual Charter School is a K-12 blended online and in-person instruction charter school in Chicago’s West Loop falling under Chicago Public Schools’ purview. Students attend four days of class from home or at a local of their choosing and one day of class onsite at the CVCS West Loop location.
The school serves 563 students this year and saw a loss of 160 students from last school year — the largest single year decline in the district, said Hal Woods, executive director of CPS’ Office of Innovation & Incubation.
The board vote comes following district recommendations detailing concerns about school management and academic performance, scoring among the lowest of Chicago schools this year…
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/education/virtual-charter-school-once-overseen-by-cheryl-pruitt-to-close/article_2e67f2c7-d023-571d-8af8-760394c1f473.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
An alternative explanation- “people who hire” charter school administrators are venal?
I’m no accountant, but the details at Cardine’s report to AZ senators suggests the AZ charter industry is well down the path toward implosion & already engaging in subprime-like shenanigans. Won’t that leave a pretty price tag for taxpayers holding the bag…
Those in Ohio can answer your final question- yes.