http://kenmlibby.com/?p=273
I've never asked my colleague +Ken Libby exactly what he did before coming to study at CU-Boulder, but in my mind it involved meeting Hal Holbrook in a parking garage in the middle of the night and getting the advice, "Follow the money."
Ken's post is lengthy but worth reading. My summary of it goes something like this:
Charter School Operator: "Business is good."
Investor: "But didn't a few of your schools get shut down?"
Charter School Operator: "Don't worry about that. We're going to make plenty of money even if some schools close."
Investor: "Yeah, but why would schools close?"
Charter School Operator: "Did I mention we're making money? A few schools closed due to poor academic performance, but the balance sheet looks fine."
State: "Uh, not really. The schools had academic and financial issues. Most schools spend around 8% of their budget on administration. These charters were spending almost 30% and running deficit budgets."