Charter Schools and the Lack of Accountability

Charter School Company Told to Open the Books

***  Did you know that charter school conglomerate, White Hat Management, had refused to open their books and accounting to state officials?  A judge has ruled that the state and the public has the right to know what happens to our tax dollars.

ConnecticutPost:

A judge in Ohio has ruled that a private management company that operates a group of publicly funded charter schools must turn over financial records requested by the schools' governing boards.

The Wednesday ruling in Columbus comes in a lawsuit in which the boards of Hope Academies and Life Skills Centers in Cleveland and Akron asked to break their contracts with Akron-based White Hat Management LLC.......

.......Among records the boards seek are those related to school operations as well as money spent on lobbying for the 2007 law. The judge says White Hat must only turn over records related to the use of public funds.

Here is the story from the Dispatch:

....Common Pleas Judge John F. Bender ruled that White Hat Management Co. is required to disclose the financial information under Ohio law.

State law “clearly and unambiguously requires operators of community schools to provide their governing authorities with a detailed accounting of how public funds are spent,” Bender wrote in a 12-page decision on a request by several charter schools in their ongoing lawsuit against White Hat....

.....Under contracts with the schools, White Hat receives 96 percent of the state aid they receive.....

OMG!  White Hat Management only gave 4% of their total state money to the actual charter schools for salaries, supplies, etc.??????  4%????  There are two things that are clearer now:

(1) This explains why David Brennan is able to give millions of dollars to Republican candidates because he is using your state money for his political objectives.

(2) This also helps provide information on why the White Hat charter schools performs so poorly--- the students are not getting the materials and support they need.

from the Stubborn Liberal