Henry Levin, director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, has questioned the efforts of Edison Schools, the nation's first for-profit school management company, to turn a profit solely by managing public schools. The company's recent inclusion of after-school and summer school management services, he noted, may make Edison more competitive, a strategy that he called, "A very smart move." Levin contrasted the company's current status with the ambitious goals that it outlined at its formation in 1991--the operation of 200 schools by 1996 and 1,000 campuses with 1 million students by 2010.

Edison was recently sued by its shareholders over accounting issues, causing its stock price to plunge which led to talks about the company going private. Such discussions signal that the company acknowledges the loss of shareholder confidence. Levin added that the failure of Edison "will set back privatization considerably, simply because of the reluctance of the investment community to take a risk, even on alternative business models."

The article, entitled "Edison Stays Afloat By Altering Course" appeared in the July 3 edition of the Lakeland Ledger .

Published Monday, Jul. 28, 2003