Charter Sector Sucks Public Funds Out of Underfunded Public Schools
Now that charter schools have been operating for two decades, our collective experience with these publicly funded and privately managed schools is increasingly raising questions about their impact on the traditional public school districts of which they are supposedly a part. The deep fiscal threat is far more basic than the scandals arising from place to place due to lack of regulation by state legislatures. Charter schools serve only about 6 percent of children across the United States.
Here are four recent reports in the press.
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation is reported this week by Howard Blume of the Los Angeles Times to have been circulating a memo proposing that the Los Angeles Unified Schools create 260 new charter schools intended to enroll 130,000 students. Blume explains, “L.A. Unified already has more charters than any school system in the country, representing about 16% of total enrollment… But the proposed expansion would mean more than doubling the number of charter schools in Los Angeles, a feat that even backers say might prove demanding… Critics say charter schools create greater inequities because they frequently draw more-motivated and higher-achieving students and leave traditional schools worse off. The situation, they say, leaves district schools with less money to serve a larger percentage of students with behavior problems and disabilities and those who need to learn English.” A follow-up piece in the same newspaper quotes Los Angles school board president Steve Zimmer: “Everyone understands 250,000 kids will not be part of this. There is collateral damage: We won’t be able to lower class size or provide comprehensive support our kids need.” Zimmer and other board members accuse the Broad Foundation of trying to divert $490 million to charters, money that should be used for existing public schools.
In the School District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an investigation last week posted at the joint website of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia News describes charter schools’ issuing bonds with very high interest rates to pay for exorbitantly expensive school buildings. To cover their interest payments, several charters have sought rapidly to expand their Charter Sector Sucks Public Funds Out of Underfunded Public Schools | janresseger:
