From the Star Tribune:
MN Charter system infected by an out-of-control financing system fueled by junk bonds, insider fees and lax oversight.Minnesota's charter school movement, which sparked a national rethinking of public schooling nearly two decades ago, has been infected by an out-of-control financing system fueled by junk bonds, insider fees and lax oversight.
State law prohibits charter schools from owning property, but consultants have found a legal loophole, allowing proponents to use millions of dollars in public money to build schools even though the properties remain in the hands of private nonprofit corporations.
The key to making it all work is the state's lease aid program, which was created 11 years ago to help spur competition in public education by offering rental assistance to groups promoting alternatives to district schools. In the beginning, many charters were located in dumpy strip malls and received no real-estate grants. But the once-obscure program has snowballed into one of the fastest growing expenses in the state, with building projects receiving little of the vetting that typically accompanies other public works. One school project was being led by a convicted sex offender until this month, when the Star Tribune exposed his past.
64 public schools closed since 2000, yet "100% state moneys" are being used to help charter schools build new buildings. One of the talking points of charter schools is less regulation. But someone needs to be watching.
Since 2000, at least 64 public school buildings in the metro area closed because of declining enrollment. Charter schools are responsible for recruiting away some of those students.
"When district schools are closing, should we allow charter schools to build new buildings?" said Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, who was cleared in 2001 of legislative ethics charges for voting to boost lease aid even though he personally received the funds from a charter school he helped start. "These are being built with 100 percent state moneys, but who is minding the store on using that money well?
There is an interesting comment on this from the
Schools Matter blog.Junk bonds, insider deals, and public monies used to destroy public spaces - no, I'm not talking Wall Street investors, I'm talking about charter schools in the fine state of Minnesota. One must wonder how Minnesota, the birthplace of the nation's first charter schools, has yet to put into place a set of laws that would significantly regulate charter school corruption and general tomfoolery, but, then again, CMOs, EMOs, and edupreneurs detest regulation as much as their (equally corrupt?) Wall Street pals.
Since the Star Tribune began checking out these schools the state legislators decided to fix the system. They are going to do what they can to reduce costs for charter schools. One idea is that they will allow charter schools to own property...which means taxpayers will be contributing more to these schools.
Minnesota lawmakers target charter school rulesMinnesota lawmakers will begin probing the use of state lease aid money that charter schools have used to fuel a building spree paid for with high-cost junk bonds. To curtail "abuse" of the fast-growing program, lawmakers will begin a series of hearings next week aimed at tightening controls and reducing costs for charter school projects, Sen. Kathy Saltzman, D-Woodbury, announced Tuesday.
..."Saltzman and Piccolo said one of the key issues that needs to be addressed is the law that bans charter schools from owning property. Charter school proponents have skirted that ban by using affiliated nonprofit building companies to buy or build new schools by issuing high-interest bonds that are later repaid with lease aid dollars.
By allowing charter schools to own their own facilities, the state could end what Saltzman described as private profiteering at the expense of school children. Piccolo and Saltzman said the upcoming hearings will review many options, among them letting charter schools own property and eliminating the need for building companies and junk-bond deals. They also said the process needs more oversight.
In the end, charter schools should be owned squarely by public entities, not private nonprofit corporations, as the law currently allows, they said.
So, if they are going to be considered as publicly owned, then I do hope that oversight comes along with it. If taxpayers are going to be owning the buildings, then they need to demand that there be regulation.
MN solves the building problem for charter schools by letting the taxpayers foot the bill in addition to public school expenses. NYC solved the problem by letting charter schools move into public schools and move the public school teachers and students into basement areas or other cramped quarters.
If MN changes the law to let taxpayer money buy buildings for charter schools, they also need to add some changes such as oversight and regulation.
Changing the law that is being abused to suit the ones that are abusing it...
Interesting.
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