Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced an increase of $60 million to the Federal Charter Schools Program, bringing the annual total to $500 million to open new charter schools or expand existing ones.
This decision ignored research produced by the Network for Public Educatuon, showing that $1 billion had been wasted on grants to charter schools that never opened; that 26% of federally funded charter schools had closed within their first five years; and that 39% had closed by year 10.
The charter sector has been riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse.
See the following reports:
Charter failures
The Failure of the Federal Charter Schools Program:
CSP https://networkforpubliceducation.org/stillasleepatthewheel/
OIG report on CSP https://oig.ed.gov/reports/audit/effectiveness-charter-school-programs-increasing-number-charter-schools
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The whole “failing public schools” narrative and the belief that charter schools would offer students great choices were never about improving education. It is mostly a political propaganda scheme to move public funds out of public schools and into the hands of wealthy investors. Most of the waste, fraud and continuous closures are routinely ignored. Privatization represents the worst of American greed and highlights how corrupt our government is. Too many politicians are willing to sellout quality public education and embrace reckless free market capitalism in exchange for campaign donations. Privatization benefits big money while the public ends up paying the bill that continuously requires more funds for a worse outcome or service. McMahon is yet another political hack appointed to do the bidding of the ultra-wealthy.
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McMahon is a billionaire herself. She believes public schools are evil. Private choices are great.
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ALERT!!! ALERT!!! ALERT!!!
Buried deep in the House GOP’s advancing reconciliation package is a major, long-sought victory for school privatization advocates that would let rich funders of vouchers avoid taxation, a change that will supercharge the right-wing assault on public education — unless the provision can be defeated. Let’s hope NEA and Democrats work hard to defeat the provision.
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