9 articles examining audited SC charter school overseer
Over the past two years, The State Media Co. has dug into the spending and operations of the Charter Institute at Erskine, an affiliate of Erskine College that oversees 28 charter schools across the state, and detailed the regulatory gaps that hamper the state’s oversight of charter school authorizers affiliated with colleges and universities.
The newspaper’s reporting has chronicled the Charter Institute’s formation and funding of a controversial nonprofit run by Charter Institute employees and associates that, among other things, sells services to Charter Institute schools; the Institute’s approval of a charter school run by close associates that proposed to partner with its affiliated nonprofit and Erskine College; and Erskine College’s undisclosed ownership stake in a for-profit management company whose schools the charter district oversaw.
See the articles below:
NO. 1: THEY OVERSEE SC CHARTER SCHOOLS. WHY ARE CHARTER INSTITUTE’S LEADERS PLANNING SCHOOLS IN TN?
The out-of-state enterprise, disclosed to the Charter Institute’s board but not to the public, raised questions about the misuse of public funds and employee time. | Published February 15, 2024 | Read Full Story by Zak Koeske
NO. 2: SC LAWMAKERS ARE CRACKING DOWN ON CHARTER SCHOOL SPONSORS OVER IMPROPER SPENDING CONCERNS
SC lawmakers added temporary measures to the state spending plan aimed at addressing concerns with the Charter Institute at Erskine, whose leaders had been working to launch a network of schools in Tennessee. | Published February 29, 2024 | Read Full Story by Zak Koeske
NO. 3: SC CHARTER INSTITUTE HAS CLOSE TIES TO SCHOOL IT WILL OVERSEE, RAISING ETHICAL QUESTIONS
The relationship between the parties raised serious ethical concerns, according to legal experts, and appeared to run contrary to industry standards that recommend charter school districts provide independent oversight of the schools they authorize to ensure public dollars are spent appropriately. | Published April 22, 2024 | Read Full Story by Zak Koeske
NO. 4: HAS SC’S LARGEST CHARTER SCHOOL DISTRICT MISUSED STATE FUNDS? LAWMAKERS DEMAND AN AUDIT
“We just want to make sure that proper oversight is given to the charter school system and that this is not some big ploy to funnel business to people on their boards and that kind of thing,” state Sen. Brad Hutto said. | Published May 9, 2024 | Read Full Story by Zak Koeske
NO. 5: ERSKINE COLLEGE STIFFED ON $1M LOAN TO CHARTER SCHOOL OPERATOR, LAWSUIT CLAIMS
The private Christian college sued the parent company of a for-profit charter school management organization that, until recently, had operated three charter schools authorized by its affiliated Charter Institute. | Published May 31, 2024 | Read Full Story by Zak Koeske
NO. 6: SC CHARTER INSTITUTE ACCUSED OF CONSPIRING TO TARNISH SCHOOL OPERATOR AND STEAL ITS BUSINESS
A bombshell court filing accused SC’s largest charter school district and its leaders of a criminal conspiracy to damage the reputation of a for-profit education management company in order to take its business. | Published July 24, 2024 | Read Full Story by Zak Koeske
NO. 7: SC CHARTER SCHOOLS RISK LOSING FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING OVER STATE’S LAX OVERSIGHT, FEDS SAY
The U.S. Department of Education asserted that South Carolina’s monitoring of charter school sponsors was inadequate and tied a demand for enhanced oversight to federal grant funding, emails show. | Published January 9, 2025 | Read Full Story by Zak Koeske
NO. 8: SC SCHOOL DISTRICT SPENT $200K ON OUT-OF-STATE TRIPS, INCLUDING 5-DAY TOUR OF LONDON
Between February 2023 and April 2024, the Charter Institute at Erskine spent roughly five times more on out-of-state travel than either of South Carolina’s other statewide charter school districts, The State found. | Published February 28, 2025 | Read Full Story by Zak Koeske
NO. 9: SC CHARTER INSTITUTE AT ERSKINE ACCUSED OF INTERFERING WITH SCHOOL OPERATOR’S BUSINESS
One of the nation’s leading education management firms claimed the Charter Institute at Erskine had abused its position to target private companies it viewed as competitors for the services it sells to schools. | Published March 18, 2025 | Read Full Story by Zak Koeske
The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.