AB 84 proposes broad changes to how charter schools operate and are overseen in the state. It would place stricter audit requirements on charter schools, particularly nonclassroom-based schools, and calls for creating a new Office of the Education Inspector General, which, according to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, could cost the state anywhere from a few million to tens of millions of dollars each year.Supporters of AB 84, including educational agencies and school unions, say the bill is necessary to crack down on fraud. Dr. Michael Kirst, the longest-serving president of the California State Board of Education and Gov. Jerry Brown’s education secretary, said charter schools, in most cases, “are much more accountable than public schools.” “They have to have charters renewed every five years. And if they don’t improve test scores and performance, then they’re not renewed, and that’s a requirement,” he said. Still, Kirst believes the fraud cases have been egregious enough to warrant stronger oversight, he said. ‘”These scandals are so bad that my reaction to that is that the charters just may have to eat that.”