The
biggest way they hurt local economies is by providing too many children a
substandard education (and yes I know there are a few great charter schools but
the list of bad actors and failed schools in Florida alone is legion). If, with all their advantages they have, the
ability to counsel out under performers and discipline problems, fewer numbers
of ESOL, ESE and free and reduced lunch kids, and the ability to put requirements
on patents, a charter school isn’t doing better than its public school neighbor
then it is a failure.
One
of the tricks charter schools are doing is having a parent company buy a
property and then renting it back to a charter school often at a significant
mark up. That money is sucked out of the local economy if that charter school’s
management company is located elsewhere.
The
same thing happens to the management fees that many charter schools pay. That
is even more taken out of local economies.
Many
are staffed by Teach for America recruits who both do not put down roots and
who do not advance much salary wise, furthermore this prevents qualified locals
from getting jobs too.
Then
since public school teachers typically get paid more than charter schools
teachers (see rents and management fees as a reason) then this means money that
would have been put in local economies were charter school teachers employed by
public schools, isn’t.
Florida
routinely sends tens of millions of dollars to charter schools that they turn
around and send out of state. Money that if spend on public schools would
provide better education outcomes and give a boost to the economy too.
Charter
schools as Florida does them are bad business all around.
