They may be called charter schools, or they may get public money through vouchers. There are also magnet and choice schools which may be named differently in various areas.
They all get public tax money, which cuts down on what the public schools get. That is the common denominator. They are experimenting with public money on how to change schools from the traditional public schools. There are some good, some not so good, and some really bad.
That is one of the main reasons I am so concerned. It is like a hit and miss process with various companies and groups running the charter schools....and the voucher schools in Florida would require a whole other post. So many were formed to take state money but at one time in 2003
as many as 100 were suspended by the state.
FORT LAUDERDALE -- One hundred private schools that take taxpayer funded vouchers were put on probation Tuesday after missing a deadline to comply with state laws.
Florida's Voucher Programs.
The schools, which serve about 1,700 students who take corporate tax credit vouchers and McKay vouchers for disabled students, had until Monday to complete "corrective action plans" and fix whatever legal problems they had.
The plans were developed after the state Department of Education made all private schools taking vouchers fill out a form showing whether they were breaking state laws. It became a requirement following several high-profile problems with schools taking state vouchers.
Education Commissioner Jim Horne had already told 21 private schools they no longer could take vouchers after they "snubbed" the state's demands.
It is as though we have not learned from experience.
Some schools in Florida get public tax money from the state to provide Pre-Kindergarten. Some of them work, some don't. When they don't work, when they are not regulated by someone in the state or county...the results can be disastrous.
Here is an example of one that is going to lose the state money it was getting...my money.
Troubles Worsen at Lakeland Day CareAs of Monday, Colors R Us can no longer provide voluntary prekindergarten. Some parents weren't told of the situation until they retrieved their children after class on Monday, the first day of school.
"I'm heartbroken," Tammy Pasch, 42, who must find an alternative school for her 4-year-old daughter, Rebecca, said Tuesday. "After reading (previous articles) in the paper, you ask yourself, are they that bad?"
The decision to cancel Colors' prekindergarten contract was made last week by the Early Learning Coalition of Polk County, which oversees funding for the free state program that gives 4-year-olds a jump start on skills necessary to enter kindergarten.
Here is more about why
the day care was in so much trouble. A Lakeland day care faces sanctions for failing to report suspicions that a teacher was taping the mouths of children in her care, locking them in a closet and dispensing hot sauce to cure ill behavior. The issue came to light June 1 after the department received a complaint about the abuse going on at Colors R Us, which is licensed for 89 children and has been in business since 2004. The person filing the complaint told DCF that staff were failing to notify the state's abuse hotline, as the law requires.
On June 2, investigators interviewed staff, reviewed records and discovered numerous violations and concerns, including potential safety hazards, state records show. They include:
1.Staff were not within sight and hearing of all children during nap time.
2.A sleeping infant lay in a crib with one of its sides down, and the child's head was covered with a blanket.
3.One of two designated fire exit doors could not be opened.
4.Cleaning supplies, knives and sharp tools were within reach of children.
5.Teacher/student ratios were out of compliance.
6.Bedding was unsafe and unsanitary.
7.Cribs under recall for safety concerns were in use.
Rooms were extremely warm, with temperatures of 89 degrees.
Our traditional public schools in the area open often with county wide meetings, inspirational education speakers, and meetings to spark enthusiasm for the new year. Several years in a row they cut back on the large meetings because of expenses involved.
However recently one of the most prestigious charter schools in the county controversially spent $70,000 of taxpayer money for a
beach resort retreat for their teachers.Though many were irate, they said they would do it again next year...though that money could have done so much for schools that have so little.
Officials with a publicly funded charter school based in Polk County are defending the $70,000 they spend on an annual retreat for teachers and principals at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater Beach, a newspaper is reporting.
At least five of the eight board members for the three McKeel charter schools support Superintendent Harold Maready's intention to continue the getaway, according to the Lakeland Ledger.
The newspaper reported that Seth McKeel, a Republican state representative and the grandson of the schools' namesake, supported the event.
"This isn't a bunch of politicians going on a junket. It is rewarding teachers for fantastic work," the newspaper reported.
Another specialized charter school was closed down for getting money for students they did not even have in their school. It was a good concept gone terribly off course.
Inquiry shows the state paid $101,000 for full-time students the facility didn't have.LAKELAND | A defunct Lakeland charter school charged the state $101,000 for students it didn't have, according to an investigation by the Polk County School District. The Life Skills Center on Memorial Boulevard inflated its attendance numbers by 37 students who did not qualify during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years, the audit said.
"There were a number of students that were counted and may not have been there in attendance for education," said School Board Attorney Wes Bridges.
A lawyer for White Hat Management, the Ohio-based management company that oversaw Life Skills, said that the audit conducted by the district was out of line.
I would say when schools are receiving public taxpayer money that no audit is out of line. There are many other articles at the link about the White Hat situation.
There have been other cases also. Counties and cities are in some cases taking control of finances in some charter schools.
Palm Bay takes over charter school's financesPALM BAY -- The city's purchasing department will take control over spending at Palm Bay Community Charter School, with the city council taking over approval of all big buys. Up for a vote tonight by Palm Bay City Council is a $500,000 contract with A&S Transportation Services to offer busing for the school's 730 students. That's $100,000 less than last year's contract, which was negotiated by the school's former management company, Charter Schools USA.
"We're being very hands-on and taking advantage of the city's purchasing power -- and the city's purchasing staff," Deputy Mayor Milo Zonka said. "We're going to get a better value."
A charter school is funded with public money, but it must provide the building, hire teachers and buy books, furniture and other equipment. The city and Charter Schools USA agreed to part ways this year after financial problems nearly closed down the school. The city's $21 million bond with three New York finance companies had to be restructured to save the school.
Problems like this have gone on for years. Edison Schools had to be bailed out in effect in 2003. It was not a good time for our state.
State fund buys school operatorIf the deal stands, the fund that provides for pensions of Florida public school teachers will own a company that privatizes school management. Florida's state pension fund is investing $174-million in a controversial for-profit school management company.
Through one of its money managers, Liberty Partners, the pension fund has agreed to buy out the shareholders of Edison Schools Inc., taking the New York company private.
In effect, the fund that provides for the retirement pensions of Florida teachers and other public employees will own a company that has played a leading role in privatizing school management.
Liberty's buyout was announced in July, but it was not until this week that the Wall Street Journal reported that the pension fund was the source of the money. The deal is expected to close this year. Edison is the largest private manager of public schools. The company says more than 80,000 students attend the 150 schools it operates in 23 states, including Florida, under management contracts. It reports improving academic performance at its schools.
Edison and chief executive Chris Whittle were sharply criticized for both educational and investment results. But Jeb loved them. Now Jeb is advising Indiana schools.
Then there are the Imagine Charter Schools being run by Dennis and Eileen Bakke, who are members of The Family. Their track record is spotty at best but they are opening schools in Florida one after the other. Often they advertise with our public taxpayer money.
In fact they fired two principals who questioned how they were diverting some
public money into their real estate ventures....But it is not only in Florida that there have been objections to, and problems with, Imagine Schools. In Texas and Nevada, concerns have been raised about Imagine Schools' finances and complex real estate deals that have led to the charters spending up to 40% of their entire publicly funded budget on rent to for-profit companies, including Imagine's real estate arm, Schoolhouse Finance, leaving them with tight budgets for necessary materials like textbooks. In the interest of comparison, many other charter schools spend in the neighborhood of 14% of their public funding on building rent. The real estate deals, where the charter run by Imagine leases the building from Schoolhouse Finance, who then sells the property to a real estate investment trust who then leases it back to Schoolhouse at a lower rate than what the charter pays, have proven very lucrative for owners and investors in the two companies. Former Imagine School principals who inquired into the real estate expenditures were subsequently fired. But, naturally, they have also drawn sharp criticism from boards of education.
Could it be that Imagine Schools is applying for nonprofit tax-exempt status by shuffling the profits (from public funding, of course) into its real estate business? Given what has already transpired in Nevada and Texas, this seems very likely.
In some areas around here parents don't know what kind of school their students are attending. I have had some tell me they thought their kids' school was being privately funded. They were surprised to learn it was publicly funded.
One of the main gripes I have is the total hodge-podge of schools that are paid for with tax payer money. The only type held to strict financial accountability is the traditional public school. Oh, the others may get caught up with sooner or later for careless or misuse of funds...but that's a lot of money that is going to largely unregulated institutions. For some of the vouchers we can not yet see their test scores, they are kept private. It may gradually change. I heard it might this year. Charter schools here can look successful because they don't have to keep low-performing students like traditional public schools do.
They look successful, therefore they keep getting taxpayer money...yet they send some students back to public schools. There is no requirement at present that they must send the money back with the student.
It reminds me of just how much our country is paying the price for the financial free market fall. Seems like we don't learn, and now we are doing the same thing with our education system. We are doing as
Newt Gingrich as long desired....We should apply the free enterprise system to our education system by introducing competition among schools, administrators, and teachers. Our educators should be paid based on their performance and held accountable based on clear standards with real consequences. These ideas are designed to stimulate thinking beyond the timid “let’s do more of the same” that has greeted every call for rethinking math and science education.
Source: Gingrich Communications website, www.newt.org Dec 1, 2006
We are turning over our schools to the free market system that just put our country in deep trouble. We are allowing experimentation without much regulation.
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