Florida, the most charter friendly state in the nation

Make that, for profit private school funded by public money friendly state in the nation. -cpg

From Scathing Purple Musings

by Bob Sykes

What better expert on charter-school friendly legislation can there be than a billionaire-funded national charter school lobby? And, of course, its naturally biased, um, researcher. From StateImpact:

Todd Ziebarth is the author of the study. He said Florida can do “a better job in holding authorizers accountable for their work and the quality of the charter schools that they approve.”

In Florida, only the school board in each school district can authorize opening a new charter school and renewing an existing one — a model Ziebarth says can get tricky.

“What we find in Florida and other states is that it’s challenging for school boards to do a great job of authorizing essentially what some view as their competition.”

Another issue is autonomy.

Ziebarth said other states are starting to look at how well the authorizers oversee schools “in a way that does not constrain the charter school’s autonomy.”

Ziebart has some chutzpah in asserting that local school boards should oversee (charter) schools “in a way that does not constrain the charter school’s autonomy.” And that “it’s challenging for school boards to do a great job of authorizing essentially what some view as their competition.”

Ziebart seems to feel that public servants – like those pesky Florida school boards – shouldn’t have oversight over the manner in which taxpayer money is spent. Or who gets government contracts . His “holding authorizers (school boards) accountable for their work and the quality of the charter schools that they approve,” is pure gibberish.

So are charter schools telling Floridians that they want access to taxpayer money without a formal bid process? Or do they assume to just have themselves be knighted for life wherever they whimsically desire open? They sure have a whole pack of compliant republican legislators in Tallahassee looking to help them do – and have – just that.

Such brazenness has been fostered by those same republican policy-makers – six of whom have financial interests in charter schools. Blinded by an irrational loathing for teachers and marching in lockstep to whatever a few voices may say, its small wonder one influential columnist asked whether or not Florida has become too republican.

http://bobsidlethoughtsandmusings.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/florida-is-most-charter-school-friendly-state-but-charter-school-lobby-complains-about-school-board-oversight/