Florida charter schools (investigator observations)
“Experiences As A Police Officer With The Ugly Side Of Charter Schools And Their Management Companies.” Florida Public Employees Partnership, 12/15/2011
With such a strong push for continued expansion in Florida, I am compelled to share my experiences as a police officer with the ugly side of Charter Schools and their management companies. As a former investigator and supervisor of a public corruption unit, several years ago my unit was responsible for a series of criminal investigations involving personnel, owners, and partners of Charter Schools. Where as some of these investigations resulted in schools being shut down and arrests others culminated in utter frustration resulting from criminals getting away with fraud. A fact made possible by industry wide practices that benefit from weak laws and the impossibility of effective industry oversight.During the course of these investigations members of my unit worked with a host of local, state, and federal investigators. One of which became the target of a multi-state Federal Bureau of Investigations criminal investigation. Where as, I do not claim to be an expert in the business of running Charter Schools my investigative experience provided a good insight into the big businesses of collecting Tax Dollars for educating public school children. It is from this insight that I share the following:In everyone of our investigative cases, the schools were set up as nonprofit organizations. Most hired management companies to oversee the day to day operation of the schools. They all had a Board of Directors, had applied for and