Photo courtesy of Emily Ranquist / Pexels
State legislatures across the nation are back in session and hard at work. That means that on the education front, “school choice” is front and center. For many states, Tennessee included, charter schools are at the top of the list of legislative priorities, but the real question is: are charter schools the answer to the major issues facing education today?
First, charter schools that are funded by the government are not private schools. Any school or home school that accepts government funding is no longer private. Instead, they become nothing more than an extension of the neighborhood public school system. Once the private sector accepts government funds, they then become an extension of the same system. This is the result of the government reaching over into the private sector. It results in all forms of education becoming public, when monies exchange hands. What the government funds, it runs. Many parents are hanging their hopes on the notion that charter schools will be the answer to all the issues they believe are facing public schools. Unfortunately, that notion is like sweeping the sidewalk while it is still snowing.
Let’s talk about oversight for a moment. Parents and taxpayers should be asking if the teachers at these up-and-coming charter schools are certified and, if so, what their credentials are.
“. . . charter schools are exempt from some regulations that apply to conventional public schools,” according to Charter Schools and Accountability in Public Education, a book release by the Brookings Institution. “State charter laws vary, but most schools are exempt from rules governing use of time during the school day and how teachers are chosen.”
Currently, 25 states across the nation do not require charter school teachers to be certified.
They should also inquire as to who will hold the charter schools accountable. Will these charter schools be subject to public audits? Will their board meetings be open to taxpayers and parents?
“Many government agencies have not clarified their expectations of and oversight processes regarding charter schools,” the Brookings study continued.
The documentary Killing Ed does an exceptional job of exposing the issues of accountability within the charter school industry. Additionally, if we look at the recent arrests of the founders and former CEO of Epic Charter Schools in Oklahoma, we begin to see the grave issues with the charter school industry.
Many nonprofit charter schools are being run by for-profit organizations. Who is behind these organizations? Education is big business and these organizations have lobbyists ensuring legislation is passed that keeps the money flowing. Is the charter school industry really about the children? Or is it about money?
Parents should also familiarize themselves with Fetullah Gülen.
“In the United States, there are currently 167 charter schools that are likely linked with the Gülen Movement in 26 states and Washington D.C., making it one of the largest charter school organizations in the country,” according to debsedstudies.org.
Just recently, in December of 2022, the State of New Mexico released the following risk advisory in relation to charter schools.
“The Office of the State Auditor (OSA), together with the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC), issue this joint risk advisory to alert the legislative bodies and policy advisors in the State of New Mexico of risks related to a significant lack of oversight and accountability failures concerning the technical relationships between charter schools and non-profit charter school foundations. The technical relationship between charter schools, governed throughout New Mexico under the ‘Charter Schools Act,’ and its charitable foundations, considered blended component units, is opaque and absent of oversight. Due to a significant accountability gap, there is a lack of transparency concerning the expenditure of public funds made by a charter school’s charitable foundation. There are no oversight mechanisms to account for public funds transferred as payments/disbursements/payables by the charter school to its charitable foundation, allowing for the possibility of fraud and mismanagement of public funds. As reported by LFC in a 2013 evaluation, there is a high potential for conflicts of interest regarding charter school operations provided through a charitable foundation’s programs—which may include providing suitable facilities and other organizational support. Another issue, charter school funding provided by the State of New Mexico can be disbursed to the charitable foundation and subsequently used to support the foundation’s expenditures with no accountability from internal controls or other oversight outlined in policies, procedures, laws, or regulations by the State of New Mexico. This may enable the mismanagement of those public funds.”
Parents and taxpayers should be asking tough questions. Do charter schools cost more money per student than traditional public schools?
According to Harvard Ed. Magazine, “after 25 years and some 6,000 schools, charters still on average produce results roughly equal those of the public schools to which they set out to be better alternatives.”
Is this really a good use of our tax dollars? Is this the answer to the educational crisis facing our nation? Are charter schools truly empowering parents and giving their children better opportunities, even though they are being funded by the same government system that they mistakenly think they are escaping? Unfortunately, the answer is no. The answer doesn’t lie within government-funded education options. The best option for parents is to take charge of their children’s education by leading and directing it. It is not the responsibility of the government to educate our children unless you agree with the tenets of Marxism.
I strongly encourage taxpayers and parents to ask hard questions, demand answers and make tough decisions. Ask yourself if you really believe the government has the best interest of your children at heart. If you answered “no” to that last question then maybe it is time to stop giving them authority over your children. Parents, you are equipped.
