Some school systems are concerned about practices of large charter school operator

From The New York Times: Imagine Schools, which has contracts with 71 schools in 11 states and the District of Columbia, is the largest commercial manager of charter schools in the country. The company is coming under growing scrutiny from school boards and state regulators questioning how public money is spent and whether the company exerts too much control over the schools. Regulators in some states have found that Imagine has elbowed charter holders out of virtually all school decision making — hiring and firing principals and staff members, controlling and profiting from school real estate, and retaining fees under contracts that often guarantee Imagine’s management in perpetuity. The arrangements, they say, allow Imagine to use public money with little oversight.