The Delaware Military Academy — the only Navy-sponsored public charter school in the country — is perpetually short of funds, in large part because it receives only a fraction of the per-student funding that traditional district-run schools get. In order to save money by buying its property instead of leasing it (the DMA receives no state money for capital improvements, unlike traditional public schools), the academy recently applied for a special low-interest loan through the state.

The state’s Council on Development Finance voted 8 to 1 in favor of the proposal, but the state economic development director overruled the board. An editorial from the Delaware News Journal explains why: “Political pressure from the lobbyist for the Delaware State Education Association — actually a threat to drop its support of Lt. Gov. John Carney — is what led to this now runaway freight train of a debacle.”

A charter school — and one with a 200-child waiting list — hamstrung by hostile regulators? Look for the teachers union behind the curtain.