Charter schools contend with issues like financial mismanagement and high staff turnover, but Clive Belfield argues that many of these problems are par for the course during growing pains. "Charter schools have a lot of teething problems, and it's the newness that really hurts them, not anything that they do badly," said the deputy director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education.

Low salaries and fewer resources than their traditional school counterparts are prime examples of why it is difficult to recruit staff for charter schools. "There's less job security; you don't necessarily have a union supporting you and there's a possibility the school can close," Belfield said.

The article, entitled "Charter Schools Prone to Troubles," appeared in the August 2 edition of the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Published Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004