Lack of regulations contributes to charter school industry fraud and corruption. Time to regulate.

The charter school industry is rife with fraud and corruption primarily due to lack of regulations regarding accountability and transparency. Had Ohio charter schools been held to the same laws, standards, and regulations as public school districts the ECOT man, Bill Lager would never had been able to steal hundreds of millions from Ohio taxpayers. The ECOT theft is not an isolated incident. It is commonplace in the charter industry in Ohio and other states. A North Carolina charter case is typical of the industry nationwide. See Diane Ravitch’s February 7 blog.

Public school districts are highly regulated and should be highly regulated for the protection of all concerned—students, parents, taxpayers, employees, administrators, and boards of education. The regulations have been formulated to correct problems that have arisen over time. Of course, some mandates have been adopted by state officials in search of a problem that is nonexistent.

Charter school advocates tapped into the public treasury by promising better student outcomes, creativity, innovation, lower costs, etc. Three decades of experience with this experiment have shown beyond doubt that the charter promises have fallen flat on all counts.

Since the charter school promise of better results with less funding is a betrayal, the state of Ohio should not exempt charter schools from any regulation required of school districts. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

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VOUCHERS HURT OHIO