9 Investigates high rate of charter school failures

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — There are 60 charter schools in central Florida, one-fifth are failing.

Compared to the area's traditional public schools, charter schools have about the same percentage of A-rated schools, however, charter schools have 10 times the number of F-rated schools.

"Taxpayer money was spent to buy computers, supplies, furniture all for those children, all of that is gone," Orange County School Board member Linda Kobert said, referring to Acclaim Academy, an Orange County charter school that suddenly closed Wednesday. "While we don't get the money back or the equipment back, we are taking the children back."

In Florida, school districts are responsible for issuing charters for charter schools, however, that is where the oversight ends. Schools can revoke a charter but only under the direst of circumstances such as continued failing grades or severe financial issues.

"The school district does not have jurisdiction over charter schools, that is the law of the state," Kobert said.

More Information: Florida statutes on charter schools

In 2012 it took back-to-back F grades from the state for Orange County Public Schools to finally shut down Rio Grande Charter School.

While letter grades from the state are a far from perfect metric for measuring school performance, they are the only system in place to gauge schools and the only way to close a charter school.

The State of Florida gives all charter schools a three-year grace period where they do not receive a letter grade, although they are still evaluated. After the three-year grace period, underperforming charter schools can stay open for another 18 months while the school district goes through the process of closing them down; all while the school continues to receive state and federal tax dollars.

In 2011, almost half of all failing grades handed out by the state went to charter schools. In 2012, 34 percent of all failing grades went to charters, yet they only make up 15 percent of the state's schools.

During that same time, five charter schools received termination letters, all while receiving an average of $930,000 from the state.

WFTV