Convinced that profits can be made by scaling back bureaucratic overhead and operating at lower costs, private management firms have been contracted to run public and charter schools in many of the nation's inner cities. It has yet to be determined if they are right.

"This is the latest of the large government sectors that people feel is ripe for privatization, much like the health care sector 15 years ago," said Henry Levin, director of TC's National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education. "Even if you get a small slice of the market, it's sizable."

"There have been a lot claims on both sides, that it will destroy public education, or emancipate it or revolutionize it," said Levin. "They have done neither; so far they have had a very modest impact."

This article, entitled "Education's Profit is Huge" appeared in the April 11th edition of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune .

When possible, the News Bureau provides a link to the articles and a link is always provided to the online source. Not all online sources archive information and some charge a fee for older material.

Published Tuesday, Sep. 18, 2001