LWVeducation
The blog is one month old. We can celebrate a little. Thus far we have had 4500 hits on our site, and our subscriber list is growing. Let people know.
It is also a good time to take a minute and think. Are we contributing useful information on school reform issues? What is helpful? What is missing? Reflect on the following list and make suggestions. I will summarize your suggestions and respond.Continue reading
from Meredith Machen, New Mexico
Charter school oversight problems are rampant. In today’s New Mexican the State Auditor revealed a serious lack of oversight of charter schools by the State Public Education Department (PED).
At issue was charter school financial mismanagement and conflict of interest. The Auditor charged that the PED was unresponsive even though the school was raided by the FBI in August. This case highlights the struggle between local school districts vs. state control of the charter authorization and oversight process. This is only one of 18 cases nationwide of charter educational management firms nationwide that the U.S. Department of Education, the FBI, SEC, and IRS are investigatingContinue reading
Charters and traditional public schools are claiming that their funding allocations are inadequate and unfair.
Given the massive cuts in education funding, their claims are not trivial. Their arguments, however, are different. Judges are ruling differently as well. Based on information reported by Education Justice, a program of the New Jersey based Education Law Center, and Access, a research institute at Columbia University, charters want facilities and traditional public schools seek fairness.Continue reading
Yesterday’s Sun-Sentinel editorial reviewed the history of the Florida voucher program and identified wealthy backers who contributed one-half million dollars to political campaigns supporting school choice. The article cites legal arguments against vouchers: public dollars contributed indirectly to religious schools and the constitutional requirement that the State have a uniform system of public education.Continue reading
Fraud and Mismanagement in Pennsylvania’s Public Schools. The Center for Popular Democracy. October 2014. Two major findings: general auditing techniques are not designed to uncover fraud and staffing is inadequate to monitor charters.