CA Charter Schools Need More Oversight: Audit

CALIFORNIA -- A report from the California State Auditor found that school districts are improperly monitoring charter schools.

The report, which was released in October, found that school districts authorized charter schools outside of their areas, allowing for the districts to generate more revenue. However, authorizing districts were not "accountable to the communities in which the schools are located (host districts) because residents in host districts cannot vote for an authorizing district’s school board."

The auditor's office said they found overnight issues at each of three districts they visited, and found that state law requirements were "vague and ineffective."

Two of the school districts mentioned in the report, Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified and New Jerusalem, authorized out-of-district schools. As a result, Acton-Agua generated $1.9 million in revenue in fiscal 2015-2016, while New Jerusalem generated more than $5 million in revenue from its charter schools during the same fiscal year, the report said.

The state auditor's office issued several recommendations for the state Legislature including: Requiring all schools to report their locations, removing financial incentives for districts that authorize charter schools, and clarifying the exceptions for out-of-district charter schools.