Charter Operators Snow the Public

Like the storm that was dumped on the eastern seaboard this past week, charter operators are snowing the public. From padding the pockets of politicians if they agree to lift the caps on charter law to misusing funds to line their own pockets, some charter operators are colder than Jack Frost.

For instance, the Walton Foundation -- yes, the people who brought you Wal-Mart -- have contributed millions to charter schools. But lately, they have also been contributing to political campaigns like New York Governor Paterson's re-election campaign. Hoping that he would help lift the cap on charter schools in the state, their investment paid off when Paterson sponsored a bill to abolish the charter cap. Charter operators are dying to get into the relatively untapped New York market. Just to give you a sense of the difference, there are 200 charter schools in New York State, and over 500 in Arizona. Over 700 in California.

In operation, charter operators can be just as shady. White Hat, a charter operator out of Ohio, run by David L. Brennan, an Akron industrialist, earns $1 million a year for each of the 34 charter schools, charging anywhere from 3-12% fees to charter schools.

Victory Schools Inc., a for-profit charter operator, also charges high fees to manage their schools. But I guess they still were not earning enough, since board members at two of their Bronx schools have recently been indicted for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars that did not belong to them to pay for designer clothes and vacations.

In Texas, operators of the Jesse Jackson Academy closed in 2008 after embezzling $3.2 million in federal grants. And last year, administrators at the Gulf Shores Academy were accused of cheating the state out of $10 million in funds.

There are many more examples of this kind of corruption. When it comes to charters, we need real accountability and transparency to make them effective. According to Arne Duncan, "This administration is not looking to open unregulated and unaccountable schools. We want real autonomy for charters combined with a rigorous authorization process and high performance standards." Sounds great, but what will the regulation look like? Check out the charter laws in your state and see if there are any regulations that hold charter operators accountable. If not, contact your legislators. We need to hold their feet to the fire.

Photo Credit: Sara Hassan