NEW YORK – A new report from the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) demonstrates why we should start worrying about the proliferation of charter schools in areas that are poorly regulated, finding more than $216 million in fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement across the sector. The findings vividly demonstrate why oversight must catch up with the rapid growth of charter schools in recent years.

The findings are of particular concern with charter spending set to ramp up with the recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which doubles the total federal investment in charter schools in the next ten years alone. If the current gaps in oversight continue, billions of dollars could be lost at the federal, state, and local level – according to the report, more than $1.8 billion just in 2016.

The report, which builds on similar studies released by CPD in 2014 and 2015, uncovers millions in unaccountable spending in states that have experienced significant – and often controversial – charter growth over the past few years, including:

• Georgia: The founder of multiple Atlanta charter schools was arrested for allegedly using approximately $600,000 from school accounts for personal expenses, including travel, meals, and strip clubs.
• Louisiana: Officials at ReNEW Charter School in New Orleans changed student diagnoses to bring in $320,000 in government funds designated for students with disabilities.
• Missouri: The state’s Attorney General sued Hope Academy Charter School in Kansas City for approximately $3.7 million for reporting inflated attendance figures.  
• South Carolina: The founder of Mary L. Dinkins Higher Learning Academy Charter School in Columbia was sentenced to 42 months in prison for embezzling government funds and ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution.
• Ohio: In Dayton, General Chappie James Leadership Academy Charter School was found to have falsified attendance records to receive state funding for students who never attended the school. The school now owes taxpayers close to $1.2 million.

The report also recommends a number of measures lawmakers at the federal, state, and local level can take to ensure charter spending stays aboveboard, including audits to detect and prevent fraud and mechanisms to increase the transparency of charter school operators.

A full copy of the report can be found here.

Kyle Serrette, Director of Education Justice at Center for Popular Democracy, released the following statement on the report:

“Problems with charter school fraud will continue until we address the root cause – the broken oversight systems that exist on a federal and state level. Our system is not good at differentiating the sheep from the wolves in sheep’s clothing. That’s a problem, given that taxpayers around the country are collectively spending over $30 billion a year on unaccountable charter schools. Charter school parents, children, and taxpayers deserve better.”

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www.populardemocracy.org

The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.

Contact:

Asya Pikovsky, apikovsky@populardemocracy.org, 207-522-2442