Reform By Charter

School Administrator, August, 1997 by Donna Harrington-Lueker

The indictment against Venerable also alleges that Citizen 2000 intentionally inflated its attendance figures by 100 students last year in an attempt to keep a $250,000 overpayment of state funds. Earlier, the state's auditor general found that the school's accounting procedures were "practically nonexistent," according to the Arizona attorney general's office.

Despite the mid-year closing, the majority of Citizen 2000 parents asked that their children be moved to other charter schools.

Two other schools also have had their charters revoked, both in San Diego. One school, a charter middle school, was cited for safety violations and failure to meet its enrollment goals. The other, a K-6 elementary school developed in partnership with the Urban League, was plagued by a power struggle between teachers and members of the Urban League.

Planning Problems

Other charter schools have closed their doors with less fan fare. A small number, for example, stopped operating at the end of the school year because their organizers had given up, says Alex Medler, formerly with the Education Commission of the States now working with the U.S. Department of Education's Charter Schools Project.

A few others have had their charter taken over by another sponsor, Medler says.

Some charters never open their doors in the first place. Last January, Central Michigan University revoked 14 of the 43 charters it had granted. All 14 charters had been awarded in 1995, yet two years later, largely due to the difficulties involved in securing start-up funds and finding appropriate buildings, none had opened. The revocations meant that CMU could then make these charters available to other interested groups.