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For-Profit Charters: Whose Interest is Being Served?
Lots of money easily available can lead to abuse, and it did–over and over again in Miami. It is so much money that it may be time to follow New York’s lead and ban for-profit education management companies. In this post we look at Academica, Florida’s largest for-profit education management firm.
Its schools are consolidated into at least four non-profit entities that allow Academica to operate legally as a contractor to its own schools. Their 100 schools are organized into the Mater, Somerset, Pinecrest and Doral networks. They also manage several Ben Gamla schools as well as others. Academica operates in five states plus D.C. including Florida, Utah, Texas, Nevada, California.
The Doral and Mater charter governing boards keep appearing in the Miami Dade Inspector General reports. There is a lot of money involved and continued poor governance citations. You can follow the money. Do these schools do more with less?
Jeb Bush’s Foundation Grades Legislators on Education Reform Policy
Education Now reports that the Foundation for Florida’s Future has released its grades for legislators. They are based on their support for the Bush/ALEC school privatization agenda.
As you know, Jeb Bush made his mark in Florida with his advocacy for charter schools and vouchers. When the State Supreme Court declared vouchers unconstitutional, they were turned into corporate tax rebate scholarships. The Southern Legal Counsel’s lawsuit against school choice Citizens for Strong Schools comes to trial next spring.
Privatizing schools has turned into big business in Florida. To protect the business interests, legislators are pressured and cajoled. In this report you can see the grades your individual representatives and senators have received from the foundation Jeb Bush created. High grades mean that those legislators are failing our public schools and promoting privatization. Here’s the link to the report.
A Better Future or A Scary Time, Both?
There is something compelling about the need for our educational system to embrace the future. Joanne Weiss, Secretary Arne Duncan’s Chief of Staff used to run Race to the Top. She explains why big money and national educational standards matter. Her explanation is cogent unless you consider the unintended consequences. Or, were they intended? It all depends upon your point of view.
As Congress is closing in on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it is more than a little curious how the political forces are aligned. There is speculation that President Obama may veto the final legislation. If he does, more of the same may stir even greater resistance, especially to the testing and accountability systems that are in place now. If, however, the new legislation makes it into law, have we lost a great opportunity to reach for the moon once again? As in any serious debate by serious people, there is likely truth on both sides of the issue.
Waste, Fraud and Abuse or Something Better?
The 2014 report on Charter School Vulnerabilities to Fraud, Waste, and Abuse by the Annenberg Foundation was triggered by the U.S. Inspector General’s warning about mismanagement in charter schools.
I compared the report’s recommendations to Florida’s laws. We have laws. We are short on enforcement. What can we do to clean up the mess? It is a mess. Florida has over 600 charter schools, and its closure rate is nearing 50 percent. I made some recommendations.
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- League Members visit the office of Senator Marco Rubio
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- League Members wait to see Senator Bill Nelson
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- Education Team at the Department of Education
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