More on the closing of St. Louis’ Imagine charter schools

by David Safier

Arizona has 18 charter schools run by Imagine Schools, the nation's largest charter school chain. Two Imagine Schools in St. Louis were shut down because they were doing such a lousy job. The other four in the city are on probation.

Do Arizona's Imagine Schools suffer the same deficiencies? I don't know. It would take a good investigative reporter with a newspaper's resources, or some Imagine employees stepping forward, to say for sure.

Here's a glimpse into the way the for profit Imagine Schools corporation works. It's a cautionary tale of what can happen when the profit motive gets mixed together with education.

During a review that began in mid-November, [Imagine Schools sponsor] Missouri Baptist and education consultants found shortcomings at the schools that are among the most fundamental of failures. At Academic Success and Cultural Arts schools, "Curriculum plans do not exist; unit plans do not exist," French's letter to school board President Joan Hubbard states. The board had met just once this school year, when it should meet monthly. And neither school has an approved budget for the 2011-12 year.

[snip]

The six schools scattered across the city enroll about 3,800 students. They are operated by Virginia-based Imagine Schools Inc., the largest charter management company in the nation, which has faced criticism for the high management fees, rents and start-up costs it charges its schools. When schools fail to meet budget, they borrow money with interest from Imagine.

Consequently, the St. Louis Imagine schools were millions of dollars in debt to the company. Teacher salaries at Imagine charter schools were among the lowest in the region. Little money is spent on textbooks and supplies.

At Imagine Academy of Environmental Science and Math, 1008 South Spring Avenue, teachers get $42 per year for supplies for their classrooms, according to Missouri Baptist. The review team characterized this as inadequate and directed the School Board to budget an amount "considerably larger than the amount currently provided."

Charge high management fees, then starve the schools. Put schools in debt so they can't break the corporation's strangle hold. Occasionally forgive the artificial debt if it's necessary to stop schools from rebelling.

Principals and teachers at Imagine Schools are fired if they complain about the lack of supplies and support, replaced by sycophants who will do what the Virginia headquarters tell them to do. The founder and CEO, Dennnis Bakke, used to run a multi-billion dollar Enron-like company. He's brought his grow-or-die, top down management philosophy to the world of education. His schools are reaping the bitter fruit.