Lawmakers are attacking charter schools for hiding their finances from public scrutiny. But these claims are not true. Charter schools publicly report ample financial data, in accordance with state law.

Like other public schools, charter schools are required to produce annual budget transparency reports and post them on their public websites. This requirement exists whether the charter school is independently operated or managed by a private education management organization.

Most of Michigan’s charter schools are operated by private EMOs. The largest ones contract with multiple charter schools and provide a variety of services, such as hiring, curriculum support, food, transportation and custodial services.

It's largely because of the success of private education management organizations that Michigan is ranked third in the nation for its charter school ecosystem, according to the 2024 ranking of states produced by the Educational Freedom Institute. Education management organizations’ innovative approaches have produced superior academic outcomes, attracting more families and enabling the organizations to scale their models. A study performed by Stanford University found students from disadvantaged backgrounds who attend charter schools in Detroit perform better than their peers at the neighboring district schools.

Charter schools operated by private EMOs provide families with promising alternatives to their local district school. More than 50% of students in Detroit attend a charter school. It’s often the only option available to children from low-income families whose needs aren’t being met by the city’s district schools.

One of these charter schools is Cesar Chavez Academy, operated by one of the largest EMOs in the state. A visit to the transparency reporting page of the school’s website reveals a wealth of information about the school’s finances and other operations. Audited financial statements, approved budgets, staff salaries, expenditures and the EMO agreement are just a sampling of the reports readily available on the webpage.

Chandler Woods Charter Academy in Belmont is run by another large education management organization, one that manages many charter schools in Michigan and others nationwide. It’s been so successful that two of its schools, including Chandler Woods, received the National Blue Ribbon Award this year — an honor bestowed on only 12 of the state’s public schools. A visit to the transparency reporting page on the Chandler Woods’ website also reveals extensive data on the school’s spending, employee compensation, staff policies and more. The site clearly shows how much the school spends on instruction, transportation, administration and other areas.

Yet another large education management organization manages Great Lakes Academy in Oakland County. Visitors to its transparency reporting page are greeted with multiple charts that illustrate the school’s long-term spending trends in addition to the same type of financial data that’s posted on the other schools’ websites.

Michigan residents interested in learning more about the financial practices of any other charter school in the state can do so by visiting that school’s transparency reporting page. Financial transparency reports for each school are also available on the MI School Data website.

The claim that charter school finances are a black box, hidden from public view, is an empty one. Lawmakers ought to take note of charter schools that are succeeding and expanding, and not burden or restrict them based on false claims.

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