Senate panel to hold hearing on key funding source for charter schools
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A Minnesota Senate panel will hold a hearing next week on possible changes to a key funding source for charter schools.
Under current law, 153 charter schools are sharing about $45 million this year in what's known as lease aid funding. But DFL Sen. Kathy Saltzman of Woodbury says a loophole in the law and insufficient oversight has led to some abuses of the system.
During a news conference Tuesday, Saltzman said she was disturbed by a recent newspaper report that showed how some charter school developers used lease aid to build schools and collect large fees.
"It appears that the state's provision of leases is being used by certain individuals to make profits," Saltzman said. "In a time of austerity, this is not appropriate. We need to discover how this has occurred, then determine what can be done to tighten the statute so that we benefit students, not financial accountants."
Saltzman is working with the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools on possible changes in the lease aid law. The charter school subcommittee hearing is scheduled for December 7.
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