Report faults oversight of Philadelphia charter schools

City Controller Alan Butkovitz says his auditors found questionable financial practices at a sampling of charter schools. He cited conflicts of interest, nepotism and inaccurate record keeping as commonplace at the more than a dozen schools reviewed.

Philadelphia’s City Controller says he’s found serious problems at Philadelphia’s Charter schools. At least three schools are part of a federal investigation.

City Controller Alan Butkovitz says his auditors found questionable financial practices at a sampling of charter schools. He cited conflicts of interest, nepotism and inaccurate record keeping as commonplace at the more than a dozen schools reviewed.

Butkovitz: “During our investigation we found only minimal evidence of oversight or inquiry of any type.  We found that 51 of the 63 charter schools’ files, which were in existence when we developed our scope and began our investigation, were incomplete – missing charter agreements, articles of incorporation or proof of insurance, all which are in violation of S.R.C. [School Reform Commission] requirements.”

Butkovitz says he isn’t making public all the information he uncovered because of a federal probe into several charter schools.  School District officials say they are working on improving their charter school review process.