Feds didn’t carefully monitor $3 billion it gave for charters — and it just awarded $157 million more
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has been called the most powerful education secretary for a reason.
He has led a department that has been criticized for being “a national school board” because of its micromanaging states on some key education issues. Duncan talks a lot about “accountability” and the importance of making sure that schools are doing right by kids. When the department began its $4.3 billion Race to the Top funding competition among states, it made clear what its priorities for applications were, and when it offered waivers to states from the most onerous parts of No Child Left Behind, there were detailed strings attached. (And when Washington did not evaluate teachers by standardized test scores as the department wanted, it yanked the state’s No Child Left Behind waiver).
But when it comes to its support of charter schools, the department hasn’t been doing all that much to manage the more than $3 billion it has given to charter networks and state education departments for the purposes of creating and expanding existing charters. And it just this week announced that it was awarding $157 million in new grants for charters.
State Educational Agency Grantees:
| Grantee Name | FY 2015 Funding | Total Recommended Funding |
| Arizona Department of Education | $15,709,697 | $23,624,997 |
| Colorado Department of Education | $18,179,999 | $36,359,999 |
| Illinois Department of Education | $21,143,113 | $42,286,226 |
| Office of the State Superintendent of Education (District of Columbia) | $10,083,900 | $20,167,800 |
| Ohio Department of Education | $32,556,801 | $71,058,319 |
| Oregon Department of Education | $4,180,000 | $8,790,931 |
| Nevada Department of Education | $7,896,989 | $16,481,251 |
| South Carolina Department of Education | $15,218,801 | $30,437,602 |
| Total | $124,969,300 | $249,207,125 |
Replication and Expansion of High-Quality Charter Schools Grantees:
| Grantee Name | State | FY 2015 Funding | Total Recommended Funding |
| Achievement First, Inc. | CT | $3,226,599 | $8,453,100 |
| Across the Bridge Foundation | CA | $827,128 | $241,6000 |
| Baltimore Curriculum Project | MD | $217,359 | $282,720 |
| Einstein Group, Inc. | LA | $2,189,999 | $5,000,000 |
| Lawndale Educational and Regional Network | IL | $3,202,879 | $6,547,950 |
| Mastery Charter High School | PA | $3,764,836 | $9,587,266 |
| Noble Network of Charter Schools | IL | $1,564,999 | $8,412,500 |
| RePublic Schools | TN | $3,799,332 | $9,599,999 |
| Success Academy Charter Schools, Inc. | NY | $3,794,396 | $13,440,000 |
| UP Education Network, Inc. | MA | $2,167,984 | $4,335,971 |
| Uplift Education | TX | $4,484,112 | $10,330,905 |
| West Denver Prep DBA STRIVE Preparatory Schools | CO | $3,168,894 | $6,774,087 |
| Total | $32,408,517 | $85,180,498 |
The largest recipient — getting $32.5 million this year with a recommended multi-year total of $71 million — is the Ohio Department of Education, which runs a charter school program that is among the most troubled in the country.
How troubled? A June story in the Akron Beacon Journal noted that “since 2001, state auditors have uncovered $27.3 million improperly spent by charter schools, many run by for-profit companies, enrolling thousands of children and producing academic results that rival the worst in the nation.” It also said: “No sector — not local governments, school districts, court systems, public universities or hospitals — misspends tax dollars like charter schools in Ohio.” A Sept. 19 Beacon Journal story had this headline: “Blame and ignorance follow 200th charter school flop in Ohio.”
Education Department officials say that they only give grants to high-performing charter school operators but that they don’t have a lot of control over the states. On a press call about the new grants on Monday, Duncan said:Feds didn’t carefully monitor $3 billion it gave for charters — and it just awarded $157 million more - The Washington Post:
