Charter schools’ failure to keep the public informed about their board proceedings is significant, as more than a third of Newark’s public school students attended charter schools last year and $300 million, or 28% of the district’s budget this school year, will go to charter school students.
“Whenever public money is involved, I think you expect to have a high level of transparency,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a public policy professor at Rutgers University who has studied New Jersey charter schools. “If there’s no transparency, it’s very difficult to have effective oversight.”