Key Issues

Oversight

Throughout history, democratically established governments have stood as the best way to promote and protect the public interest. Government agencies at all levels, including those that oversee public schools, are responsible to taxpayers and citizens to ensure that high-quality services are provided and that all policy and spending decisions are based on democratic with accountability, transparency, public participation and fairness.

To carry out this mandate, government agencies must have the commitment and capacity to monitor taxpayer-funded entities like charter schools and contracts for public services. The absence of robust oversight inevitably leads to poor performance, or even waste, fraud and abuse of the public trust.

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Charter School in PA using facilities to funnel cash away from instruction

Wednesday, September 16, 2015   |   Tags: Accountability, Finance and Facilities, Oversight, Public Control, Self-Dealing, Transparency

A recent article on Philly.com outlines a few of the ways charter schools use facilities funding to divert public money. This includes expensive bond transactions, related party deals, and lining the pockets of consultants. As Rutgers education professor Bruce Baker put it: “public policy permits a bad deal for the public — one that essentially […] Read More »

White Hat may cash in on 12 schools

Tuesday, June 16, 2015   |   Tags: Corporate Profiles, K12, Oversight, Public Control, Transparency, White Hat Management

White Hat Management may sell off the management of 12 schools in Ohio. Who will they sell to? Pansophic Learning, a company started by Ron Packard, founder and former CEO of K12, Inc. Pansophic is a Virginia-based, for-profit operator. The contracts give the management company as much as 95 percent of state funding for the 12 schools, […] Read More »

Imagine Schools gets dumped

Wednesday, June 3, 2015   |   Tags: Accountability, Charters, Finance and Facilities, Imagine Schools, Key Issues, Oversight, Transparency

Imagine Schools finally gets dumped by the school board. The North Central Ohio Educational Service Center (the school’s sponsor) may close Imagine Columbus Primary Academy.   Members of the charter school’s board resigned amid “ongoing concerns about a high-cost building lease, teacher turnover and adequate services for students.” The board clashed with Imagine Schools “over several issues, […] Read More »