Charter schools' rapid growth questioned
San Diego charter school advocate now facing felony charge ignited boom in charters
By the time Steve Van Zant left the Mountain Empire School District in 2013, he had overseen the authorization of more than a dozen charter schools to operate in other districts throughout the county — with several going on to hire his education consulting firm.
All the while, Van Zant coached at least one other district on how to approve out-of-town charters, according to emails obtained by the San Diego Union-Tribune. As more districts approved far-flung charters, Van Zant’s EdHive consultant business took on some of the schools as clients.
The San Diego District Attorney’s Office arraigned Van Zant Jan. 15 on one felony conflict-of-interest charge from an undisclosed incident in May 2010 while he was superintendent of Mountain Empire.
The District Attorney’s Office declined to disclose details of its investigation, and it is unclear whether the charge relates to his work with charter schools. According to the criminal complaint, Van Zant violated laws that prohibited him “from being financially interested in contracts made by him in his official capacity.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune has tracked a charter empire built by Van Zant by taking advantage of what some say is a shortcoming in state law that gives districts a financial incentive to place charters in other school districts.
Van Zant, 53, declined to comment on the criminal charges and EdHive business model through his attorney Garland Peed.
More than 80 out-of-district charters have been approved in San Diego County, the vast majority of which were authorized by small East County districts — several with help from Van Zant, who includes a list of charter clients on his LinkedIn professional network profile.
By putting charters in outside its boundaries, a district can raise new funds — up to 3 percent of a charter’s revenue — without any threat to enrollment or state attendance funds.
When Van Zant accepted the job in 2013 as superintendent of the Sausalito Marin City School District, he was positioned to devote even more time growing his consulting business. He would commute from his Mission Bay home for the three-day-a-week position in Northern California with a starting salary of $165,000 andSan Diego charter schools stir conflicts | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com:
