Does charter school funding leave taxpayers holding the bag?

@ Prof – the difference is that the points I bring out about the individuals happen to be true, and relevant.

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$2 Million last year? HAH … I can’t count the ways that tax dollars are funneled into special advocacy groups and campaigns.

Almost every board member in the state went to the GSBA conference on the tax payer dime where one of the distinguished speakers spent their time slot on how to defeat the Charter School Amendment.

http://georgiaschoolwatch.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/reformation-and-the-charter-school-amendment/

Most school districts spend BIG BUCKS on pro ESPLOST campaigns.

etc …

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@CS2-Ha-Ha. Your comment if hilarious and, funnily enough, exactly what you would hear a 6yr old say on the playground. Thanks for the “teachable” moment. I think I hit a nerve with my earlier comments.

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@ Prof – I was not making a nasty comment to Sneak Peak….I was (rather ironically) pointing out that they don’t use their real name, either. Why not? Because there is no reason to – it’s a blog. The mention of it by SP is absurd and a bit “pot calling the kettle black.”

My reference to Vincent Fort’s campaign was to show that he, opposing the amendment, gets “special interest group” contributions. Mary Elizabeth likes to point to for-profit and special interest groups against the amendment. My point, which IS relevant, that special interest groups and for profits invest in others, too.

YOU, do the same thing, basically telling me I’m “irrelevant,” “repetitive,” etc…. you can’t seem to debate any of the points I bring up though. You don’t carry a lot of credibility using this tactic, buddy-o.

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@ Sneak a Peak – You didn’t hit a nerve. You can’t refute anything I say…so you resort to trying to figure out who I am. And ironically, YOU are anonymous, too. Bizaare.

You see, folks, the opposing side likes to bring up things that look “scccccaaaarrrrry.” Like…oh my gosh, FOR PROFIT management companies. But then they shut up like clams when you show that school districts have spent millions on for profit management companies, too.

If you’re going to dispute the Amendment, fine, do it. But at least be smart enough not to have a reason that makes you look like 1) a hypocrite 2) power hungry 3) money hungry protecting your own “sweet” situation and that of your buddies. The voters are smarter than that. At least MENTION what’s good for kids.

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“1) a hypocrite 2) power hungry 3) money hungry protecting your own “sweet” situation and that of your buddies.”

See, I don’t think those supporting public education can all be lumped into that category. As you point out, there’s waste in public education. Has been for years, and all the shouting about it to the legislature has netted us NOTHING- and trust me, those of us on the inside have been calling it out for a long, long time. The only defenders of the “status quo” are part of the greed themselves, and I don’t see any of them posting here. The only thing the legislature has shown any interest in is redrawing Cherokee’s BOE district lines while they do NOTHING about any of the screamingly obvious problems in Dekalb, APS, et. al. There’s much the legislature could do, and should do, but they won’t, and I don’t understand why. So their solution is wrapped up in this constitutional amendment. I can’t think of a reason to support it with so much political manuvering involved, and I think Barge is right- we don’t need state funded charter schools until we figure out what the bottom line is for education funding.

Yes, there are many problems, and I honest to God hope more systems will have to endure the cutting to the bone that mine has while striving to still provide a successful education for our kids. Until the legislature either makes good on their legal obligations to fund and comes up with a formula for doing it, I’m not going to give them a chance to do anything else that will, in the end, cost money we don’t have as it is.

As to the FSA audit, I’m sure you could have a slew of teams of auditors look at the same data at the same time and come to different conclusions. If there weren’t something going on there, then nothing would have been found. And if this was some sort of “witch hunt” by the county, and numbers were misrepresented or fabricated, then there should be a lawsuit in the making. And yes, I agree that public school systems should be held to the same standards. As I recall, when illegal use of funds has been found, it’s been prosecuted. I agree there needs to be change, and I think a lot of if could happen if we’d quit trying to reinvent the wheel or come up with what I see as a means to eventually create an entirely state-run education system. I know there are good charter schools out there, and I hope they can find the means to continue their work. But if the legislature wants to spell out how it will approve and fund those schools while leaving us with a shrug and “we’ve never fully funded QBE anyway”, then they aren’t getting my support for the amendment.

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Mr Konop..I commend you on giving us information like this. There are many parents out there who oppose any type of voucher or charters. These ideologies are being thrown at us when we all know that improving education comes from improving our LOCAL SCHOOLS!! Im tired of the likes of self proclaimed education reformers like Michelle Rhee (who by the way only taught for 3 years) and became chancellor of DC schools only to have her policies changed by the next in line. For shame for more wasteful spending by our government!!!

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@CS2-I am not hiding behind anything. I will gladly post under my name and then you can look me up and find only that I am a stay-at-home parent who cares deeply about protecting public education for the sake of not only my own children, but everyone’s child who cannot afford to pay for a private education or home school. Do I believe in the status quo, as the reformers will always yell back, heck NO!. I don’t believe that public education is perfect and it has a long way to go to serve the needs of all. But I do believe in the principals by which public education stands for and protecting that. Charter schools do not serve all and do turn the undesirables away from their doors. There is countless reports of the different ways by which they cherry pick. I don’t believe in adding another layer of bureaucracy-especially our Georgia legislators who have shown that they do NOT value public education. I don’t believe that charter schools perform better than their traditional counterparts. I will say that I am not against the idea of charter schools in the form of which they were initially created but I think that vision has been distorted in order to line the pockets of our politician’s friends and donors. I do believe that through this blog, you have, with almost maniacal tendencies, tried to brow-beat anyone who disagrees with the profiteers vision (to make as much money off the backs of our children-they claims it’s for the children when it’s for the MONEY). It makes me sad when the reformers decry the teacher for the generous salaries and supposedly cadillac benefits when the for-profit companies and their CEO’s can make millions of dollars at the taxpayers expense without a blink of an eye. After all, it’s the American way. I hear you when you say there is a layer of for-profit already built into the public school system and by that I am assuming that you mean the book publishers, computer program vendors, etc… I understand that but they usually bid for these opportunities. This is not the case with charter schools. But what are schools districts to do? Publish their own books and create their own computer software? If public schools were in a position to be a 100% closed system and provide all that is used in the school, you and yours would be the first to decry that they had a monopoly on all that goes on behind the school doors.

I believe in strengthening the current school model but it will take time and effort. I think we have a LOT to learn from others, like Finland. Their school model, the most successful in the world, is so far removed from the way we are going.

In a nutshell CS2, I will gladly post under my own name and challenge you do to the same.

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@ Ron – I don’t think everybody opposing the Amendment fits the 3 categories I mentioned. I don’t, for example, think you do. You disagree, have a reason that is not hypocritical, greedy, or power hungry. That’s why I have said before that I respect your comments, even if we disagree. I am very tired, however, of the ridiculousness that is posted out here that DOES fit those 3 categories. It’s silly and unproductive. And it does nothing to move the conversation forward. I end up repeating myself over and over because the same nonsense is brought up over and over by the same people.

The legislature tried to do some things in the last session to support districts. For example, they got rid of the 65% rule (which I personally think was a HUGE mistake), but, they were getting push from districts on flexibility. They did some clean up and revisions of Title 20 and plan to do even more substantive ones this session that will help. They aren’t doing “nothing” for education. The districts, unfortunately do not help themselves either sometimes. The situation with the budget is a real one -the state’s coffers are lower. The districts could be a lot more prudent with their spending than they are, as I’ve been trying to show everyone.

Do you mind telling me in what district you live? If it’s a good one, it needs to be heralded. I’m not here to say every one of them stink. They don’t. The good ones need to be put up to emulate.

@ Sneak a Peak – You say, “I am a stay-at-home parent who cares deeply about protecting public education for the sake of not only my own children, but everyone’s child who cannot afford to pay for a private education or home school.”

Do you not realize that is EXACTLY what I am trying to do, through the provision of federal and state law, which is chartering. Charter schools are PUBLIC SCHOOLS. They serve about 50% FRL and minority children.

I’m not the bad guy here. I do NOT want our public education system to be replaced. I want districts to be PUSHED to do RIGHT by children and educators. I’ve said this before, Sneak a Peak, our school system is in a state of inertia – they are not going to change until something pushes them hard enough to change. Charters are calling attention to achievement issues. They are calling attention to district waste and bloat. This isn’t a BAD thing, it’s a GOOD thing – if the districts get pressed on this, they will make changes in what they do, and that will positively impact kids and funds that flow to the classrooms. But you’ve got to let the push on them happen. They won’t fix themselves – they have had money dumped on them by the state and feds for “school improvement” and all you see is more people hired at CO in the way of “coaches” and “instructional specialists” and “instructional supervisors” and the like, more educational consultants, more programs, etc., etc. There is no real change in achievement – only more money out the door. They have yet to get to the root of the problem. Honestly, I wish the charter movement was never even NEEDED, but it is, so it’s here, and I am fighting like hell for my kids and yours, too, as well as my educator friends and every other educator in this state that deserves better. We need to use chartering to make things better. Is that painful? Yes. But it MUST be done.

Believe me, I will not for one minute say every charter is perfect. They aren’t. I believe in shutting those down (just like I believe we should shut down persistently low achieving traditional schools, too). But they ARE achieving higher than the districts where they are – they ARE making a difference. And they ARE more economical for the taxpayer. There IS demand for them. And parents and community members DO demand them.

I really am an educator, and I really am a charter mom. The charter sector in Georgia is rather small though, so I prefer to remain anonymous. You can certainly think I am rotten for staying anonymous, and that’s ok. I respect a lot that you are willing to put your name out there, but also respect your anonymity.

Now, can we get past the personal insults and just debate the issues at hand?

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“They are calling attention to district waste and bloat. This isn’t a BAD thing, it’s a GOOD thing – if the districts get pressed on this, they will make changes in what they do, and that will positively impact kids and funds that flow to the classrooms.”

I agree with you on that!!

That is a big part of what needs to change, and I think it will have to as the state continues its neverending austerity plan. I just don’t see how another charter school authorizer is going to improve or speed up that process. All it will do in the long run is create faster and deeper austerity cuts as the state tries to find the funds to implement what its legislation for funding those state approved schools stipultates. But then, they haven’t funded any form of education according to its legislated formula for over two decades as it is. And the charter amendment supporters trust them now? I don’t know how you find the heart for that.

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Yes, please elaborate. I just got home from working yet another 12 hour day in my classroom. I wonder if that is one of those things the people are “pretty tired of”… I know I am.

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@CTR and all readers

The article she refers to is being splashed across multiple news sites across Georgia. NO…this is not a lobbying stunt.

Oh wait….B.J. Van Gundy…

He is a former politician,
and runs a a lobbying firm that has……………..

Georgia Charter Schools Association AS A CLIENT.

Isn’t this right CS2 and CTR?

CS2….and CTR….Come on….you don’t work for one of these groups or volunteer for them do you?

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CharterStarter Two….your propaganda is sickening. Just admit you hate public schools and favor vouchers (and most likely – segregation).

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I’m getting in way late on this, due to a very busy week.

One Teacher’s Voice posted, “‘the compensation they earn in exchange for the service they perform is worth the money, which is at a greatly reduced cost to the tax payer.’

Show me the facts on that last statement. Opening a new school, with administrators, teachers, utilities…etc. is more cost effective than utilizing the structure and staff that is already present?”

OK, I’ll show you the facts. The whole conversation can be seen at http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2012/08/21/our-politifact-georgia-team-looks-at-john-barge-and-charters-not-much-of-a-flip/?cp=all. Specifically, on August 29, 2012, at 3:05 PM, I demonstrate exactly what you’re asking for: a real start-up charter school (Provost Academy Georgia), leveraging significant innovation (virtual learning + experienced public school teachers delivering it + a hybrid option for high-risk students) along with its partnership of a contracted education services provider (for-profit in this case–EdisonLearning, Inc.), compared to a district high school with the same enrollment:

The school pays the education services partner $250,000 annually (regardless of our enrollment numbers) as a fee for professional services. They do not “manage” our school–that is my job, along with my two fellow administrators. We have a five-year contract with the company during which time our annual fee for services will stay level. If we meet our FTE goal of 750 students and a $5 million annual budget, then our fee will constitute 5% of our total operating budget (less if we exceed our enrollment target, more if we don’t meet it) in FY 2013.

5% may sound like a lot compared to what DCSS spends on its contract with Ombudsman. However, it’s deceptive to view a single cost in a vacuum.

For example, we do not spend a single dollar on textbooks, which can range anywhere from $25 to more than $150 annually per pupil in the U.S. in a brick and mortar school. High school textbook costs are far more than an elementary school’s, for obvious reasons. Let’s say for purposes of illustration that a brick and mortar public school district in Georgia spends an average of $88 ($25 + $250 divided by 2, to get a reasonable estimate of an average textbook expenditure) per student on textbooks and serves 750 FTE high schoolers, and $5 million is the high school’s annual operating budget. That expense amounts to $66,000 annually, or 1.32% of the operating budget. We spend $0 on this line item.

A better point of comparison is in salaries & benefits, and it is here where the advantage of an education services contract becomes apparent, as well as the ability to leverage technology to individualize instruction and remove “class size” from the equation. So let’s compare our charter high school to an example small district high school.

Our example high school probably would have an experienced principal (estimated $85K salary) and an assistant principal (estimated $60K salary). The district’s central office employs a superintendent (estimated $100K salary), probably an assistant superintendent of finance (estimated $75K salary), a director of curriculum and instruction (estimated $75K salary), a director of special education (estimated $60K salary), and a personnel director (estimated $70K salary) to service the schools.

Let’s assume it’s a small district with three schools, an elementary, middle, and high school. For simplicity’s sake, let’s divide the central office administrator salaries by three and add those to the two building administrators’ salaries. So we have $145K in building admin, and $380K in central office admin divided by 3, or $127K. $145K + $127K totals $272K in administrative salaries alone. Let’s assume that benefits run about 25% of salary. So the mythical high school is funding in the neighborhood of $340K in administrative salaries & benefits, or 6.8% of its annual $5 million operating budget, of which $158750 is admin salaries & benefits ($127K for salaries plus 25% of $127K for benefits).

This high school that has 750 students, if it observes class sizes of 30 kids, employs at least two dozen teachers, each at an average annual salary of, let’s say, $50,000. That’s a teacher payroll of $1.2 million without benefits, which would add an extra $300K. So we’re spending $1.5 million on instructors in this mythical high school. We won’t add in guidance counselors, graduation coaches, custodians, cafeteria employees, or administrative support staff, to keep things simple.

EXAMPLE DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOL
Administrative salaries & benefits: $340K for 2 building administrators & 1/3 of 5 central office administrators
Instructor’s salaries: $1.5 million for 24 teachers
Textbooks: $66K for 750 FTE students
Education Services Fee: $0

TOTAL: $1,906,000 = 38% of $5 million annual operating budget

CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL
Administrative salaries & benefits: $270K for 3 administrators
Teachers salaries & benefits: $730K for 13 teachers
Textbooks: $0
Education Services Fee: $250K

TOTAL: $1,250,000 = 25% of $5 million annual budget

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“I just shared the link. Like I said, food for thought, and I acknowledged that you would disagree.”

It’s the source of the writing.

It’s not food for thought when it comes from a very impartial writer who apparently has a financial interest in promoting charter businesses.

Chris, I never stated that you and CS2 are the same person, and it is irrelevant to the positions that you two hold.

I respect your passion for education, but I do think your good intentions of promoting charter schools are being misguided by large organizations (maybe unwittingly at times), and this is a pitfall of the privatization schemes for public education.

Have you read this AJC article?
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/turkish-charter-schools-tied-to-gulen-movement/nQWLN/

Or this one from the NYTimes?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/us/audits-for-3-georgia-charter-schools-tied-to-gulen-movement.html

And if you think that money isn’t being used to manipulate, check out this article.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/how-walton-foundation-spent-157-million-on-ed-reform-in-dc-and-other-places/2011/06/28/AGhLy0pH_blog.html

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Dr. Monica Henson, 12:25 am

“Mary Elizabeth posted, ‘Fact: 96% of the nearly $500,000. an advocacy group has raised to persuade Georgians to amend their constitution has come from out-of-state donors. Only 4% of those funds have come from donors from Georgia.’

So what?”
================================================

I believe that most Georgians will be able to interpret correctly what that means. It is not as if even 57% of the funds supporting the amendment to Georgia’s constitution have come from out-of-state donors. 96% is a huge number. As I said earlier, “The forces trying to pass the amendment to Georgia’s constitution are formidable.”

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@ OneTeacher – We have 2 diametrically opposed and different parties for the presidential election BOTH behind charter schools…both committed to educational reform through chartering. You have millions of dollars set aside in the federal budget for innovation – not just for charter schools, but for traditional schools as well. The federal government is funding the take over of failing public districts. Foundations are getting behind reforming education. And yes, national corporations that keep this country’s economy functioning to some degree, who hire millions of people and pay billions in taxes are involved, as what they are getting for an employment pool is abysmal. This is certainly a national issue.

Do I hate public schools? No, I do not. I was educated in public schools and taught in them. Do I think we have an epidemic illness in our public school system? Absolutely. Our teachers are not getting necessary supplies and support they need, they are over burdened with paperwork and nonsense created by folks sitting in offices at CO, and we have scads of kids failing and dropping out of school. Something MUST be done. Chartering will do 2 things towards supporting reform: 1) It gives a place for kids to go that are falling through the cracks and need another environment, particularly economically disadvantaged minority kids; and 2) It will push the public school systems to rethink how they do business – otherwise, charters are an option for teachers and students. It’s pretty simple.

As for Mr. Van Gundy – I know he was on the old Commission and he is active with the Republican party, but frankly, I don’t know who his clients are and have no reason to care. I am glad he’s speaking out though.

@ Alex – You call what I am saying propaganda. How so? I have given you links to every bit of data I have quoted. Tell me what is propagandized. Disprove me.

Regarding Mary Elizabeth’s continued harping on donations from outside of Georgia from foundations and organizations that gave to the proponent’s side of the amendment. If external funds from this state should not be piped in from outside the state to support public education and education reform, then I believe APS needs to give the Gates Foundation MILLIONS of dollars back. Gwinnett County should contact Broad Foundation for their enormous award and say, “Thanks for the kind gesture and support, but we only take in state money for our education system.” It’s an absurd argument. Plus, I’ll say it yet again…where are the parents in supporting the other side’s campaign? Where is ANYBODY other than the superintendents, Gwinnett County staff, and district vendors to support their campaign? The proponent’s campaign raised a lot – there are a lot of people who care. One might think there isn’t a lot of support for the opponents if all they could muster up was $80k for all of Georgia public education. That’s kind of pitiful. Which is probably why the districts and Barge are resorting to some pretty unethical practices to promote their political positions.

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Charter,

Can we all see the contrat with Charter USA? If not why? Why do you think a Charter school should not have bonding requirements for the year to make sure they stay open? You know Charter USA has had schools that went bust? Finally why should tax payers put up free money for strat up cost when Charter USA is making close to million dollars a year off the transaction? You realize that if they had to borrow 700k instead of getting free tax payer money, it would of cost charter USA a lot more depending on interest rate and term?

Many tax payers in Cherokee did not understand with the private recycling plant we did not lose 18million it will be closer to 50 million when you factor interest rate and term of bond. You understand when you buy a house for 200k by the time you pay interest it cost you way more than the 200k?

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@Dr. Henson 12:04- 13 teachers vs. 24- are the two schools you mention serving the same number of kids? If so, how do 13 teachers work with the same number of kids and provide a better quality of instruction?

Charter schools do work with less money, I’ll give you that. But they are also generally much smaller, which is fine. I love the fact that they can specialize and serve the needs of specific groups that public schools end up spread too thin to serve successfully. In your case, those kids who can work successfully in a virtual environment have a choice that could help them accelerate their learning, and that’s a needed resource. I’ll debate with you to the end, but I am honestly watching and waiting to see if your program succeeds. I like the idea in general.

Now let’s assume all three of the schools in the imaginary system you mention become charters, how do you see the handling of system-wide common goals and procedures? Will those schools have the time and resources to work together to build a systemic K-12 focus or will that be handled by individual management companies or possibly one in charge of all three schools? I’m not in favor of high cost administration, but it would seem that you would be placing a lot of duties on each school’s administration to parcel out those system duties unless they are a part of the contract with the management company(ies). If that’s being handled by a management company, then by your figures that’s another 250k per school, or $750k in management costs. I’m not sure you’re saving a whole lot in this example because you’re replacing a central system administration with a management company at what will still be a significant expense. I’m not a math teacher, so feel free to point out any mathematical error.

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Sneak peak: I’ve said before that we can “fix” schools over and over and end up no better off unless we change the society we serve. Kids who come from families that value and push kids to get an education, regardless of economic level, succeed better than those without that focus. No amount of education reform will ever be 100% successful when clearly so many do not emphasize education as a family priority. And fixing that will take more than a constitutional amendment or a charter schools commission.

Charter schools which specialize in specific groups and can focus on the needs of those groups have an important function in education, in my opinion. It’s ironic that the state at this point seems much, much more interested in those schools and has a pretty carefully outlined plan for paying for them while they refuse to A- honor current state law in funding public schools and/or B- rewrite the funding formula to be as specific about that funding as they are about the commission approved charter schools. They’d get a lot more support for the amendment, I believe, if they were willing to do that. My concern is that they don’t want to spell out that funding because their unspoken but somewhat apparent intent is to continue finding reasons to reduce it until they bankrupt current public school systems and force them into the state-approved school model.

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Mary Elizabeth: every time the graduation rate is calculated, I’ve noticed my own school’s numbers fall. I think those calculations are, at best, contrived and formulated specifically to look bad. I work with a group of seniors, fifth year seniors, and even a few sixth year seniors trying to earn credits to graduate via online coursework. Those kids, along with our students with disabilities, screw up our numbers. It’s unfortunate that a kid can graduate, even if it takes an extra year or two, and not be part of the calculations. I think the reality is that more than 2/3 of kids graduate, albeit some of them late, and it’s sad that the reality of that goes undocumented. But that will never be considered or calculated because it doesn’t fuel the anti-public school fire warming the gold dome these days.

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Ron F., 11:40 am

Hello, Ron. The formula for determining how many students have graduated from high school (within four years) has changed nationally, within the past half year, so that that fact has also effected Georgia’s graduation rate, which was lowered to about 66%. That number (66%) has been more consistent with my observations as an instructional leader for over 30 years, than the previously higher graduation rate in Georgia, which was closer to 75%, if I recall correctly.

I agree with you that, if the graduation rates in Georgia included those students who take 5 or 6 years to graduate, as well as those who take the more typical 4 years, then the overall percentage of those students who earn a high school diploma would be higher in Georgia. In fact, I recommend adjusting the graduation formula to include those students because taking longer for some students to graduate from high school, than is the “norm” for others, is consistent with the continuous progress, Mastery Learning instructional principles about which I have written on this blog, previously.

For those who are interested in a more comprehensive discussion of this continuous progress instructional, Mastery Learning model, I am providing the link to my own blog, below, in which I address these instructional principles. Ron, you will be interested in the final paragraph of my post in which I acknowledge the need for school systems to create programs in which some students would be allowed to take more than 12 years to graduate from high school.

I always enjoy reading your posts, Ron, because you have an in depth, firsthand knowledge of instruction, and you well understand all of the variable needs of many different students, which must all be addressed. I have mentioned, previously, that I consider you to be an excellent, caring teacher, and I continue to maintain that opinion.

I do think, as you do, that some who would try to dismantle traditional public schools, often use drop-out statistics that traditional public schools only graduate 2/3s of the student population, without looking into why that situation is as it is, with depth, in order to promote their own educational agendas, which often are based on a free market, profit-based model for educational delivery. Some of the drop out problems stem from societal reasons as well as educational ones.

http://maryelizabethsings.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/why-there-are-myriad-instructional-levels-within-each-grade-level/

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@MONICA HENSON and a Corporate Charter Profit School

Oh Monica…..You want me to post more on EdisonLearning Corporation from other sources…Okay……You asked for it……Let’s see what I can dig up in ten minutes.

Edison doesn’t have a history of lying…does it?
“In fact, outrage has haunted Edison. As Gerald Bracey detailed in What You Should Know About the War Against America’s Public Schools, despite protests in 2001 rightfully directed at Edison by the Philadelphia NAACP, parents, and educators, Governor Mark Schweiker went against even mayor John Street and representative Chaka Fattah and handed over the schools to Edison. Lawsuits followed, but Edison was awarded twenty schools to run (113-114), even though test scores did not come close to living up to what Edison promised. Eventually, in 2002, the SEC cited Edison for faulty accounting techniques, and school districts across the U.S. quickly severed their ties to the company (114-115). Unfortunately, it wasn’t until 2008 that Philly was able to set in place a plan to rid itself of EdisonLearning.”

More…..?:
“Edison likes to leave schools with enormous deficits, as it did with the Linear Leadership Academy in Louisiana, which was in the red over $300,000 until the Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association dissolved its contract with Edison.”

Edison doesn’t bring lawsuits that cost taxpayers money…does it?
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/edisonlearning-sues-gary-school-district/article_89a146e2-426b-56f1-8ccf-f1beb007054b.html

Edison doesn’t try to make money in nefarious ways…does it?
“Edison Learning had been charging a management fee to handle federal grants, a practice that is not allowed. He said the 2011 audit report is still being revised.”
http://thelensnola.org/charters/intercultural-charter-board-meets/

Edison doesn’t make taxpayers pay more….does it?
“EdisonLearning receives between $8,398 to $9,962 per student compared with an average of $8,355 at the schools the district runs.” At the district’s seven EdisonLearning schools, about half of the students on average are at grade level in English, according to the Nevada Department of Education. Proficiency rates hover between 44 percent to 76 percent for mathematics but fall to 18 percent to 44 percent in writing. None of the schools operating under the EdisonLearning model met federal No Child Left Behind’s standards last year.”
http://www.lvrj.com/news/for-profit-company-stays-as-district-s-partner-despite-subpar-record-159985885.html

Edison uses profits for….
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000050405&year=2012

Paying Edison 13 years….for what?
http://qctimes.com/news/local/education/school-board-members-question-edisonlearning-outcomes-plans/article_5cd5bcca-bf3f-11e1-820e-001a4bcf887a.html

Edison’s Upstanding Moment
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/09/25/Business/State_fund_buys_schoo.shtml

I am really not trying that hard to find this stuff….
http://www.examiner.com/article/another-edison-schools-achievement-claim-falls-apart-under-scrutiny

Edison failure again
“In retrospect, that media frenzy just looks bizarre, and the glare of the spotlight was ultimately unflattering to Edison. In any case, that particular experiment is now officially dead. In the big picture, it is sad that an effort that promised to remedy the problems facing public education couldn’t manage it. But the Edison failure demonstrates once again that it’s a mistake to put too much faith in simplistic solutions to complex problems.”
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-light-goes-out-for-once-hailed-edison-schools

That last line is most timely.

Philadelphia’s schools voted to take back control of six of the privatized schools, while warning 20 others that they had a year to show progress or they, too, would revert to district control….Students at Philadelphia’s schools have made improvements overall, the commission said. But the private-run schools are not doing any better than the schools remaining under public control.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/28/AR2008062801637_2.html

Surely Rand has it wrong about Edison too?
http://www.rand.org/publications/randreview/issues/spring2007/takeover.html

This is just one Charter Corporation involved in Georgia.

Thank you Monica for bringing this to my attention. I will send all of this to my representatives when the time comes.

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Voice: Geez, I get stuck at home on a Saturday night and look for a little light reading…guess I better get a glass of tea and get comfortable!!

While I don’t think this represents charter schools in general as there are many good ones out there, it does shed some light on how careful we need to be in choosing which companies are allowed to manage those schools as we wade into this in Georgia. I have no doubt the legislature will eventually either get the constitutional amendment or find some way to go straight to vouchers for education. You can bet they’re consulting the Lousiana legislature about how to do it.

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I have been driving to Ohio, as my parents don’t fly, for a family funeral, so I’m settled in at my cousin’s house in Canton (OH) and just now getting back to the blog.

One Teacher’s Voice, please refrain from characterizing my school as a “corporate, profit” charter school. We are a public school governed by a nonprofit organization. We do NOT profit from our school’s operation. All of the employees, including me, are employees of the nonprofit board, not a private company. We have a contract for some services with a for-profit company, like any district public school has contracts with for-profit companies, usually several of them. EL doesn’t own the school, doesn’t have any employees sitting on the board, and doesn’t make a single administrative or governance decision. My board and I make all of those.

In a public school district, the board of education hires the employees and signs contracts to buy such goods and services as textbooks, computers and software, and auditing services from private companies, which then MAKE MONEY, some of which is realized as profit, from taxpayer dollars paid to them. Everyone yawns. In a public charter school, the same thing happens. People scream like mashed cats: “Evil for-profit corporations are making money off the backs of schoolchildren!”

In my school’s case, our board hired the employees and signed a contract to purchase a learning management system (which includes online textbooks), curriculum licensing, and services such as HR and finance assistance, along with staff development. This enables us to achieve an economy of scale and keep our central office staff small. It allowed us to afford to hire National Board Certified faculty and former Teachers of the Year, with a teacher experience average of 11 years. That’s smart financial management any way you cut it. If you’re looking for an apology, or an attempt to hide the fact that we signed a contract with a for-profit corporation, as though it’s something to be embarrassed about or hide, you’re just not a very intelligent person. Since you call yourself One Teacher’s Voice, I am assuming that you are in fact college-educated and sharp enough to understand this.

You trot out old news, sensational headlines, slanted stories, and squeal like a hysterical little girl over them. Anyone who reads newspapers regularly knows how little of “the real story” actually gets printed. In the world of education reform, there is no lack of folks with an ax to grind when a school takeover scenario unfolds. It helps to look at the actual improvement statistics behind the headlines.

EdisonLearning has consistently worked in the most challenging urban schools and districts in the United States. In three of the poorest performing schools in Baltimore, one actually ranked last, EL helped student achievement more than double in two years in both reading and math, with all three schools making AYP.

In Philadelphia, working with the 20 lowest performing schools in the district, the number of students testing below grade level in both reading and math was cut by nearly two-thirds during EdisonLearning’s partnership. Since EL began its work in Philadelphia, 14 of the 20 schools reached AYP.

EL has a longtime partnership in Hawaii, where the entire state is a single school system with some very challenged schools. EL began working with a handful of schools and proved that they could help the local staffs turn them around. That partnership has grown to more than 50 schools. The funding for these kinds of partnerships comes from federal school improvement grants.

When a failing district public school receives millions of dolllars in federal school improvement aid and turns it over to the same staff that ran the school into the ground to begin with, it doesn’t attract the same kind of handwringing headlines as when a district announces that it is partnering with EL and paying them millions of dollars to manage a failing public school and attempt to turn it around.

Please do talk to your representatives–I’ve talked to many of them myself–and be sure to let them know that they have an open invitation, as you do, for that matter, to come on down to Edgewood Avenue and take a look at what we’re doing. I’ll be glad to share our strategic plan with them. I can show them the incredible staff development that EL assists me and my fellow administrators in designing and implementing. They can see for themselves the learning management system and how it is helping us transform the way that high school is done for kids who have historically been underserved. Most of all, they can talk to students and parents, then examine the Report Card when the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement issues it in the spring. I am looking forward to sharing those things with as many people as I can possibly get them in front of.

I’ve been working in public schools, both district and charter, alternative education and dropout recovery for a long time. I’ve done my research on the whole stories behind the headlines. The team who created the Bridgescape model that Magic Johnson has attached his name and reputation to are topnotch people with a strong track record. The Provost Academy model has proved very successful in Pennsylvania where it originated. I’m not attaching my own reputation to something unless I’m confident that it’s going to be successful for students.

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