(The Center Square) – Four bills passed by the Michigan Senate’s Education Committee would require increased financial transparency from charter schools, limit school property purchases, and require more state oversight.
The legislation would implement the ongoing efforts by the State Board of Education and the Michigan Department of Education to place charter schools under greater state and financial regulation.
The Education Department has publicly called charter schools a “threat” to the traditional public school system. In Michigan, charter schools are public school academies under a revised coding.
“All we ask is that taxpayers have the same visibility and the same transparent understanding of where taxpayer funds to charter schools go and what they support as they do for traditional public school districts,” State Superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice said.
Charter schools operate from an agreement, or charter, they receive from an authorizer.
Unlike most traditional public schools, which may only enroll students within their particular districts, charter schools are open to any students in the state. Charter schools are also not governed by elected boards, unlike district schools. And while district schools typically contract with teachers unions, most charter schools do not, giving them more autonomy in hiring, training and firing teachers.
Senate Bills 943 and 944 address school aid and disclosure requirements for charter schools and require a management agreement with educational management organizations, respectively.
Senate Bills 946 and 947 would implement additional oversight requirements for charter schools by authorizing bodies and restrict charter school real estate purchases, respectively.
Chairwoman of the Education Committee Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, who repeatedly interrupted other senators who raised concerns during the Wednesday meeting, said “reaping profits” are charter schools’ “motive for existing” whose business model “relies on getting rich.”
“When over 80% of charter schools in Michigan are connected to private companies – the majority that exist to make a profit using Michigan taxpayer money – it’s important that they are no longer allowed to do so in secret,” said Polehanki. “It’s only fair for the Michigan taxpayer to know how much profit the private company is making from their hard-earned money versus how much is making its way to the kids and the staff.”
State Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, objected to Polehanki’s characterization of charter schools and said that the bills could lead to many charter schools closing their doors.
“Under the proposals outlined in committee, charter schools will face onerous additional scrutiny beyond anything that vendors of traditional public schools experience when it comes to their operations and facilities,” said state Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs. “To me, this is nothing more than legislating winners and losers, and it is based on a false narrative. I find the implication from the chair of the committee that charter schools only exist for the purpose of robbing the taxpayers both offensive and misleading.”
There are more than 363 charter schools across the state according to the most recent data from the Michigan Department of Education. Recent studies and analyses from Stanford and the University of Michigan show low-performing students, students from impoverished or disadvantaged backgrounds, and minority students receive the most benefits from charter schools, including substantial gains in standardized test scores and college enrollment.
