I worked with and knew the people who created the first charter school in the U.S. - The City Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota back in 1991. Year after year more charter schools were created across the country, and year after year I watched them stray from their original mission. Soon corruption sprouted, with directors renting space for the school that they owned, the hiring of unqualified family members, etc. What was once a promising idea has devolved into something it was never supposed to.