EFM Roy Roberts Steps Down...

[Bham1982]

I'm still incredibly confused as to why charters are automatically branded as for-profit organizations. Not every charter is a for-profit.

True, not all, but the vast majority in MI are for-profit. To me, that's concerning.

Given the lack of oversight, why are our taxpayer dollars going to for-profit entities that answer to investors, not parents? Their goal is profit, not education.

[Detroitnerd]

True, not all, but the vast majority in MI are for-profit.

In the beginning, charter schools were one thing, a way to offer slightly different curricula with greater accountability. The "education industry" saw a great lever to apply pressure on and open up that $600 billion to speculation and "investment," and in doing so have taken charters and turned them into something that suits their desires.

Think of LLCs. A lot of people think LLC stands for limited liability corporation, because they so often behave like corporations. But they're not, technically. Except when they pretty much behave as corporations. Not all LLCs are for-profit, though that might surprise a lot of people....

[Wesley Mouch]

True, not all, but the vast majority in MI are for-profit. To me, that's concerning.

Given the lack of oversight, why are our taxpayer dollars going to for-profit entities that answer to investors, not parents? Their goal is profit, not education.

Aren't the parents able to decide? The investors can only make money if the parents so choose. Sounds All-American to me. I'm not going to let you badmouth the United States of America.

But the 80% for-profit is something that bears discussion. It not troubling by itself -- but it is cause for concern. Are there not enough non-profits? Are there qualified non-profit charter operators not being allowed to enter the game? I'm OK with for-profit schools -- so long as we're not chasing out the non-profits. As said earlier today, I hate monopolies. We need diversity. Public, charter, private, corporate, charitable, religious.