Are Charter Schools Just a Drain of Public Ed?

As recently reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "Charter Schools Drain $365 Million a year," in Pennsylvania alone.  The real question remains are charter schools succeeding in creating a better environment for learning in order to accomplish the ultimate goal of turning out better prepared students for the 21st Century?  

The Philadelphia Inquirer (6/21, Woodall) reports that Pennsylvania state Auditor General Jack Wagner found the state "could save $365 million each year if it fixed the state's flawed formula for funding cyber and charter schools." Wagner released a report saying the state has spent "substantially more" than the national average on these schools, which educate more than 100,000 students. To help fix the problem, several bills have been introduced in the Assembly, including one introduced by State Rep. Mike Fleck that would "tighten oversight, require outside annual audits, and change some factors in the funding formula." The proposal has been endorsed by the state School Boards Association and the state's largest teachers' union.

Other Estimates Are A Bit Lower. The Scranton (PA) Times Tribune (6/21, Swift) also reports Auditor General Wagner's findings, though they reported the possible savings as slightly lower, at $300 million. The report also mentioned that Pennsylvania's average of $13,400 to educate every student in a charter school is about $3000 more than the national average. "The Auditor General recommends capping fees paid to private companies, because Pennsylvania's method of funding charter schools through the per-student tuition rate has attracted a large number of management firms," the report said.