On average, the funding gap between charter schools and traditional schools is 22 percent, or $1,800 per pupil. The average charter school ends up with a total funding shortfall of nearly half a million dollars.
Source: Charter School Funding: Inequity’s Next Frontier
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Note: Please be aware that online publishers often change URLs or no longer provide access to articles after 7 days. If any of the below links no longer work, access the publishing newspaper and search the archives for the keywords in the subject matter. Good luck.
National Charter Schools Conference Program Now Online During National Charter Schools Conference
The 124 sessions to be presented at the 2007 National Charter Schools Conference are available for viewing online at the conference website. Conference strands include: Charter School Design; Instruction and Leadership; Charter School Funding, Facilities and Finance; Performance and Accountability; Advocacy and Messaging; Policy Environment; Governance and Operations; and State of the Movement. Keynote speakers include US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, Newsweek Magazine Editor Jon Meacham, and Kevin Johnson Founder of St. HOPE Public Schools. Register today to join 3,000 colleagues in Albuquerque, New Mexico April 24th–27th to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the charter school movement. For questions, call 206-463-3344 or e-mail nationalconference@publiccharters.org.
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, (03/01/2007)
Also See
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Charter Schools Taking on Significant Role in Florida's Public Education
In 1996, there were five charters in Florida. Now there are more than 350. This year, enrollment in charter schools is expected to top 100,000. "They're an established reform," said Chad d'Entremont, assistant director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Columbia University. Overall, charter school students statewide scored slightly lower on reading and math tests than their district school peers, according to an analysis released last month by the state Education Department. But that gap has narrowed significantly, and in some areas, such as elementary and middle school reading, charter school students are now doing slightly better than their peers.
Source: St. Petersburg Times, (01/22/2007)
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Arizona's Charter Schools Creating Athletic Teams
One challenge charters across the nation have faced is the difficulty of providing extracurricular activities. This year, however, charters in Arizona have developed athletic teams and are beginning to compete against other charters, and, in a few cases, against private and other public schools. The Arizona Interscholastic Association, which oversees high school extracurricular activities, began receiving applications from charters seeking membership five years ago. "We're definitely looking at more coming in and expanding," said Gary Whelchel, state commissioner of officials for the association. Statewide, there are nearly a dozen charter schools playing in AIA, and more than a dozen other charters are associate members. There are slightly more than one million K-12 students in Arizona, and more than 89,000 are enrolled in 575 charter schools. "They're certainly not a single niche anymore," said Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne.
Source: Arizona Daily Star, (01/21/2007)
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L.A. Mayor's New Proposal Draws on Lessons Learned from Charters
On January 18, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled a new education blueprint calling for a sweeping reform strategy of the city's schools. His proposal includes ending social promotion, extending the school day, requiring school uniforms, and bringing in outside experts to help transform schools. His top education aides drew up the proposal by researching practices in major urban school districts and by gathering ideas from local charter school operators that have shown success with poor and immigrant student populations. The plan also calls for shifting funding and resources away from the central administration to schools, and giving campuses greater authority over their resources -- ideas that are drawn from the charter school movement.
Source: LA Times (free registration required), (01/18/2007)
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Georgia's Lieutenant Governor Announces New Charter Legislation
Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle has announced legislation that will allow the Georgia state school board to approve multiple charters at once for the school systems that seek them. The legislation, which has not yet been filed, also would create $125,000 grants for systems seeking to become charter systems. Cagle said that freedom is key to improving education in Georgia, where public school students consistently finish near the bottom in national standardized tests. "The idea here is all about local control," said Cagle, speaking at Tech High, a charter school in Atlanta. "Teachers can really do a great job if you untie their hands." State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox, who joined Cagle for the announcement, said she supports the proposal. In Georgia, the number of charters is rising, increasing from 35 in 2002 to 57 this year.
Source: Macon Telegraph, (01/18/2007)
Also See
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Expanding Charter Schools Seen as a Solution to Racial Isolation in New Jersey
According to educators, advocates, lawyers and African-American community leaders who met last week at Essex County College, children in New Jersey's public schools are racially isolated. "The key is, what are we going to do about it?" asked moderator Bob Pickett, a former counselor to Governor Jim Florio. "Nothing will happen if we simply stand by." Expanding charter schools was among the strategies explored during the event, which was organized by Excellent Education for Everyone, or E3, a school-choice advocacy group. "Where is the rage?" asked Peter Denton, who co-founded E3 in 1999 with Cory Booker, who now is the mayor of Newark. Dropouts are "sentenced to jail, drug addiction centers, at best low-wage jobs, or death -- because we cannot educate them."
Source: North Jersey News, (01/18/2007)
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Legislative Audit Calls for Funding Equity for Utah's Charter Schools
Public charter schools in Utah need more funding to reach parity with traditional schools, according to a legislative audit released January 16. Wayne Kidd, audit supervisor, told legislators that some of the bigger issues in the study revolve around funding equity. Auditors recommended lawmakers consider different funding options including adjusting the local replacement formula with full state funding, establishing a property tax sharing system with school district funding, or having the state or a hybrid plan where the state and school districts share in the cost of those funds. The document also calls on the state board to enforce its accountability rules for charters and establish review committees to ensure accountability.
Source: Deseret Morning News, (01/17/2007)
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New L.A. Superintendent Praises and Cautions Charter School Advocates
In his first public meeting with Los Angeles Unified's charter school leaders, new LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer III praised charters, but said their growth will slow as his reforms take hold. He questioned charter advocate's goals of doubling charter enrollment in the next few years. "We'll have to look at that - to the extent that I change the rest of the school district, some of that may not be necessary," Brewer said. "Charter schools are what I call my innovative centers. I think to the extent we use charter schools as research and development laboratories, we're fine. Charter schools will not replace the general public schools in this district, but what they will do is help us to reform our practices." The LAUSD school board has resisted the expansion of the charter movement and may ask the state legislature to cap charter school funding. Currently, nearly 10 percent of the district's students are in charter schools.
Source: Los Angeles Daily News, (01/17/2007)
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Oakland KIPP School Seeks Charter and Separation from District
KIPP leaders have petitioned a separation from the Oakland Unified School District so that West Oakland's KIPP Bridge College Preparatory school can operate independently as a charter. While nearly all 52 schools in the KIPP network are charters, those who started Oakland's KIPP school in 2002 initially wanted to be part of the school district. KIPP officials say that if the school operates as a charter, it will have roughly $300,000 more to spend on its students each year. In Oakland, as in other California districts, the funding allocated for each student go initially through the central office, which takes a cut (approximately 18 percent) before allocating the rest to the schools. KIPP officials say that if they controlled 100 percent of the funding, they could minimize the overhead costs and channel more money to the students. The school district is expected to decide by the end of the month whether or not the school can leave the district.
Source: Inside Bay Area, (01/15/2007)
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