Being a sponser is a pretty profitable gig

As I see it the virtual E-Schools take in $218 million a year.  Using the 3% formula that works out to over $6.5 million per year.

That would be enough to pay 55 people $100,000 per year and still have a million left over for overhead and expense.  With that kind of money you would expect some great oversight and great results.

So what results are we buying Ohio?

"Charter schools are opened by nonprofit organizations called “sponsors” or “authorizers.” Several schools, sponsors and management companies have gotten into trouble – sometimes criminally – for financial problems. Sponsors get 3 percent of the state money that goes to each charter school they open.
The Ohio Department of Education reviewed the new-school approval process for six sponsors. It found:
• The Sharonville-based Education Resource Consultants of Ohio “sought to recycle a school that closed for failing to meet academic requirements.” It said ERCO tried to open the school in the exact location, using the same superintendent and governing authority.
ERCO spokeswoman Jodi Billerman said the state mischaracterized the school. “ERCO would never open a ‘recycled school,’ ” she said. “It’s extremely disappointing that rather than seeking clarification, ODE chose to issue a press release almost immediately after sending the letter to us.”
• The Lebanon-based Warren County Educational Services Center sought to open three charter schools for 175 students each “without performing any basic market research to justify funding.” The state noted the schools’ financials were identical to the Olympus schools that collapsed in the fall. Warren County ESC operates four charter schools, including Greater Ohio Virtual School, a statewide online school.
Isaacs said they provided all the documentation the state asked for, plus some. “They’re in urban areas that have thousands of dropouts. I’m not sure how much more market research they need,” he said.
The schools would have been managed by a company called Cambridge, which operates five dropout schools in Ohio. These would have been run under the same model.
“We’re extremely surprised because (the state) previously approved this model five times by the operator,” Isaacs said.
• Kids Count of Dayton planned a charter school whose developer owes the state $65,000 for another school that closed last year shortly after opening. “The sponsor does not appear to have performed even a basic Internet search to learn about the school developer’s past,” ODE stated.
Kids Count sponsors eight schools, including Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy in the West End, Dohn Community High School in Walnut Hills and Summit Academy of Cincinnati in Spring Grove Village.
Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Richard Ross noted several charter schools statewide had either taken state money but failed to open, or had closed before the end of the school year. ■"

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/04/25/charter-school-sponsors-fire/8173173/