Abstract
Advocates of charter schools hold that the marketization of education compels all schools to be innovative in raising student achievement outcomes. Opponents of charter schools dispute whether the impact of charter schools on student achievement is statistically sufficient to justify taking resources from traditional public schools. Another practical concern is the lack of oversight over charter schools as evidenced by the loss of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds through mismanagement and fraud. The literature regarding student achievement and charter schools in Florida is prolific; however, literature regarding the business practices of management organizations operating in the state, the amount of tax dollars that are being paid to EMOs, the profits these organizations are reporting, and the extent to which some charter schools have experienced deteriorating financial conditions is scarce. Using a multimethod descriptive research design, the way CMOs and EMOs are structured and operating in a school district in Florida, their reported fee structures, and which and why some charter schools may be experiencing some form of financial crisis was analyzed and described. The findings revealed the degree to which CMOs and EMOs operating within the sample have similar business structures that consolidate funds for services under a parent company, the payment structures and amount per pupil charged for management fees, information regarding the net position of the sampled charter schools, as well as the ethical use of taxpayer funds, accessibility to public information as required by state law and issues regarding transparency among shared documents within a larger corporate network.
Keywords: charter school, education management organization, charter management organization, school choice, sweeps contract, leaseback deal, management fees, transparency, conflict of interest