Over the past 33 years privately-operated charter schools have seized billions of dollars in public funds and public property that rightly belong to public schools. This neoliberal parasitism has been achieved mainly through state laws and schemes that legalize and normalize such wealth transfers in the name of “school choice,” “parent empowerment,” “accountability,” “competition,” and “results.”

One of the most recent and egregious examples of such pay-the-rich schemes is a newly-modified controversial Florida law known as the “Schools of Hope” law that permits charter schools (e.g., Miami-based charter-school operator Mater Academy) to claim and occupy underused public school campuses at no cost and regardless of the public school’s academic performance. Once upon a time only so-called “failing” public schools were targeted by privatizers and neoliberals, but now it appears that greed has intensified to include high-performing public schools.

In theory and practice this top-down law means that a private charter school operator in Florida can unilaterally override local control and claim the use of underutilized classroom space for free, regardless of what public school officials, teachers, students, parents, and residents want. To add insult to injury, public schools would also be forced to pick up the tab for a range of services and programs for these external private operators. Equally offensive is the fact that many charter schools already have unused spaces of their own, which raises questions about the real motive behind the seizure of public school property.

Naturally, this antisocial set-up has compelled many public school districts in Florida to find ways to oppose such a brazen heist of their space and resources (see here and here). One main strategy is for public schools to reconfigure what constitutes “unused spaces” in a way that undermines any takeovers by external private entities.

Such attacks on the public interest remind everyone that the neoliberal assault on their rights and public institutions continues unabated. The “Schools of Hope” law is a nice-sounding law meant to fool the gullible but it is nothing more than parasitic extortion of public wealth. It does not improve education or advance the general interests of society. In this context it is imperative for everyone to join hands to reverse such attacks and to demand modern arrangements that serve the public interest. It can be done. Only the public, not self-serving private interests, can protect a social good and set its direction and content to advance the general interests of society. Private interests are only interested in commodifying education and maximizing profits as fast as possible regardless of the damage incurred on the social and natural environment.

The first charter school in Florida opened in 1996. Today, Florida is home to hundreds of charter schools and is number two in the country for charter school closures. Across the country, thousands of charter schools have failed and closed over the years, leaving many families and educators out in the cold.

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