SPCSA audit flags transparency gaps; public commenters accuse agency of favoring for‑profit operators

Matt Bernardo, executive branch auditor, presented the audit of the State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA) on July 9, saying the audit found charter schools did not fully comply with reporting requirements related to management organization disclosures and timely submission of plans to improve pupil achievement. "Charter schools did not fully comply with reporting requirements related to management organization disclosures and timely submission of plans to improve achievement of pupils," Bernardo said.

The audit offered two primary recommendations: (1) enforce SPCSA compliance with reporting requirements — using existing tools such as notices of concern, breach and conditional renewals to strengthen oversight — and (2) pursue a bill draft request (BDR) to exempt charter schools from vehicle taxes and registration fees to reduce transportation costs for schools that do not receive transportation funding under the pupil‑centered funding plan.

Public commenters pressed the committee on related transparency and contracting concerns. Robert E., representing Sheet Metal Workers SMART Local 88, said the DIA finding that many charter schools failed to post audit reports and contract information was linked to prevailing‑wage and public‑works concerns and asked the committee to authorize deeper DIA review into those matters. Sandra Kinne, a former executive director of Sage Collegiate and former SPCSA staff member, told the committee she was concerned that SPCSA leadership had pressured independent nonprofit schools to close in favor of for‑profit operators and said she could not find a state contract or payment records for a named closing administrator. "Public dollars are being spent to close campuses, independent nonprofit campuses, and the leadership of the authority cannot or will not say how much," Kinne said.

SPCSA director Melissa MacKinnon told the committee the authority has updated its organizational performance framework and can restrict renewals or expansions for schools that remain noncompliant. "If they're not up to date and they're not doing these things correctly, that's when we, as the authorizers step in and say, no," MacKinnon said, describing an intervention ladder that escalates from a notice of concern to a notice of breach and, if necessary, a notice of intent to terminate. She said SPCSA could provide a three‑year breakdown of approved new and expansion charters by EMO/independent status and ZIP code data.

Committee members asked whether SPCSA has sufficient contemporaneous enforcement authority and whether schools in violation received expansions; MacKinnon said SPCSA believes it has tools to act prospectively (by limiting renewals or expansion) and that it has improved guidance and monitoring to capture required postings, but acknowledged historical inconsistencies in how posting requirements were applied to schools with management organizations.

The committee did not take action on the audit during the meeting; auditors and SPCSA committed to follow up with requested data on expansions, demographics and notices of concern.