When you put ambitious entrepreneurs in charge of schools, and remove meddlesome bureaucratic oversight, what happens? They steal.
For example, Hugh C. Clark, founder of a charter school in Philadelphia, stole $522,000 from the taxpayers plus $339,000 from a bank.
Is he just the rare “bad apple?” Not really. Philly.com says “[Clark’s New Media charter] school is the fourth Philadelphia charter school whose administrators or board members have faced federal fraud charges in the past decade. . . .
“Sources have said that New Media is among at least 18 [Philadelphia] area charter schools that have come under federal investigation since 2008.”
Anyone who thinks that charter schools don’t need close government supervision can Bite Me.