Charter schools’ dire lesson: Deregulation invariably leads to disaster

[applegrove]

Charter schools’ dire lesson: Deregulation invariably leads to disaster

by Bobbi Murray, Capital and Main, Salon

http://www.salon.com/2016/06/05/charter_schools_dire_lesson_deregulation_invariably_leads_to_disaster_partner/

"SNIP............

(cannot cut and paste)


...........SNIP"

[Adrahil]

1. Charter schools here in Indiana....

Have done pretty dismally. Not all of them, of course, but a whole lot of them. And so naturally, the GOP super-majority legislature keeps funneling more money to them.

[hack89]

2. They work in RI

But then, they are considered public schools and have more public control and oversight.

[yurbud]

9. Do you have sources for that?

[eppur_se_muova]

3. "Unregulated capitalism is like a hockey game without a referee."

Wish I could remember the source of that quote/paraphrase.

[applegrove]

4. That quote doesn't paint a brutal enough picture.

[csziggy]

5. It's attributed to Howard Dean

In the words of Gov. Howard Dean, MD, unregulated capitalism is like a hockey game without a referee.
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/main/epeoplesview.net/2012/01/consumer-protection-agency-gets-started.html

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Thanks, but I think it's decades older than that. Probably lost in the mists of time. :) nt

[csziggy]

7. When I searched for that phrase it only hit on that site

About five different pages with those words, all attributed to Howard Dean. That exact quote appeared no where else according to Google's search engine.

The sentiment may be older, but those exact words appear to be from Howard Dean.

[yurbud]

8. why can't you cut and paste?

[applegrove]

16. Sometimes, on some websites, I just can't. I try again and again but I cannot highlight text.

Been like that periodically for months. Then the next day, on the very same site, it will work fine.

[yurbud]

17. I could see why sites might do that for a couple of days

[applegrove]

19. Maybe it is just certain articles. I tend to post quite a few articles a day. So if they

want more traffic to their site maybe they don't want amalgamaters like me posting 4 paragraphs somewhere else.

[yurbud]

20. that's what I was thinking

[yurbud]

10. “California law provides that charter schools are automatically exempt from most laws..."

...governing school districts.”

[yurbud]

11. 4 key paragraphs:

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools candidly spells out the Golden State’s laissez fairerules of the game on its website: “California law provides that charter schools are automatically exempt from most laws governing school districts.”

The California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) has explicitly opposed state legislation that would clearly define the existing transparency laws and codes for charter schools — standards charters can now avoid despite their use of public funds.

“Charters don’t have to disclose budgets,” says Jackie Goldberg, a long-time Los Angeles school teacher and former Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board president, who also served in the California State Assembly. “Once a charter is written, it’s not subject to the Brown or the Public Records acts.”

The CCSA opposes several bills currently progressing through the state legislature that would bring charter school transparency requirements into line with those expected of public schools. One measure spells out the expectation that charters would follow the same standards as public schools when it comes to the Public Records Act that guarantees access to public records; CCSA argues that most charter schools already voluntarily comply—so the law is therefore unnecessary.

[KamaAina]

12. Yikes! I had no idea!

“Charters don’t have to disclose budgets,”

That would seem to leave the door wide open for scams like Imagine, which leases its properties from its own real-estate subsidiary. The subsidiary then jacks up the rent to an obscene rate; Imagine hen cries poverty and hits up you and me, the taxpayers, for more $$$.

[joeybee12]

18. That is pretty amazing...

Most likely we know where a lot of the budget goes to...miscellaneous.

[KamaAina]

13. K12 Inc.: Bay Area lawmakers call for audit of California Virtual Academies operator

http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_29957298/k12-inc-bay-area-lawmakers-call-audit-california

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling for a state audit of a profitable but low-performing network of online charter schools following this newspaper's investigation of K12 Inc., the Virginia company at the heart of the operation.

Published last month, the two-part series revealed that the Wall Street-traded company reaps tens of millions of dollars in state funding while graduating fewer than half of the students enrolled in its high schools. It also found that teachers at K12's California Virtual Academies have been asked to inflate attendance and enrollment records used to determine how much state funding the schools receive.

Assembly members Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, and Catharine Baker, R-San Ramon, say an audit is needed because the Legislature takes allegations of misspent public money seriously -- and that any company profiting while students struggle deserves intense scrutiny. Lawmakers say its findings would likely set the stage for legislation aimed at addressing the problems at online schools.

"This reporting raises serious questions that demand a more thorough investigation, which is why I will work with my colleagues to pursue an audit of for-profit charter schools and the mechanisms in place to hold them accountable," said Ting, who is joining with Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and other Assembly members to craft the audit request.

[yurbud]

14. even better would be if the admit policy is evidence of corruption and betrayal of public trust

privatizing public education is the domestic equivalent of a war crime on par with the economic terrorism of 2008.

[gratuitous]

15. What could go wrong with charters?

"Okay, see, now if you just take a fraction* of that money you're wasting on all those public schools and plug it into this black box, which I've helpfully labeled 'Charter Schools.' Don't worry, I made the intake funnel extra large. Pour in the money. Pour it in. Keep pouring. More . . . more . . . more. I'll let you know when to stop. Well, while we're waiting (keep pouring), let me just say that we'll have to wait a little while for the fabulous results. You'll be amazed at how wonderful Charters are! What? A little while is, I dunno, five years? No, make it twelve. Oh, and we can't really take in any of those 'special needs' kids; they have to stay in the public schools. Still pouring? Good. We save all kinds of money on administrative costs, like school buildings, teachers, classroom supplies, and playgrounds. Can't really tell you the nuts and bolts of it, proprietary trade secrets, you know. Heh, heh. Hey, I didn't say stop pouring! Now, in about 12 years, you'll see some REAL results! Trust us."

*I'm thinking nine-tenths. Don't tell me that's not a fraction!