1. "10% of all charter schools are managed by for-profit organizations"
False. 16%.
http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lvIXIiN0JwE&b=5868097&ct=8089273¬oc=1And bullshit, because, as documented many times, even supposed "non-profit" EMOs typically have for-profit arms that make money on real estate, curriculum, or other services/supplies.'
It's likely that more than half of emo's are "for-profit" in some way or another.
2. "80% are locally managed by teachers, parents..."
False, since 30% are managed by emo's of various types:
"Educational management organizations (EMOs), which now run close to 30 percent of all charter schools throughout the United States..."
http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lvIXIiN0JwE&b=5868097&ct=8089273¬oc=1And bullshit, since the remaining 70% are rarely managed by teachers or parents.
3. "All charter schools are public schools"
"Public" only because they take public $$. They don't follow the same rules public schools do, they can be profit-generating institutions, they don't have the same oversight public schools do, & contra the hype, in general they afford parents *less* access & input, not more.
10% of all charter schools are run by just 10 EMOs, which operate like franchise businesses, across state lines. For example, "Imagine" is a for-profit EMO which operates 76 schools in 10 different states:
http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/atf/cf/%7B00a4f2e8-f5da-4421-aa25-3919c06b542b%7D/FIGURE%202.PDFSome charter school management corps are, in fact, INTERNATIONAL, e.g. Edison, Sabis, etc.
http://www.sabis.net/But supposedly, these global, for-profit franchise operations are going to provide more local control than a public school district.
Riiiiight. That must be why so many cases are popping up where charter school parents are denied access to budget, salary, and other information that is a matter of public record in public schools.
The day will come soon when many more of these operations are traded in the stock market (some already are) -- & that is the point of the whole "school reform" gig.
4. "All charter schools are NON-profit organizations."
Only by twisting the language. A school with for-profit management = a for-profit school, e.g.:
Company History:
National Heritage Academies, Inc. (NHA) operates a chain of nearly 40 charter schools--state-regulated, for-profit institutions that serve as a tuition-free alternative to public schools. The company erects the buildings and provides personnel and management services, receiving what local school districts spend per student as compensation. NHA students get a back-to-basics education featuring phonics, math skills, and moral teaching, and follow strict disciplinary and dress codes. To reduce overhead, NHA centralizes many operations, pays its non-union teachers lower salaries, and eschews the use of buses or cafeterias. The Michigan-based company is owned by J.C. Huizenga, a cousin of Blockbuster/Waste Management billionaire Wayne Huizenga.
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/National-Heritage-Academies-Inc-Company-History.html.5. "some charters are not only unionized, they were open and run by unions"
and most aren't, & weren't.
6. "Are there some bad charters?"
Yes, there are a lot of bad charters. In fact, the largest study ever done of the matter, the stanford study, found that only 17% of charters performed better than the public schools in the same area, while THIRTY-SEVEN PERCENT PERFORMED SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE. The rest were comparable to public schools.
i.e., overall, CHARTER SCHOOLS PERFORMED WORSE.
Somehow whenever this fact comes up, you fail to acknowledge it.
Which is easy to do when you put anyone who brings up inconvenient facts on "ignore".
7. "Are there some unscrupulous people involved?"
Yes, there are. In fact, as I documented just the other night, a recent probe of charter schools in Philadelphia found substantial irregularites AT EVERY CHARTER SCHOOL THEY INVESTIGATED. As the investigator said, if they found such significant problems at all of the random schools they looked at, it's fairly likely other charters in the area have the same problems.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x81105878. "Poor charters are closed down asap"
First, NO THEY'RE NOT. You can find ample documentation of this, not that you'll bother to investigate the matter, at "Schools Matter" a website which regularly writes about lousy, corrupt charter schools that just keep going & going & going like the energizer bunny.
Second, your market-based solution -- opening bad charter schools & then closing them, like businesses do - IS NOT GOOD FOR CHILDREN. IT'S NOT GOOD FOR CHILDREN to keep changing school buildings, teachers, curriculum, methods. IT'S NOT GOOD FOR CHILDREN when the CEO absconds with the funding & the kids show up to find the school shuttered.
IT'S FUCKING STUPID MARKET-BASED POLICY. CHILDREN AREN'T COMMODITIES & NEITHER SHOULD EDUCATION BE.
9. "do you REALLY think that Eli Broad and Bill Gates need to 'make a profit'"
You've repeatedly stated that Gates & Broad are so rich, they're no longer interested in profit & have now transitioned to good-deed-doing.
Why didn't they stop at their first million? Their second? Their third? Their first 100 million? 200 million? THEIR FIRST FUCKING BILLION?
They're both on the WORLD'S 50 RICHEST LIST. Broad's worth about $6 billion, Gates about $58 billion.
When was that magic point they stopped being interested in money & profit, ms tetris?
Hint: you don't become one of the 50 richest people in the world by being a do-gooder at heart.
Because there's never enough, for some people. Broad & Gates are among that legion. There's never enough money, power, control & adulation for them, & never will be.
Anyone who's done any serious research on Bill Gates' & Broad's activities, including their so-called "philanthropies," knows they are STILL ALL ABOUT THE MONEY & POWER.
THEY DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ANYONE'S KIDS BUT THEIR OWN.
Course, people who can't distinguish words in fancy public-relations brochures from deeds will never get it.