Union-backed group calls for pause in federal money for charter schools
A labor-backed group is objecting to an U.S. Education Department proposal to expand federal funding for public charter schools, after the agency’s inspector general issued a scathing report that found deficiencies in how the department handled federal grants to charter schools between 2008 and 2011.
Among other things, the inspector general discovered some charter schools received federal dollars but never opened their doors to students, and the agency could not say where the money went.
The U.S. Department of Education has given $1.7 billion in grants to charter schools since fiscal 2009, according to an agency spokeswoman. In its budget request for 2016, the administration is seeking $375 million for the program — a 48 percent increase over current funding levels.
Public charter schools are funded by tax dollars but managed privately and are often not unionized. Duncan has been a strong advocate for charter schools, a position that puts him at odds with teachers unions.
The Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, which includes the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union, wrote to Duncan on Monday, asking how his agency could seek to expand the charter schools program “despite mounting evidence of significant fraud, waste and abuse within the charter sector, and despite the warnings of your own office of inspector general that federal charter start-up and expansion funds are not adequately monitored or accounted for.”
The inspector general found that the department had been lax in making sure federal dollars were spent in accordance with the law and failed to follow up when others flagged problems. For example, state officials in Florida found “serious deficiencies” in 2008, but it took the federal agency 29 months to react. And when it did, it deemed the Florida problems “resolved,” but the inspector general later found those same problems persisted.
Federal dollars find their way to charter schools through two routes. In most cases, the federal government awards money to a state, and the state hands out grants to charter schools. In some instances, the federal government Union-backed group calls for pause in federal money for charter schools - The Washington Post: