Taxpayer money and charter schools

Quote from the article:
In January the Freedom from Religion Foundation wrote the school district and provided photos of the charter school students attending an event in a chapel where there was a large cross …….  Anita Henry-Smith, Duval’s charter schools supervisor, warned Seacoast Charter’s officials that the event was a default on the school’s charter...

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Click here to find your representative and write

Please write your Florida representative and ask them to include the following suggestions into law:

Suggestions by the League of Women Voters:
1. A public charter school may be housed in a religious institution so long as secular identity is maintained and the student body reflects broad racial/ethnic/religious and economic diversity.

2. Charter public schools must report financial information in a format that is adequate for comparison with other public schools, particularly regarding facilities ownership and management contracts.
3. Members of the charter schools’ governing board MUST NOT have any financial interest in the charter school. Legislators serving on education or appropriation committees must recuse themselves on votes related to charter school finance if they have any financial interest in one or more charter schools.
4. As a recipient of public education funds charter schools should meet the procurement standards applicable to other public institutions as stated in statute and rule regarding competitive bids, purchasing of services, equipment, supplies and sites. Records of all transaction and procedures should meet all public records laws for full disclosure. Charter schools that acquire their facilities using public funds must assure that the facility reverts to public ownership at termination of the charter. If the facility is subject to a mortgage, the mortgage must disclose and protect the public’s interest in the facility. A conversion of an existing public school to a public charter school should only be authorized by the local governing school board retaining full public ownership of the facility and the assets associated with the school.

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