Poll: Michigan should place moratorium on new charter schools pending review
The state should place a moratorium on opening any new charter schools until the Michigan Department of Education and the state Legislature conduct a full review of the charter school system, a majority of respondents in a new poll say.
In the poll of 600 likely voters, conducted by EPIC-MRA of Lansing this month and released exclusively to the Detroit Free Press, WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) and statewide news media partners, 73% of respondents said they would favor the move.
The poll comes as state schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan awaits responses from 11 of the state’s 40 charter authorizers on why he shouldn’t suspend their ability to open new schools. The authorizers were put on an “at risk” list for reasons that include academic performance, significant financial deficiencies in their 2013 audit, or if one or more of their schools had charter contracts that failed to meet certain requirements by MDE.
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■ State of charter schools: How Michigan spends $1 billion but fails to hold schools accountable
It also comes on the heels of an investigation by the Free Press into charter schools. The eight-day “State of Charter Schools” series showed that Michigan charters receive nearly $1 billion per year in taxpayer money from the state, often with little accountability, transparency or academic achievement.
Other results from the poll show strong support for looking at the role of for-profit management firms in the charter school system. The poll found:
■ 82% of respondents believe — 71% strongly — that for-profit management firms should be required to fully and publicly explain how they spend all tax dollars received.
■ 88% favor legislation to require such disclosure.
■ 61% of respondents favor prohibiting future schools from being managed by for-profit companies.
Michigan has a higher percentage of its charter schools managed by for-profit companies than any other state. In 2013-14, the state had Poll: Michigan should place moratorium on new charter schools pending review | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: