EDITORIAL: State charter school plan suffers major setback

The state’s nascent effort to refashion a handful of struggling Clark County schools as charter campuses was already under siege from the usual suspects. But last week, the Department of Education handed opponents of the plan a blunt instrument to further bludgeon the proposal.

Last Wednesday, federal agents raided the offices of Celerity Education Group, an L.A.-based outfit that runs charter schools in Southern California and Louisiana. Warrants for the operation remain under seal, but the Los Angeles Times reported that the Los Angeles Unified School District had raised concerns over the “organization’s finances and its complex governance structure.”

Turns out that officials at the Nevada Department of Education had granted Celerity conditional approval to operate one of the Clark County schools targeted for conversion to charter status.

Following news of the raid, the state pushed back by a year its effort to move up to six failing public schools into a so-called “Achievement School District” in an effort to boost student achievement. The proposal already faced challenges, particularly from legislative Democrats who have traditionally done the bidding of the education establishment and now vow to repeal the enabling legislation.

Celerity officials have previously maintained that teacher unions and others who embrace the status quo have raised phony issues to disparage the company. That may be true, but it’s beside the point. State officials could nary afford to provide more fodder for those who reflexively oppose subjecting the public school system to the competitive forces that drive success. They fumbled badly by failing to fully vet Celerity.

In the end, though let’s remember that Celerity, like all charter operators, will ultimately be held accountable for its performance and business practices. Meanwhile, too many schools across the Clark County School District continue to post test scores revealing widespread educational malpractice — yet the band plays on.