The crazy part of all of this is funding is usually presented as a "per student" cost for school systems. Well in reality the cost if probably way under that for an elementary school student, way higher for high school with multiple teachers, programs and facilities.

It would seem that Tennessee is the current laboratory for the Broad foundation. In Knoxville, we appear to be experimenting with teaching techniques and personnel models while Nashville is experimenting with financial models. Based on the ups and downs at Vine and the current news from Nashville, it would appear that both sets of experiments are a long way away from being successful.

Still, I would look for any positive news from either system to be spun to its mightiest degree.

when those who govern them are unable to perform it on a basic level?

Was there ever a discussion on expenses? Was somebody thinking expenses would magically drop in spite of all logic?

Metulj already posted the obvious, unchangable expenses. There will be but one solution to those, close public schools in favor of the hybrid charters.

Education often needs tinkering and tweaking. But these wholesale, system wide changes will bring a whole new light to socializing the expenses while privatizing the profits.

Don't forget the obvious. They are learning how to focus results based on predetermined factors. In other words, a ruling group, a technical group, a working group and a professional group will be within the grasp of whoever is running the system.

The big picture goes way beyond just being scary at a public moneys level. It's a brave new world. As parents, we will be forced to teach "Every man for himself", because that's what we will be forced to do in order to survive.

Charter schools take corruption of public/private partnerships to a new level. Chile & Chicago are the models for public education privatization. Here is some background on the free market economic dogma that set the stage for where we are today.

The underlying economic theories for privatization of public services started in Chicago under Milton Friedman & spread when Nixon & Reagan began dismantling the New Deal, Johnson's poverty initiatives, & systemiatcally eroding the influence of labor. Nixon made Chile a cold war target after the election of Allende, who planned to nationalize Chile's US corporations. The CIA instigated the military coup that deposed Allende and installed the dictator Pinochet. The Chicago Boys used this as an opening to implement their free market experiment under the newly installed US puppet. The real effects of 60+ years of Friedman's free-market religion on Chile's education system has been disastrous. This is the future of the US & TN's education system if we continue with the current policies endorsed by both democrats, republicans & Wall St:

(link...)

Chicago school privatization began around 1995 under Daley, Vallas, Duncan & now Rahm as a model for funneling tax dollars to political donors via charter schools. Fast forward to today and after shutting down 50 public schools claiming a FAKE budget deficit, (sound familiar?) Chicago is using billions of TIF funds to open charter schools. Is the public happy about this? No. Do the poor,inner city families have input? No.
(link...)

When the governor, any state legislator, Huffman, the chamber of commerce, our school superintendent(s) say: (select any and all) charter schools &/or school "turnarounds" &/or "restructuring" & the fraudulent evaluation plan is to improve education- DON'T BELIEVE THEM.

Plutocrats & mobsters always find the money for what they want.

Toby, that was a very clear-eyed analysis you offered as to some of the fixed costs that don't drop when kids bail for charter schools.

Just one that you left off, though, is among the biggest of costs that doesn't drop, namely up to 30 years of debt service on the buildings these kids vacate...but of course that's a good argument for co-locating charter schools in the same buildings, eh?!

Lose-lose, I guess...

JC, concerning the latest of "restructuring" efforts here locally, I've been meaning to ask if you were aware that as of one week before Vine Middle opened this school year, the KCS employment website still showed ten openings for teachers there!

If McIntyre were sincere in his belief as to what "restructuring" might accomplish, why on earth did he not insist that KCS fill these positions in June and have these new teachers working together throughout the summer? Incredible!

Also, did you catch the KNS story a day or two ago, raving about progress at Fulton High since its "restructuring" some years back?

The story caused me to want to take another look at the State Report Card, but data there don't seem to support McIntyre's and KNS's cheerleading. The three year average for the school's ACT composite score, for instance, looks like this:

2009 18.5
2010 17.7
2011 17.4
2012 16.9

If Fulton is graduating more seniors, but is not producing grads that are any better prepared, what's the significance of the sheepskin?

And what's the rationale for firing every last teacher employed in schools like these?