I amke a good living IMHO and I wont make 520k in 10 years. Thats including my retirement and benefits. She failed her job, she shouldn't get a buyout.

Aside from the $500k payout, the idea that charter schools get a separate set of rules, slimmer and less restricting on teachers and management, that are supposed to allow innovation and curricula enhancement to assure the success of the students is completely trashed now. This is a charter school failure. The reasons can be parsed by hobbiests but we have regular schools that fail the kids for a fraction of the cost. There is no need to go to the extra costs and bother of charter schools if they are just going to be another failure. No doubt people got their appointments due to internal politics and not based on merit. And that also explains how her salary was 2.5 times other principals but the BOD spokeman said it was less. Poltical hacks talk that way. Now go back to thinking of the $500k award for failure and the deal stinks to high heaven. She thought she had her 6 digit salary and her half mil severance in the bag all along. Which is why she didn't need to make sure the school was a success. They would be compunding the crime to give it to her. For the sake of other deals like this that may be out there, and for the kids, I'd make her sue us and tie her up in court for years and investigate her personal finances and the BOD trying to protect her until they gave up. If they don't have a competency clause in the contracts the BOD should be sued for violating their trust as well.

Don - charter schools are typically viewed as a conservative idea. A 'stepping stone' to closing down public schools and replacing the education system with private schools. That's where the republican part came from, I suppose. Not sure if the board of that charter school was on the conservative side or not.

The local charter schools' Boards around here read like a Who's Who of area pastors, preachers and conservative thinkers.

Well I guess the adage that you shouldn't throw good money after bad hasn't taken hold in Florida yet.

As a so called Charter school they were supposed to be able to do better than public schools

The fact is taxpayers paid more and the place was a failure. Think about that next time they try to BS you.

Then they rewarded failure, what happend to pay for performance they are trying to shove down the teachers throat?

I thought the promise was that private industry would prevail to deliver where public schools couldnt.

Just think, these schools did not eve have to take the disabled kids ad the illegal alien spawn. They had total control, unlike teachers, and they still failed.

Suckers!

I'm still waiting for superman. Public or Charter, the schools need help. No not that kind of help. They need students who are motivated to learn and parents who are motivated to assist their children in learning.

Money won't fix this as you can plainly see from this prime example.

hmm...a repug governor and legislature,I believe... and the teabaggers think everything should be done for profit. How about that "for profit" education now? Anyone??? And since the principal was just " making her profit", why should the 'baggers be upset? Just good ol' for profit business. Right? Free enterprise.

Do you wonder why charter schools are one of the big priorities of ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council)?

The same company that promoted mandatory sentencing to help their private-prison corporate backers?

Because there's MONEY in it.

The charter school movement has nothing to do with quality education.

It has everything to do with another method for privatizing public functions for private gain.

Now, if she'd only had foresight enough to get a YouTube clip online, who knows how much she'd have grabbed?

Public school teachers are NOT overpaid.

The average salary is about $50k, and that includes a lot of administrators and special ed teachers who make more.

That's no more than the average for all workers in the U.S.

The charter school movement is nothing more than union-busting behind a kid-friendly mask.

wburnes - The charter school movement is a Republican holy grail.

Not Democratic.

Charters, vouchers, NONE OF THEM WORK! This is an EXCELLENT EXAMPLE of why TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS are the way to go. Why? THEY PROVIDE THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK and provide an UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY.

Of course, the GOP is only of favor in accountability for the OTHER GUY, NOT THEM!

Now wait a minute, I thought these charter schools were suppose to be the wave of the future, cost the tax payers less money and turn out better students? at least that's what the wingnuts have been claiming whenever they talk about privatizing our education system.

who would have thought that greed, corruption and inefficiency would have crept into private industry so quickly? LOL

Florida [dope slap]. It figures.

Battle cry of the GOP:

Socialize Risk

Privatize Profit

Let the good times roll!

Apparently "screw you I got mine" applies to running for profit schools as well.

i was charter schooled...OLD CHARTER...drank lots of it...set'em up joe...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycyK1vANeCY

In addition, this sow/boar hog has used a means that was supposed to assist children for their personal profit. May this be a shame and disgrace upon him/her as an educator. There seems to be a snake in every bush!

"The law is very clear that school boards cannot put limits or control how a charter school spends their money, including payouts like this" Sublette told the Sentinel. He called the payment "a shameful abuse of public tax dollars" and "immoral and unethical."

Charter schools are privately run public schools with fewer regulations than traditional public schools. Charters, like public schools in Florida, receive state money based on student population.

GET IT??? "PRIVATELY RUN PUBLIC SCHOOLS". They can funnel YOUR tax dollars to ANYONE they want and YOU HAVE NO SAY!!!

THIS is the Garbage the Republican dominated legislature and Governor TRICKY Rick Scott has brought to Florida by way of FIRST VOUCHERS and now CHARTER SCHOOLS that are OWNED AND OPERATED by member of the State Legislature. Criminal??? Your damn right it is!!!

Now you people of Florida can see with your own Republican eyes where part of the $1.5 BILLION that Scott and the Legislature took from public schools is going. Oh, but you won't see the bulging pockets of those Republican state legislators that are getting their cut of these funds. Scott TOOK $2.5 Billion from public schools and gave it to Charter schools...Then when the school boards said they wouldn't have the money to fix A/C units or roofs or other basic necessaries, he gave back $1 Billion of the $2.5 Billion the THIEF took. NOW the slimeball is running TV ads that claim he GAVE the largest increase in Florida history to public schools. So you steal $2.5 Billion of TAXPAYER money then give back $1 Billion and THAT is an increase??? THIS IS THE KIND OF BS THAT YOU WILL GET BY VOTING FOR ANY REPUBLICAN FOR ANYTHING MORE THAN DOG CATCHER.

And look at the State Constitutional Amendments the Repugs have put out... #3, #6, #8,#10,...Oh hell, just vote NO on all 10 of their Amendments.

You REALLY must have brain damage to vote for any Republican in Florida or anywhere else for that matter.

it's floriduh...you can't spend to much educating them face eat'n folk...LOL...

Why the hell are we even rewarding failures. the same with the banks that failed miserably, and then the ones that failed walked away with millions. WTF is wrong with our country when you reward people for failures?

This all needs to stop, and the communities need to get involved in their schools politics and put a stop to this spending madness. Put these people on a set salary of $35k a year, and a $2,500 bonus at the end of the year if they do good. These corrupt contracts and pension plans is what's bleeding our country dry.

Hey. Principals are highly skilled individuals, like bankers or DMV workers. You can't just pick a random person off the street and have an equal probability of success. Oh yeah, wait. You CAN.

It's the cash-in old-buddy's network. Epidemic in private business, but now at a bureaucracy near you. You see, real TALENT is so hard to find, so we trump up criteria that pampers these @!$%#s.

Whoever negotiates these contracts should be fired. No public school administrator should make more than 10 or 15% more than the highest-paid teacher. Period.

It's amazing, the school boards don't have money for art classes and music classes but there is always enough to pay senior admin. over the top salaries.

@cynic

I agree! It would be nice to see a principal make no more than 10% - 15% above a teacher. And part of the problem is that some of the schools have principals, assistant principals and assistant to the assistant principals. My high school had 800 students and we only had a principal. And trust me the way he dressed, I'll bet he didn't make more than $30 grand.

Lady Cat - DO NOT blame the school board -

"Orange County School District officials say they were unaware of the principal's payment because the school isn’t required to report it under Florida's charter school law"

This is the net result of the unquestioned push for charter schools... It isn't that Charter Schools can't be successful - rather, there really is a place for oversite - an idea that is contrarty to the point of being repugnant to the parties involved in pushing them. People either need to accept that there have to be operational rules and oversite or they have no right to judge (or complain) about the results.

it's floriduh...chew on the cheek...nibble on the nose...bite down hard if they try to speak...nawgh away at the rest...teachers make little...and the principal make's the best...

@Don't Be A Moron

Sorry, but this is the net result of Republican State Legislators writing the laws so Charter schools don't have to answer to anybody but their stockholders, owners, board of directors OR in the case of Florida the REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS in Tallahassee that OWN AND OPERATE Charter schools in Florida.

Sam: Would you go to college for five years and take a high pressure job for $25,000 a year or less? Of course you wouldn't, but you expect teachers to. Further, you wouldn't last 3 hours in a difficult high school situation, but you have all the answers.

Remember the Next Time Your GOP/TP = American Taliban says that charter schools are the way to go, You jump in there face and tell them to phuk off and You vote there A$$E$ out of Office. Why not start this November Vote Straight Democrat Nov 6th. We cannot let the Repugs constantly fill there fat belly's at the tax payers expense

Obama/Biden 2012 or if Romney gets in you will see this nonsense Nationwide

These same republicans who are ranting and raving about this payment, are I'm sure the same one's who came up with all the laws MAKING this all legal. You wanted it, you got it. So deal with it. While Charters can be good, I fail to see why it is legal to provide tax money to these schools,, yet have NO supervision, guidelines, etc.

And 'they' have nerve to critizise public school teachers! Yikes...

Public schools have been around for about 300 years (first free school in 1635 in Virginia) and public schools are still viable inspite of a intentional and focused onslaught to debase the middle class through demonizing union workers, and making teachers a polerizing political issue. Charter schools have been around for about 10 years and already about 35% of them are failing or has a success rate less than public schools. Their funding comes straight from the education dollars of the state and federal government --- taxpayer dollars, nowhere else. But there is no school board, no parent imput. Washingston State has charter schools on their ballot right now, and it's set up where 3 politicians -- governor, sec. of state, and attny general appoint 3 persons each, giving charters a overseeing 'board' of 9 unelected officials. Absolutly no other oversight. And should the political climate change in a state, the appointed 'board' is there always, sort of like the Supreme Court. What bunk.

They privitized the military (aafes, clothing sales, class 6, etc), and then the prisons, maximizing profit at the expence of those who should be served. Now they want to do it with kids? Wow, that takes _alls!

This article mentions ONE charter school that was an unmitigated failure involving 188 students. Also, there is no question that ONE person, the principal, was way OVERpaid for this abomination. Yes, that is a travesty.

However, even more of a travesty is that over 26,000 teachers in the Chicago Public School system recently were given 17.6% pay raises upping their average salary and benefits to well over $100,000 per year. This is for an ENTIRE school system involving 350,000 students with a dropout rate of 40%, graduation rate of 57%, and with only 7.9% of 11th graders testing college ready. Oh, and the strike also was in resistance to the possibility that 6,000 teachers could have been let go because of miserable, failing evaluations. Talk about a success rate and getting bang for the buck! Using the figures of the charter school cited, the CPS is the equivalent of 1,861 charter schools failing. For those who ridicule charter schools, there is no way anyone can seriously contend that the public school system is working.

The difference between the two situations is that the failing charter school was closed and the bleeding stopped. The Chicago Public School system? Still churning out huge numbers of illiterates and becoming more bloated than ever. Because the teachers got the pay and benefit raises for which they struck, shouldn't there be an expectation of a commensurate rise in student achievement? After all hasn't the argument always been that paying teachers more will produce better results? That will happen at the same time as the libs take the responsibility for their failures. In other words, when pigs fly.

Ahhh... your property taxes at work!

Jamie R,

You have no idea what you're talking about. I know several teachers (and have met their teacher friends / listened to their stories). They START at almost double what you say, work less than 10 months per year, get a HUGE raise for a master's degree that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the class(es) they teach, get superb health care, get 14 sick days per "year" (again, less than 10 months), can not use all of those sick days in order to retire a whole year early, have excellent retirement (benefits and wages), and a whole bunch more I'm sure I'm forgetting.

A lesson plan doesn't need to be revised much from one year to the next, if at all, and they don't work anywhere near 40 hours per week (unless they pick up extra activitie$ that often pay WAY over $25 per hour). They are supposed to volunteer for a very few activities that aren't paid.

I admit their jobs suck sometimes, but so does everyone else's. With all the unequal benefits, retirement at 55, all the time off, etc, etc, etc... well, I chose the wrong damned profession! BIG OOPS!!!

Privatization of the Public Trust for fun and profit. Welcome to the TP/Republican diaspora.

This is the type of school republicans are pushing for. A private school that's closing for under performance paying a principle $500,000 for failing. Those $80,000 a year for a principle in our public schools looks like a bargain.

You morons, blaming the republicans for this, last I checked Mr. Obama was running the country. What this shows, is the lack of leader ship that our country needs, and the reason your socialist president is on his way out. THANK GOD.....

Joe T: You're an idiot. Republicans are pushing charter schools as superior to public schools, The only superiority is the amount of our tax money that can be stolen by republicans. Obama is a strong supporter of public schools. Typical to twist everything to slam Obama.

Of course, how is this any different then General Motors corp. executive's giving themself's bonuses for bankrupting the company, after the government bailed there sorry buts out.

CLASSIC AMERICAN IDEOLOGUE, I need it more then you do. GREED Pain and simple.

hay larry , pot calling the kettle black!

joe-t(roll)-3151505

Republican idea pushed by a republican governor with a republican legislature. Go back to Faux News for some more schooling. BTW. What the hell is

pot calling the kettle black!

got to do with anything?

How about "I'm rubber and you're glue, bounces off of me and sticks to you!"

Let me guess, you're a sixth grader in a Flora-duh charter school, right?

Joes the typical republican. The economy melts down after 8 years of republican presidential control and it's the democrats in congress that caused it. Republicans push charter schools and Obama opposes them but it's still his fault because the buck always stops at the president. Logic isn't a required trait for republicans.

No, workingpoor, he was number 1 in his senior class; he almost graduated.

Six years of hard work...good gawd!

$10,000 left in the chump change jar.

Regulations!

Did the principle used to work for that city in California that gave them selves a huge pay day?

Blame a political party? Why, both sides have been doing this crap forever - and you keep electing the same idiots...what does that say about you?

"As a Nation, we share a responsibility to provide our children with a
world-class education. By keeping our young people engaged in learning, we help
them develop the skills and values that will not only guide them in life, but
also prepare them to thrive in the global economy. For years, charter schools
have brought new ideas to the work of educating our sons and daughters, and
during National Charter Schools Week, we recognize their role in strengthening
American education.

Whether created by parents and teachers or community and civic leaders,
charter schools serve as incubators of innovation in neighborhoods across our
country. These institutions give educators the freedom to cultivate new
teaching models and develop creative methods to meet students' needs. This
unique flexibility is matched by strong accountability and high standards, so
underperforming charter schools can be closed, while those that consistently
help students succeed can serve as models of reform for other public
schools.

In an economy where knowledge is our most valuable asset, a good education is
no longer just a pathway to opportunity -- it is an imperative. Our children
only get one chance at an education, and charter schools demonstrate what is
possible when States, communities, teachers, parents, and students work
together. This week, let us recommit to ensuring all our children receive a
high-quality education that expands their horizons, inspires them to develop
their talents, and instills in them a sense of possibility for their
futures.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America,
by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim May 6 through May 12, 2012, as National
Charter Schools Week. I commend our Nation's charter schools, teachers, and
administrators, and I call on States and communities to support charter schools
and the students they serve.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of May, in
the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth."

The White House, Office of the Press Secretary

I'm so glad that it's just the Republicans that support these evil schools. How blind are the people that can't see that there's plenty of blame to go around on all sides of the political aisle? They are all rich and corrupt. Even the POTUS. Wake up and stop blaming each other. As long as we are encouraged by the government to blame every other political party, race, sex, religion, social class, etc. for all of our problems, then, as long as we're blaming each other, then no one is blaming them. I'm of the mind that we should vote all incumbents out until they start listening to the people. Keep in mind, that without the support of the citizens they are supposed to represent, they don't have a job.

This is the face of the republican plan for public education. Please remember this moment for it will be replayed time and again if republicans have their way with public education.

You Libs blame every thing on the repubs. Go suck a lemon! Here is a woman with no retirement and worked the system. Go figure.

Do you wonder why charter schools are one of the big priorities of ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council)?

The same company that promoted mandatory sentencing to help their private-prison corporate backers?

Because there's MONEY in it.

The charter school movement has nothing to do with quality education.

It has everything to do with another method for privatizing public functions for private gain.

Agreed. I see exactly the same thing in how AARP backed Obamacare even though their members were against it by a 14-1 margin. THere is money in it for AARP selling "gap" coverage (estimates are a billion dollars a year). Or how the pro-choice movement cares about getting tax dollars to fund these little "cash cow" abortion mills. Don't insult us by saying it's all because you care about women.

LOL! Young is a Democrat.

Donated $500 to Clinton's campaign in 2007.

http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/kelly-young.asp?cycle=08

There is an idiot above who thinks if they call it "private" well then, it must be private. And he calls other people names. IT's funded by the gubmint. IT's chartered by the gubmint. The BOD overseeing it and hiring the principal were authorized by the gubmint. The gubmint accreditied it. The only thing private about it is the bogus company formed to fleece the taxpayers, hire their crony witch who destroyed the school and who has claimed a pile of illgotten gain. I work in the private sector - and I'll trash any operation like this charter school any day I want. IT is a fraud. And the idiot who thinks it is a legit private company is an idiot.

@"wburnes Comment collapsed by the community

Looks like another Democratic Hog walked up to the trough and got fed. SHAME!"

Those silly Democratic hogs! Don't they know that "trough" is for Republican Hogs only!

cmstubbles: thanks for your post (1.51)! It's the only one with any truth to it. All these posts about Reps & Dems by Dems and Reps proves one thing: its easy to be suckered by a politician.

$305,000 per year for a principal. Thats fukn ridiculous

So, what's the difference between Young getting taxpayer funds for failing at her job and Wall Streeters and bankers getting taxpayer funds (to retain "top talent") when the conservatives, led by Dubya, socialized the losses (but kept profits private) for failing at their businesses thus driving the economy into the the worst economic downturn in since 1929?

As everyone complains that these types of incidents are supported by Reps, they are occurring under Dem leadership as well.

They are ALL crooked.

Arwen....Charter schools are operating all over the country with public school funds. It is a tremendous racket for many. If they are called a Private School they are not eligible for public funds, but call them a Charter School serving at risk students then they can run for years without serving a real purpose for students and rake in millions. Sadly, there are some good Charter Schools that do serve pockets of students well. Unfortunately, there seem to be more that are a waste of precious resources and precious minds.

If the Department of Education and State Education Departments truly wished to provide competitive avenues of education for students they would become more honest in their distribution of funds. Call Charter schools what they really are, Private Schools. We need to focus on using successful public school models to fix the overall public school system. If there are communities that can't then the Department of Education needs to make sure that children wishing to attend private school have an equal opportunity to choose a different school under a different administration.

As it is Charter Schools can pop up anywhere and operate for several years before they are found to be self-serving and rewarding the adults involved while sacrificing children.

Arwen-3752393

This is just WRONG...if she's do great and dedicated -how come the school failed?

The same question could fairly be asked of any number of public school districts.

Odd how the NJ Governor wants to increase their use with no oversight. He also failed to mention friends would benefit from them,.

The same question could fairly be asked of any number of public school districts.

Charter school handpick their students. Public schools don't.

Finally!! Somebody speaks the truth. And even after the hand-picking they still either fail outright or fail to outperform the public school they replaced. Scam.

Maybe this will clear things up. I don't think that people realize what a charter school is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_school

The biggest thing to remember is what txmom32 said. Charter schools typically handle at risk students. They are taking a lot of the students that the public schools don't want because it is likely they will not succeed in the public school. Many of the urban school districts push kids to charter schools so it looks like they are more successful. My sister taught at a public school where they pushed the at risk students. Any charter school that gets the type of students my sister had will never succeed.

Can you say "GOLDEN PARACHUTE"? This stuff happens all the time in privately run businesses with board of directors who pander to nepotism.

Don-2483632 - The biggest thing to remember is what txmom32 said. Charter schools typically handle at risk students

Um, no - that's not what she said.

Charter schools can hand-pick their students - they don't have to take disabled kids or any kids that they don't want.

What txmom32 said is that these schools get approved by claiming to serve at-risk kids and it's often not until several years later that they're found to be useless. By then, the taxpayers have been fleeced of millions.

If they are called a Private School they are not eligible for public funds, but call them a Charter School serving at risk students then they can run for years without serving a real purpose for students and rake in millions

Reading comprehension?

I have personal experience with Charter schools where we live. They do NOT hand pick the students. They accept any student who wishes to enroll. The school offers after school athletics and clubs. They have Physical education, drama, art, music, and several languages all a part of the regular curriculum. The demands are high for the academics, and the kids excel. Not all can handle it though, it is hard. They are getting an excellent education the regular public school isn't giving.

They don't have the kids take a placement test to see if they will accept them or not. And they do have children with special needs and learning disabilities. And they all thrive with a little help.

The staff is paid better than in the regular public school, but the accountability is greater. They have 1 year contracts and if they don't perform to the standards that are expected of them, then their contract isn't renewed for the next year and they are gone. They do have the ability to pay into the state retirement system just like any other school, university, or government operating in our state.

What has happened in Florida is appalling and disgusting. This one act is giving Charter schools a bad name, and that is completely unfair. More charter schools should be run and operated the way my daughters school is. Unfortunately, too many of them are failures. And yes, i have had my experience with them too. An experience that I will not share. But it is the worst failure that can be epxerienced in any school. So i do know both sides of a good Charter school and a failure. I do speak from experience and not just a one sided experience.

@me

This is NO isolated incident in Florida. I've been in education for over 20 years and the schools are at their lowest I've ever seen. I do agree that there are a few good ones (in the most affluent areas) but overall in Florida, they are nothing but money makers. Heck even the Church of Scientology is making $Millions from taxpayer funded Charter schools. And yes they CAN hand pick students.

@colormepurple

I'm sure they do hand pick students, i was giving my experience with our Charter schools. My daughters school absolutely does not hand pick the students. They take everyone who wants to attend.

This is just WRONG...if she's do great and dedicated -how come the school failed? And whose idea was it to have privately run schools funded with taxpayer money? Something really fishy here....

It's Romney's plan for superior education. Paying people more doesn't guarantee they do a better job.

Our society's new mantra is to reward bad behavior and to applaud mediocrity.

Charter schools sounds just like Bain capital go in run it in the ground give all thats left to the top stick the tax payers with the bill. they didn`t say what the teachers got oh thats right thier not at the top so thier jobs don`t matter and thier penisons the state and federal tax payers can pick up that tab but don`t worry teachers yours will be trickling down to you real soon.ya know they only had $10,000 left and didn`t give the school board or the state any money back so what happened to the rest? well fokes now you see another one of mitt & paws visions of our education system charters run them just like a corporation the ceo aka principle who runs the co aka school in the ground and still walks away with a kings ransomand who get stuck holding the bag you guessed it the 47% who don`t make enough to ever pay taxes and the 43% who the GOP says only pays 40% of all taxes but don`t worry mitt & paw`s plan will fix that the 43% won`t pay 40% they`ll pay 65% how dare they make those job creaters pay anymore in taxes. and if you idiots think its bad now if mitt & paw get in there you may as well just smash your kids dreams right now and save them the trouble and thats the only thing you`ll be able to take to the bank trust me on that one.

IMHO...funny you should mention nepotism. Remember Bill Clinton appointing his wife to a position of power in the west wing?

Well, Kelly Young donated money to Hillary's campaign, which I guess makes her a Democrat.

http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/kelly-young.asp?cycle=08

What an interesting perspective you have DaGump. where did the whole "indoctrination of kids to become conservatives come from?" That is sort of funny.

It came from a desire by conservatives to negate and undermine the "liberal indoctrination" they supposedly get in college.

Charter schools are for-profit businesses yes, and the quality of the education and the administrators & teachers can and does vary all over the place. Parents need to do their homework before choosing a charter school for their kids.

All 3 of mine went to an excellent charter school for K-6 and my youngest spent his last 2 years of high school at one that specialized in music and the arts. The school they attended for K-6 is known for it's academic excellence, it's unique curriculum approach and small class sizes. There is a waiting list to get your kid enrolled there.

When my daughter transferred back to the regular public schools in 7th grade -- into one of the highest rated school districts in the state -- she tested out of their 7th grade honors math course and went straight to 8th grade honors math. In 8th grade, she and one other kid had to take a bus to the high school just for math class, because the junior high didn't offer math at their level. She had first year calculus as a junior in high school and had no math class at all her senior year, because calculus 1 was as high as they go in high school -- kind of sad that they simply had no more advanced math course to offer her at the high school level, even in one of the top school districts. That's regular public high school I'm talking about, not a charter school.

She is starting graduate school next semester in engineering, so apparently her accelerated math education during her grade school years at the charter school and missing a year of math her senior year didn't hurt her.

All 3 of my kids had top GPAs in high school, rocked their SATs and got academic scholarships that offset a big chunk of their college costs.

Indoctrination to become conservatives? Not at the charter schools my kids attended. I would've yanked them out of there in a heartbeat if that were the case.

The concept of conservative indoctrination is particularly hilarious when I think about the charter high school where my youngest son spent his last 2 years and from which he graduated. We used to refer to it as the "Fame" school, after the movie of the same name. A bunch of budding young musicians, actors, dancers, fashion designers, photographers and artists. The school was located a block away from a major university and benefited greatly from its connections to that university. The teachers in those "alternative" curricula all had experience in the professional world for their particular specialty -- performing in a dance company, working as a graphic designer, playing in a jazz band or whatever. The necessary equipment, materials and infrastructure for those alternative curricula were all there, to a level you would never see in an ordinary high school.

In case you wonder if the kids get short-changed in an arts-oriented charter high school, they still had to take math, science, English, history, etc. -- all the usual college prep courses. My son was there for music, but he still had to take biology and calculus and all that 'boring' stuff. And like his brother & sister, he rocked his SATs and earned an academic scholarship for college.

And in case you wonder what's the point of an arts-oriented charter high school, well for the kids with really top-notch talent, it might be a better springboard to their college dreams than a regular public high school. One of the kids in my son's graduating class got a scholarship to Juliard, a couple others got scholarships to Berkeley School of Music and a couple others got scholarships to study fashion design in New York.

So no, not all charter schools are run by take-the-money-and-run fraudsters, not all charter schools fail, and not all charter schools are created for conservative indoctrination of students. A conservative couldn't have been more out of place than at my son's high school, among all those quirky artsy kids.

Post 1.51

Too bad they can't, but it's PRIVATE funded by taxpayers. But I'll bet if you look into the owners of the school, you will find a Florida State Legislator on the payroll also.

Yeah, this will be the education system if Rob-Me and Republicans can take the White House.

what are you talking about the AG the governor and the republicans in the house thier the problem and not just Fla. Thier the problem in a lot of republican held states since thier 2010 fear and lieing tour now thier back on tour for 2012 its the same people creating the lies and the leftwing boogie man for the idiots on the right to fear and once again vote against thier own best intrest. I mean come they have come right out and said exactly what thier agenda is more then once or twice so you`d have to be either racist braindead deaf dumb n blind or just a plain idiot to just vote your party no matter what its going to do to you your family and this country. i just understand how a poor person from the back woods or any poor town city ect. of America could ever vote teapublicanit defies logic.

especially with only 120 students!

Add that to our taxpayer bill. Where can I get one of these sweet jobs at? Don't tell me she's related to Joe Biden.

Charter schools are the conservatives attempt to undermine public education. Republicans take note.

The biggest idiot that authorized this goes back to JEB BUSH!!! He was the main idiot that started the voucher/charter mess, but there have been other Republican and now Teapublican idiots that have followed. Heck, in Florida we have a Republican majority of idiots at the state level...their called the State Legislature. Many of these idiots are not such idiots after all because they OWN Charter schools AND make the laws that regulate them...Sweet deal if you can get it.

@Poisonivy85

Nope not related to Joe Biden but she IS related to Senator C.W. Bill Young.

Charles William "Bill" Young (born December 16, 1930) is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 10th congressional district, serving since 1971. He is a member of the Republican Party, and is currently the longest-serving Republican member of Congress.

Sam

Conservatives want government to work like the "private sector", don't they?

So I am a conservative and the answer would be a resounding "NO". Private Sector businesses are run for profit. Government or Quasi Governmental programs should not be run from profit and yet should be able to offer a reasonable wage to professionals.

We pay taxes to various governmental bodies because they are a provider of the public trust. Now I don't think there are too many people who would go back to the day where our educators were not working for reasonable middle class income, after all they are professionals and if they are effective in their craft should and can be paid as professionals without absurdities. It seems that School Districts have been blinded by the race to attain $$$$$$$$$ Federal Dollars and they are paying non-teaching positions tremendous wages to go for the money which really is not serving the public trust.

Somewhere along the line the progressives who inundate our education trust think that they can just reach into the bank accounts of their constituents without regard for accountability. It is time the Federal Government gets our of the state and local business of running "public" schools.

Here is a fun one for you and can only be explained as a progressive puppet masters at work...My darling daughter came in from school yesterday, High School. They were running a mock elections for the student body to vote. My daughter came in all upset about Mitt Romney and she began to chew me out over my support of him based on what she learned at school. Her reasoning is that one of the negatives that was brought up regarding Romney was that he intends to outlaw tampons. He was also not pro-abortion even for rape victims. So after I stopped laughing about the tampon remark and stopped choking over the term pro-abortion I expressed my concerns about what she learned at school in painstaking detail. I think it goes without saying that with the substance on the Presidential table that tampons are not even on the radar. I can't imagine him issuing an Executive order that would flounder a segment of P&G or any other femine hygene company.

I also corrected her "pro-abortion" statement as that is such a bastardization and simplification explaining that the correct term is "right to choice over ones own body". I was probably a bit pissy and very direct about her ease in attitude on abortion as abortion is only one portion of the "right" to choose what is or is not done on behalf of an individuals reproductive health. I honestly do not thing there are a tremendous number of uncallous women in this country who feel that terminating a pregnancy is as easy as making ice. Reproductive rights for women and for men also are a tremendous individual responsibility What one chooses for themselves is not something that can be imposed upon another.

I also explained that over turning "Roe V. Wade" was beyond any individual Presidents pay grade. It is a topic that gets unnecessary play for the masses. A President can appoint a Supreme Court Justice only if a position becomes available through resignation or death. He cannot tell the Justices how they should rule because there are over 200 years of law and precedent that must be taken into consideration for a Justice to shoot down any standing legislation.

txmom...I'm wondering what your point was on the public school issue. Public school teachers are not supposed to be biased toward any candidate. That is an issue with the teacher, not the entire system. What would prevent a Charter school teacher from doing the same thing? I'm tired of listening to conservatives complain about public education. What happened in this Florida Charter school is an indicator that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Don't assume the absence of unions is going to improve the quality of education. Districts race for money because they need it. What do you think schools do with the money? Salaries are a huge part of a districts's budget, but teachers are still middle class. It is an unfortunate truth that schools need a lot of money to run well...

The prevailing attitude of conservatives seems to be to turn everything (social security, medicare, medicaid etc) over to the private sector and to amend the constitution to reflect their religious preferences on abortion and marriage and thus circumvent the Supreme Court.

Jack...

Where did you get the idea that a public school teacher should not have a political opinion. As long as they do not require agreement for a grade. The concern was not with teachers it was the erroneous propaganda that was being thrown around by children, some of which are old enough to actually vote without understanding what an informed vote is all about.

Don't assume the absence of unions is going to improve the quality of education.

Exactly what did I say about Unions? If you are discussing the quality of education I personally place much of the failings on Federal, State and local districts. They are doing more to waste dollars with top heavy administrations seeking political gifts and favors instead of routing the bulk of expense to the advantage of students. I chose the district my kids would attend with a great deal of care. We have some incredible teaching talent in our district and in particular the schools my kids attend, I am sure in other across the district as well. For years this was the benchmark district for attracting great teachers. We were on some rocky ground for a short time and then we replaced school board members until we had a board that reflected the goals of the community. Once that board was intact they got rid of a Superintendent of Schools who only seemed to make decisions to ingratiate himself. We lost some very good teachers because of him and well now we are getting back on track.

Don't assume the absence of unions is going to improve the quality of education. Districts race for money because they need it. What do you think schools do with the money?

Personally I don't think that Charters were designed to be spiteful to Unions. There are actually some very successful Charter schools unfortunately, like everything else Government theft and corruption goes unchecked. I also do believe that before the Fed and States promoted labor laws Unions did have a place but like everything else they became greedy. You are right districts need money but why should there be a race particularly when that race is nothing better than bet that they will get the federal dollars they are gambling on.

Salaries are a huge part of a districts's budget, but teachers are still middle class.

Yes school districts can have very large payrolls and very large benefits costs and yes very large retirement plans add to that continuing education for their employees. That is part of being an employer, private or public. But then employee costs are not the only expenses these days that are driving up the expense without measurable consequence. There are all sorts of programs in schools that districts pay to use. Drug education, character education, after school care curriculum, school spirit programs, the massive amount of funding that goes into alternative schools for kids that can't function in the general population. Then layer in the cost of non teaching personnel who develop curriculum for the district, add those who have no other function than to win awards for a Superintendent or district, add in personnel who must mesh cumbersome Federal regulation with State regulation and then add local responsibility onto that and in the end districts have volumes of rules and regulations. Then there are those who's jobs revolve around reporting on the various layers of regulation. These administrative costs alone eclipse the professionals in the front of the class.

It is absolute madness that so many $$$ that are called education $$$ are going to parts of a system that never actually see students and to employees who's whole job fields are built on "education theory" instead of practical education.

Thank you Txmom. Finally someone who gets it. Problem is I feel most of your words are wated on these buffoons

The Washington State charter schools will be run under the same school board and rules as the public schools. The Florida charter school has a seperate board and the charter states that the government can't interfere with the schools finances. Big difference!

I hope they vote it so far down that it never sees the light of day again. Don't be fooled, it's just another grab for taxpayer dollars.

Doesn't that sound a little like a Ponzi scheme?

Funny that so many republicans cry about having to pay taxes to fund government hand outs but think democrats should fund republican hand outs and keep their mouths shut about it. Personally I don't want my tax money used to fund for profit charter schools that think a $500,000 pay day for a failed principle is a fair deal. Don't democrats pay taxes too?

Don't democrats pay taxes too?

Ahh well most don't.(sarcasm) Stop being blinded by your hate. Once you see that the problem is on both sides of the isle then mabye you will get it. How is a Charter School a republican hand out? Many states Calf and NJ have many CSs and I would not consider either a Repub state. Our town all 2 sq miles of it now pays over $100 K p/y to every cop and the new K,1,2 grade principal is making well over that also.(in a dem state)

Remember when you are pointing a finger you have 3 pointing back at you

My point which you seem to miss is that Romney is a big supporter of charter schools while Obama is not. If you read these blogs regularly you'll see right wing comments all the time touting the republican line about paying taxes for the hand outers. My point is democrats also pay taxes and have no choice when our tax money is directed to republican projects. That's also why so many on here are commenting on this, "example" of the superior charter school model touted by Romney. When they accept their idea's aren't perfect and everyone disagreeing with them isn't a basement dwelling freeloader maybe we can talk.

NO! He's going to hold it up as a shining example of Capitalism at it's finest.

... with the directions written on the heel...hahahahahaah

Hey Dave what's a matter are you blinded by your hate? Look it up plenty of unions have also gone into the Charter School business.

I don't know, WTF IS up with that?

@grandpa9Asshat

Jeb Bush and Republicans are the cause of this in Florida. And the Republican dominated State Legislature are the ones making the rules and many OWN the charter schools. Bit of a conflict, but crooked Repubs are the norm these days in Florida. You should move here, sounds like you would fit right in with all the rest. You do drink tea don't you???

Getting rid of unions does not mean the the quality of education will improve.

Texas teachers belong to a union, sort of (Texas Education Association), but have no collective bargaining rights. Salaries are abitrarily set by local districts and teachers have no influence.

Doesn't matter. Republicans in Texas hate and demonize teachers just as much as the unionized states.

That's because Republicans in Texas hate anyone who is smarter than they are and are violently opposed to anyone getting an education. An educated population would see the Texas Republicans for what they are - ignorant bigots.

Republicans only care when their tax money goes to programs they don't want. They have no problem with democrats tax money spent anyway they want. If Romney implements these programs across the country will they only use republican tax money to pay for it?

Come on - we are a country that stands for profit. Remember greed is good. I never thought for-profit medical care would come to be - we seem to accept that; skimmers and scammers in schools made possible by the Charter school movement, why not? It's what "For-Profit" schools mean.

It sounds like this school was just poorly run. That is the problem with having achool board members not understanding how to run a business. You can't be stupid and run a business. A school IS a business. Their product is well educated kids. The teachers and parents are the workers and if they can't or won't educate the kids, the business fails. My kids have gone to other Charter schools in FL and they are well run and well taught.

Sounds like the students and the parents got the business. Isn't this how Bain Capital operates? They make money too.

Kind of makes teachers unions not so evil and greedy now. Wow. This is the kind of oversight/lack of, that the tax payers should be looking out for. And this was a board of people that agreed to this kind of compensation. At least the teachers were cared for right? The ones who actually do the teaching. Abuse is evident in this case. Not just the children, tax payers also.

"A school IS a business" ......... keep pushing that fantasy ,gotta keep up with China ya know.

Both parties support this...see Arnie Duncan.