[div class="artbody"] [p]Pssst ….. looking for an attractive investment? Look no further than the nearest charter school. There's gold there – compliments of you and your fellow taxpayers. [/p][p]The last time I wrote about a real estate investment trust's interest in Indiana charter schools, an acquaintance told me it "looked like an interesting story, but it was just too complex." [/p][p]So, here's the bottom line: Your tax dollars produce a healthy profit for out-of-state investors. [/p][p]Bloomberg Businessweek details the lucrative charter school real estate arrangements here. [/p][p]"We don't find a lot of competition right now, and we like that," David Brain, chief executive officer of Entertainment Properties Trust, tells Businessweek. "We'll be ahead of the curve when other people finally wake up to the idea and come to the party." [/p][p]Brain's party smorgasbord currently includes the real estate holdings of the Imagine Inc.-operated schools in Indiana. Entertainment Properties Trust prominently features the Wells Street campus of Fort Wayne's MASTer Academy in a video touting its charter school portfolio. [/p][p]Brain's company owns the charter school properties and charges taxpayers – through the charter school management company – extravagant rates for rent. Taxpayers will pay $790,000 in rent for the MASTer Academy this year alone. That's almost $66,000 a month, if you want to compare it to your mortgage or rent payment, and it's more than a quarter of the $2.9 million the entire property was sold for in 2007. [/p][p]A triple-net lease makes the charter schools responsible for all maintenance, improvements and taxes, so it's easy to see why Brain is crowing over his good fortune at getting on the bandwagon early. [/p][p]Yes, it is intentionally complex. The easier to evade scrutiny by taxpayers and elected officials responsible for overseeing public spending. Charter school board members are appointed and appear to have no interest in protecting taxpayer dollars. [/p][p]Even if you believe charter schools are a necessary alternative to traditional public schools, you should be outraged that investors are boasting of their success at the public trough.[/p][p][/p] [/div]