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With Arizona public schools struggling to raise students' standardized test scores, the Legislature in 1994 began a grand experiment: charter schools.

They were exempted from state procurement or conflict-of-interest laws and the oversight of elected boards. With less regulation, charters could succeed where traditional public schools had failed, proponents argued.

Today, about 16 percent of Arizona students attend a charter school. And one of the state's big chains, Basis, operates some of the best public schools in the country.

But not all charters are academic powerhouses, and some have turned into cash cows through multi-million-dollar business deals between charter schools and their founders.

With funding for Arizona traditional public schools ranking near the bottom nationally, charter school critics say the state can ill afford to let profiteers line their pockets with funds that should go to the classroom. Some argue charters should have to be as transparent about their spending as traditional public schools.

OUR LATEST REPORT: In 2019, The Republic went to seven states to investigate the charter school debate and what it might mean for Arizona. The conflicts we found reflect a shift in the politics and policy surrounding the schools many believed would revolutionize American public education.

►Part 1: Unions vs. charters: Across the country, teacher unions and traditional school districts take up a fight against something they once advocated — charter schools.

►Part 2: Going all-charter: Advocates point to New Orleans as proof that charters can work as a universal model. But experts say the academic gains there also reflect massive financial investments.

►Part 3: A devil's bargain: Charter schools get operating money, but often have nowhere to turn for start-up costs like buying or leasing a building. So some of them have turned to agreements with an Arizona company that gets funds through an unusual source: essentially selling green cards to wealthy foreign nationals.

►Part 4: Online schools: Charters that teach students online are on the rise, but leave big questions about whether they do a good enough job. In Arizona, no online charter school meets the state Charter Board's academic standards.

►Part 5: Serving low-income communities:There are charter chains that lift low-performing students to success. But there's an uncomfortable reality. They succeed because of big-dollar federal grants and private contributions of the sort rarely seen in Arizona.

Our 2018 series examined the finances of some of Arizona's most prominent charter schools to reveal how they spend the tax dollars they receive, who profits from the operations and what those deals mean for the future of education.

Reporters at The Arizona Republic were honored with the George Polk Award for Education Reporting for their investigative work.

► BASIS SCHOOLS seeks big donations to pay its teachers: There are 20 Basis schools in Arizona with more than 900 teachers. They all are part of Basis Charter Schools, a tax-exempt non-profit corporation.

But none of the teachers actually works for Basis Schools.

Long before the groundswell of demands for higher teacher pay in Arizona, the high-profile charter school found a novel way to boost teachers' income: push parents to pay.

► AMERICAN LEADERSHIP ACADEMY founder makes millions on schools: American Leadership Academy has grown to a dozen campuses with more than 8,000 students in Florence, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek and San Tan Valley.

Because of Arizona's light regulations for charter schools, the school's founder has made about $37 million on real estate deals associated with the schools — though he disputes the figure. The taxpayer money was allocated to the businessman's charter schools and then awarded to his companies through no-bid contracts.

Related: Charter gives teachers raise; refuses to let public comment on budget

► PRIMAVERA online charter school CEO takes $8.8 million payout from for-profit charter company: By most academic measures, Primavera online charter school is a failure. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 215-to-1 — 12 times the state average — allowing little or no individualized attention.

On recently released state standardized tests, less than a quarter of its students passed math and about a third passed English, both below the state average. And 49 percent of Primavera students end up dropping out, 10 times the state average.

But by another measure, Primavera is an unmitigated success: making money.

► EDDIE FARNSWORTH, school operator and lawmaker, set to make millions after Charter Board vote: The East Valley charter-school owner was poised for a payday of up to $30 million after the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools approved the transfer of his for-profit charter-school chain to a newly formed non-profit company.

The board OK'd Farnsworth's request to transfer the charter from the for-profit Benjamin Franklin Charter School, which operates four campuses, to a Queen Creek non-profit company with the same name.

That move will allow Farnsworth, a longtime GOP state representative, to sell the campuses — paid for with state tax dollars — to the non-profit company.

MORE:Lawmaker's votes helped lay the groundwork for charter profit

► EDKEY INC. racked up big debt to expand. Now 5,600 kids face uncertainty: The Arizona charter school chain began eyeing expansion in 2013.

In addition to schools that focus on the arts, dual-language learning, college prep and online education, Edkey executives wanted to keep serving more of the students other big charter operators were overlooking: deaf students, those in rural areas, homeless kids and refugees.

Over the next three years, Edkey borrowed $93 million to refurbish facilities and refinance debt.

It quickly added 1,700 new students. And while expansion brought in more state funding, it has not paid for itself.

► PARENTS WITH COMPLAINTS at Arizona's charter schools find nowhere to turn: A lack of independent oversight leaves students and families without recourse to challenge charter school officials' actions.

Arizona's charter schools are primarily run by private companies. They must have a governing board, but school owners get to pick who's on the board.

Beyond the school, parents can only turn to the state Charter Board. And regulators there, because of limited resources and limited authority, rarely investigate such complaints against schools, an Arizona Republic investigation shows.

♦ American Leadership Academy paid millions to businesses owned by its founder: The $46.8 million in payments to companies owned or co-owned by the charter school chain's founder Glenn Way or his relatives in total made up more than half of ALA's 2019 fiscal budget.This story is for subscribers.

♦ Arizona approves new charter school tied to Primavera CEO: Despite the public online school that already exists failing almost every academic measure, Primavera received state approval to open another school.

♦ Primavera CEO pays himself another $1.3 million: The CEO's multimillion-dollar payments to himself spurred calls for more oversight of charter schools, but he's still getting big payments.

♦ Farnsworth nets $13.9 million in charter school sale: Ownership will shift to a newly formed nonprofit company, but the deal won't be the state lawmaker's last payday from the schools he's owned for decades.

♦ State may close Pointe charter schools: Students weren't given the AIMS science test, and the charter operator has had a host of other problems.

♦ Charter group adopts new ethics after Republic inquiry: The Republic had revealed the charter association official used inside information to benefit a student-recruitment business he owned with his wife.

♦ Glendale charter school drops student because of his disability, mom alleges: Heritage Elementary again is facing controversy after a mom claims her special needs, 6-year-old was kicked out.

♦ 'A serious error': Charter official will return cash from insider deal: The Arizona Charter Schools Association will force its No. 2 executive to return cash from an insider deal after a Republic investigation.

♦ Teachers accuse principal, vice principal of sexual harassment: Top school execs at Heritage, a Glendale charter, are accused of sexual harassment; staff say principal put pics of ex-teachers in office shower.

♦ Charter enrollment policies changed after report finds 'illegal' practices: An ACLU report exposing "illegal or exclusionary" enrollment practices in Arizona has forced documentation and policy changes at nearly 100 charter schools.

FUNDING: Arizona school funding: How it works

CHARTERS VS. DISTRICTS: Who gets more money?

FAILURES AND SUCCESSES: A history of Arizona education funding ideas

FINANCES: 1 in 4 charters show significant financial red flags

PERFORMANCE: Are charter students outperforming the state average?

COMPLAINTS: Charter board makes complaints against schools hard to find