High costs for Edison Schools in Baltimore

The Baltimore Sun, in a Sept. 9 story, outlined findings from an Abell Foundation report of the high profit and administration costs going to Edison Schools, Inc., for running three failing Baltimore elementary schools. Edison is the country's largest for-profit school management company. In FY2005, Edison received $20.1 million to operate the three Baltimore schools, which had a total enrollment of 2,276. Edison retained $1425 per pupil, almost 16% of the total per-pupil funding it received, and also budgeted $1059 per pupil for central administration, compared to $647 budgeted per pupil by the Baltimore City Public School System.

Edison Schools was one of three companies hired by the Hawaii Board of Education at its May 5, 2005, meeting as a "comprehensive restructuring provider" to restructure seven schools in compliance with No Child Left Behind Act requirements.

Going Public With School Privatization
(available in PDF, 252K, 8p., from the Abell Foundation)