The Rowlett Academy for Arts and Communication presents a solid case study of success in the operation of a charter school. With parents deeply involved in the education of their children and in the performance of the converted district school, Rowlett stands in sharp contrast to the failures of many charters.
These tuition-free public schools, run by private organizations, receive taxpayer money through the local public school districts and operate independently of those education systems. That freedom from oversight, weak business plans and the profit motive of charter school management companies opens the door to abuses.
Florida charter schools in 30 districts around the state shuttered after receiving as much as $70 million in taxpayer money, an Associated Press analysis found and reported this past weekend. The state only recouped a paltry $133,000 in the last three years from charters that closed.
