Florida Charter Scandal: Legislators Vote Millions for Charter Schools Where They Earn a Profit
Fabiola Santiago has a stunning story in the Miami Herald about the deep corruption in the state’s charter industry.
Several key legislators are financially connected to charter schools.
He writes:
Florida’s broad ethics laws are a joke.
If they weren’t, they would protect Floridians from legislators who profit from the charter-school industry in private life and have been actively involved in pushing — and successfully passing — legislation to fund for-profit private schools at the expense of public education.
Some lawmakers earn a paycheck tied to charter schools.
One of them is Rep. Manny Diaz, the Hialeah Republican who collects a six-figure salary as chief operating officer of the charter Doral College and sits on the Education Committee and the K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee.
Some lawmakers have close relatives who are founders of charter schools.
One of them is the powerful House Speaker, Richard Corcoran, the Land O’Lakes Republican whose wife founded a charter school in Pasco County that stands to benefit from legislation. He was in Miami Wednesday preaching the gospel of charter schools as “building beautiful minds.”
Other lawmakers are founders themselves or have ties to foundations or business entities connected to charter schools.
One of them is Rep. Michael Bileca, the Miami Republican who chairs the House Education Committee and is listed as executive director of the foundation that funds True North Classical Academy, attended by the children of another legislator. Bileca is also a school founder.
These three legislators were chief architects in the passage of a $419 million education bill that takes away millions of dollars from public schools to expand the charter-school industry in Florida at taxpayer expense.
They crafted the most important parts of education bill HB 7069 in secret, acting in possible violation of the open government laws the Legislature is perennially seeking to weaken. There was no debate allowed and educators all across the state were left without a voice in the process.
It’s no wonder it all went down in the dark. It’s a clear conflict of interest for members of the Florida Legislature who have a stake in charter schools to vote to fund and expand them. Their votes weaken the competition: public schools.
This issue has nothing to do with being pro or against school choice. It’s about the abuse of power and possible violations of Florida statutes.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/fabiola-santiago/article151418277.html#storylink=cpy
When people ask you how you can possibly be against charter schools, think of this story.
Florida Charter Scandal: Legislators Vote Millions for Charter Schools Where They Earn a Profit | Diane Ravitch's blog:
