Charter schools are a ‘gravy train,’ say researchers

[n2doc]

A new report examines the methods charter school operators can use to enrich themselves
December 10, 2015

by Ned Resnikoff

The policy framework for U.S. charter schools encourages “privatization and profiteering,” a research institute said in a report released Thursday.

Charter schools are able to siphon off large quantities of public money for private gain — and only substantial changes to state policies regarding charter schools can stop this, according to the authors of the report from the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at University of Colorado Boulder.

Many education reform advocates argue that the charter school model — under which publicly funded schools are administered by bodies other than the school board, such as private Education Management Organizations (EMOs) — promotes experimentation and newer, fresher teaching methods. But the same permissive charter regulations intended to boost innovation can also help EMOs pocket cash better spent elsewhere, the NEPC report said.

“What we found is that there are a host of real estate and tax laws that were not put in place with charter schools in mind, but that the owners of charter school enterprises are using in order to profit,” NEPC Director Kevin Welner said. “I think that understanding the nature of the charter school gravy train, as I call it, is extremely important for the public and policymakers."

more

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/12/10/charter-schools-are-a-gravy-train-say-researchers.html

[Mika]

1. Guess who got the ball rolling on charters?

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/hillary-clinton-charter-schools-education-215661

When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, there was a lone charter school in Minnesota, according to advocates. He helped create a grant program that provides seed money to open charters, providing hundreds of millions of dollars over the years and paving the way for thousands to open. As first lady, Hillary Clinton publicly applauded the program.

“The president believes, as I do, that charter schools are a way of bringing teachers and parents and communities together — instead of other efforts — like vouchers — which separate people out — siphon off much needed resources; and weakening the school systems that desperately need to be strengthened,” Hillary Clinton said at a 1998 White House meeting.

In 2011, Bill Clinton was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

[hedda_foil]

2. Gee willikers! Ya think?

[daleanime]

3. When some one says "privatize".....

the automatic translation is "profit".