18 December 2018

A Team of AZ Republic Investigative Reporters Tackles Charter Schools

In the rush to write charters into law in 1994, legislators omitted regulations that would have constrained unruly school spending.
The reporters: Justin Price, Anne Ryman, Craig Harris and Alden Woods
Disclaimer: Images inserted on this post are not taken from the team's excellent reporting. They might provide some subtle or not-so-subtle blog editorial comment if you happen to recognize persons that go un-named and un-identified. 
The Charter Gamble: In this series, they examine how Arizona committed 25 years ago to the then-untested concept of charter schools, and what the program has meant for the state.
That 1994 legislation, and the changes in the years to follow, also have become noteworthy for what charter schools didn't have to do. 
Arizona's charter school rules don't prevent conflicts of interest in school contracts. They don't impose rules about school boards being run by friends and relatives of school executives.
They don't put any limits on how much money charter schools spend outside the classroom. They don't require strict reporting of expenses.
Did the state's charter-school gamble pay off for students and taxpayers? 
Here's the entire story from AZ Central yesterday 17 December 2018 >  Click here