Charter Schools Win Battle Against Audits

The state comptroller is being rebuffed in his attempts to audit the performance and finances of charter schools.

A state judge in Albany ruled yesterday that Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office is permanently prevented from issuing audits of charter schools, saying the office "lacks the authority" to do so.

The comptroller quickly issued a statement vowing to win back auditing power by appealing the decision.

"It is my constitutional responsibility to monitor state spending, including the $140 million in taxpayer money that goes to charter schools each year," Mr. DiNapoli said. "I'm confident this decision will be overturned on appeal."

Charter schools are public schools that operate outside most ordinary regulations in exchange for strict oversight by their authorizing agency — the New York City Department of Education in the case of the charter schools Mr. DiNapoli attempted to audit.

More than a dozen of those charter schools sued Mr. DiNapoli's office after it initiated audits of their performance, arguing the audits were illegal and unnecessary given the current oversight charter schools receive from both their authorizers and the state's education department.

James Merriman, the chief executive officer of the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence, an advocacy group that joined the schools in their lawsuit, celebrated the decision.

"It's a victory," Mr. Merriman said. "It's certainly a victory for charter schools, because they are free from the duplicative, unnecessary, unfair performance audits."