But now, some - including a former district auditor - say the reduced scrutiny led to abuses such as the recent allegations of financial mismanagement, nepotism and conflicts of interest at the Philadelphia Academy Charter. A federal criminal probe is under way there.
And, though in December the commission approved more oversight of charters, it did not restore district audits that would ensure a thorough review of how the schools spend public money.
"These things could have been corrected, and this waste of money going out the window could have been stopped," said John McLemore, a certified public accountant who lost his district auditor job after the 2004 charter audits.
Even though the audits uncovered fiscal problems that saved the district money, they were "pushed aside," said McLemore, who last year settled a discrimination and wrongful-termination lawsuit against the district in U.S. District Court. McLemore said the message he got from supervisors was clear: "You're not supposed to do your job. You're supposed to look the other way."
A spokesman for Perzel said Friday that the state representative made no effort to stop the audits. Marty O'Rourke said that though Perzel believes charters give parents educational choice, he favors "as much scrutiny as possible."
Charter schools have grown dramatically in number since 1997 when the Pennsylvania legislature passed the charter school law. They now total 126, including 11 cyber schools that offer instruction online.
In Philadelphia, charter school growth has been explosive, jumping from four in 1997-98 to 61 now and putting Philadelphia among the nation's top-10 charter school cities. Charters cost the district $279 million this school year.
