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Even many charter schools that are “nonprofits” are run by for-profit charter management organizations. “The contracts are an example of how the charter schools sometimes cede control of public dollars to private companies that have no legal obligation to act in the best interests of the schools or taxpayers. When the agreement is with a for-profit firm like National Heritage Academies, it’s also a chance for such firms to turn taxpayer money into tidy profits. “‘It’s really just a pass-through for for-profit entities,’ said Eric Hall, an attorney in Colorado Springs who specializes in work with charter schools...

The Kansas legislature should not change our charter school law. “Forecasts about what 2015 will bring to the education landscape frequently foresee more charter schools as charter-friendly lawmakers continue to act witlessly to proliferate these schools. But make no mistake, the charter school scandals of 2014 forever altered the narrative about what these institutions really bring to the populace.” Please read the rest of this article. It lists and links stories about numerous charter scandals in 2014 in multiple states. http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/educations-newsmaker-of-the-year-charter-school-scandals/...

Pandora’s box opened a bit wider in Kansas with last session’s passage of the corporate tax credit scholarship. Kansans should make sure it doesn’t go any further. Jan Ressenger reports on the Pandora’s box of school privatization. “These are all such nice ideas. The problem, however, in Ohio and Michigan and many other states is that our politics is awash in money. The owners of the for-profits, the on-line charter schools, the shady Charter Management Organizations and other proponents of school privatization including major philanthropists are spending buckets of money to influence the politicians who would have to...