Public K-12 schools should be audited

One of the shining lights of California's public-education system has been its charterschool system, which allows students in underperforming public schools to choose another option. Charters, of course, are taxpayer-funded schools, so they need to conform to the highest fiscal and ethical standards. But they shouldn't be singled out for excessive scrutiny as a means to limit their expansion.

In 2021, two men who ran a charter school in San Diego pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy charges after they were accused of having “fake students on its rolls — resulting in the state providing $400 million in revenues for nonexistent students,” according to The Bond Buyer.

As a result, the courts ordered the formation of a multiagency task force to develop audit criteria to provide better oversight of charter-school dollars.

The task force will be led by Controller Malia Cohen, which is appropriate given the controller is responsible for overseeing the disbursement of state monies. We're concerned, however, that the state is using the rare instance of charter malfeasance to clamp down on charter schools in general.

In 2021, Assemblymember Patrick O'Donnell — a close ally of the anti-charter California Teachers' Association — introduced a bill that would have imposed overly stringent oversight rules on state charters.

As the California School Boards Association reported, that bill was tabled following an agreement with Gov. Gavin Newsom to extend a moratorium on online charters until 2025. Newsom previously signed anti-charter laws, including one that gives districts more power to block these potential competitors. Charter foes repeatedly point to the occasional bad charter as an excuse to limit all such schools.

We're hoping the new audit looks at the state officials who handed out the money to the charter. Were there no red flags?

We're also concerned about the performance of traditional public schools, which receive more than 40% of the state's general-fund budget. Yet despite record spending (even amid falling enrollments), test scores are plummeting and absentee rates are soaring.

So, by all means, we need more accountability — but for all of the state's publicly funded schools.