What was particularly enticing was that the association could arrange funding through the Newark Charter School Fund, a nonprofit backed by the same philanthropies that support the association, including the Walton Family Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
"The charter school office wasn't going in the right direction. You had the same people regulating charter schools regulating traditional schools," Cerf said. "I thought [the group] could help us."
The nonprofit, active in 41 states, including Pennsylvania, revised New Jersey's application process, pushing state officials to focus on in-depth reviews over bureaucratic checklists. In September, when the Christie administration announced its next round, the number of approvals was much lower.
But the group has become a lightning rod for parents and others resisting Gov. Christie's push to expand charters; they see a clear conflict of interest. At issue is the association's advocacy arm, which testifies on behalf of the charter industry and promotes legislation that would expand the number of U.S. charter schools.
Results of the latest review of applicants will be announced Tuesday.
"It's like hiring the fox to guard the henhouse," said David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center in Newark, which litigates on behalf of low-income schoolchildren. "What [New Jersey] seems to be doing is bringing foundations and other organizations that support their particular education reform agenda. I've never seen anything like this before."
Viewed within the education-reform movement as a "blue ribbon" brand dedicated to creating stricter standards, the association has a primary mission to advise agencies that authorize charter schools. The Philadelphia School District, one of its 160 members, brought in the group last year.
