Here’s how to stop charter-school corruption

All the investigative reporting in the world won’t matter unless the facts uncovered cause the politicians in charge to take action.

Given that, charter-school corruption in Arizona will go unchecked unless ... ... we elect different leaders.

For a very long time now, The Arizona

Republic, mostly through the work of reporter Craig Harris, has been documenting the abuse of taxpayer money and the boldfaced, old-fashioned corruption rampant in the state’s charterschool system. And in response to these reports, Gov. Doug Ducey and the Republicans who control the Legislature have done exactly nothing.

Not a thing.

Or, if anything, they’ve made things worse.

Most recently, Harris wrote how a charter school used taxpayer money to pay recruiters $550 for each child enrolled. And how the administrator behind it used his own company. The insider profiteering on the taxpayer dime only got reversed after Harris’ story.

It’s not the first time something like this has happened. (Or the second, or the third.)

Earlier, Harris wrote an article about

a charter founder who has wildly enriched himself using state money; a charter board that refused to allow public comment at its meeting (until Harris wrote about it); and a charter principal who refused to pay teachers the bonuses they deserved (until Harris wrote about it.)

All of this is part of the bigger scandal that is Arizona’s charter-school system. The lack of transparency. The way charters slyly screen students they don’t want. The ability of charter owners to enrich themselves on taxpayer money that would get officials at other public schools tossed into jail.

It doesn’t go unnoticed.

Republic columnist Laurie Roberts

has consistently railed against the practice. As have others. There have been editorials. Other news articles and TV spots.

The Republic’s team of reporters at the state Capitol has described how lawmakers protect and even encourage a lack of transparency and accountability within the charter-school system.

During the recent legislative session, lawmakers created new rules and punishments meant to keep individuals working in the regular public-school system from using a taxpayer-supported positions to enrich themselves. Then they decided the new rules should not apply to charter schools.

For example, House Speaker J.D. Mesnard introduced an amendment, approved with support of the Republican majority, that maintains the requirement for charter schools to post budgets, but exempts the schools from procurement rules and gifting prohibitions.

In other words, the newly legislated crimes are only crimes if someone in a regular public school commits them. Charter-school operators received a get-out-of-jail free card.

It goes on.

And it is allowed to go on because Ducey and the Republicans who control the Legislature like it this way.

They condemn teachers with the #RedForEd movement who are trying to improve their lives and working conditions, and then encourage and actually legislate abuses for charter-school owners and administrators.

That won’t change unless the people in charge are replaced.

It doesn’t matter if they are replaced by Democrats or Republicans, only that they be replaced by so-called public servants who actually wish to serve the public and not themselves or their political overlords.

Another disappointing aspect of this is the lack of outrage expressed by those in the charter-school system who run schools with honesty and integrity, and who are filling genuine needs within the education system. They choose to remain silent rather than risk irritating lawmakers.

Hardly the example of a stellar educator.

We don’t just educate our children in the classroom. We educate them by our actions, and right now in Arizona’s charter schools, we’re teaching kids that politics matters more than principle and using public money for private reward is not only acceptable, but encouraged.

I’d give us an “F.”