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.
NYC Charter School Students Outperform Other Public School Students in Reading
The New York Sun reported this week that 61 percent of charter school students in New York City who took the state's reading assessments met state standards, compared to 51 percent of students citywide. Charter school performance appears to be improving more rapidly than other public schools, with the number of students meeting standards rising five points from 56 percent last year. Traditional city schools overall reported a gain of just one-tenth of one percentage point. More than half of charter school eighth graders (54 percent) met state reading standards, compared to just 42 percent citywide. Peter Murphy, Policy Director at the New York State Charter Association, said those figures add to the evidence of charter schools' advantages.
Source: New York Sun, (05/29/2007)
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Cyber Charter Bill Sponsor in Pennsylvania Seeks to Push Through Legislation
Parents with students in cyber charters have joined administrators and faculty in a lobbying campaign urging Pennsylvania legislators to oppose a new bill that shifts the responsibility of financing cyber charter schools from school districts to the state. House Bill 446 has lagged in the state House Committee on Education, but its sponsor, Karen Beyer, has offered the measure as an amendment to various bills that have passed out of committee. Beyer's bill would allow a cyber charter school to only collect $3,000 to $5,000 (depending on enrollment figures) for each student. That amounts to about one-half the funding that Pennsylvania's cyber charters currently receive. Cyber charter supporters are gravely concerned about what happens if the measure passes. "This would kill us," said James Hanak, CEO of the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School. "If this bill passes, we'll all go out of business."
Source: The Evening Bulletin, (05/28/2007)
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Minnesota Educators Watch Charter School Court Case Closely
A charter school that failed to receive its renewal and closed last year has sued its former sponsor, the Northfield School District, and the Minnesota Department of Education in an attempt to reopen. The Village School of Northfield has asked the state Court of Appeals to force the school district to reconsider its decision. The case rests on whether the board had to record its reasons for not renewing in its minutes from the May 30 meeting when it voted 5-2 not to renew. Without those reasons, school attorneys argue then that decision is arbitrary. Educators are watching the case closely. "If the case goes in favor of the Village School, many sponsors who might think about sponsoring charter schools may decide not to," said Charlie Kyte of the MN Assoc. of School Administrators. If the school district and Dept. of Ed. prevail, sponsors will be able to pull out of contracts with charters capriciously, argues school attorney John Cairns.
Source: Star Tribune, (05/28/2007)
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NH Senate President Calls on Lawmakers to Freeze New Charters Until Funding Decisions are Made
New Hampshire Senate President Sylvia Larsen has introduced a proposal to put a hold on new state-approved charter schools until lawmakers determine how to fund them. She recommends shifting $800,000 in seed money designated for new charter schools in the House-passed budget to those existing charters that are struggling financially. Some charter schools have had to fight local school boards for their state aid (approximately $3,600 per student). As federal startup grants have run out, some schools have been unable to pay their bills with the state aid and income from private fundraising. Most charters estimate that they need at least $6,000 per pupil or more to survive. Larsen's bill would not affect new charters that are approved by local voters.
Source: Concord Monitor, (05/25/2007)
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Drop in Detroit District Enrollment May Soon Bring More Charters
Charter schools are increasingly popular in Detroit and if district enrollment drops below 100,000 students, Wayne County Community College District and Bay Mills Community College will be allowed to charter an unlimited number of schools in the city. The district has an enrollment of around 116,000 students and is projected to lose at least 10,000 students next year. District officials have been bitter critics of the 12-year-old Michigan charter school movement and say they will fight expansion efforts. In an effort to stall growth, the DPS Board of Education recently passed a resolution to not lease or sell any of its vacant buildings to charter schools. Curtis Ivery, chancellor of Wayne County Community College District, is watching DPS enrollment numbers. "It's going to look different because I think it has to," Ivery said of Detroit's public school structure. "To think we'd be in the same place five years from now would be a travesty."
Source: Detroit Free Press, (05/25/2007)
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More L.A. Faculty Reach Out to Green Dot
Last week, teachers increasingly frustrated by the L.A. district, met with officials of Green Dot charter schools. Teachers at Santee Education Complex and Taft High said the earlier move by faculty at Locke High School, where a majority of teachers are taking steps to convert the district school into Green Dot charter schools, tapped into the discontent they feel over the district's slow reform and lack of support. Though both meetings were just preliminary steps toward possible partnerships, school faculty said they were impressed by the Green Dot model. Green Dot requires a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum and emphasizes significant organizational control by teachers and principals. "The increased autonomy is very attractive, and the money too," said Richard Gibbons, a veteran teacher at Taft. "We're frustrated by the district and its bureaucracy. People are eager to try something different. We have to do something."
Source: LA Times (free registration required), (05/25/2007)
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Ohio Charter School Countersues District
Harmony Community School, a Cincinnati area charter school, has filed a countersuit against Cincinnati Public Schools alleging the district has improperly "flagged" some Harmony students, causing the charter school to lose state funding for those students. The district filed a suit last year against the school alleging that it had operated illegally. The district said the school was not entitled to some of the funds it received and that a repayment of $3.5 million was required. In the recent countersuit, Harmony denies the district's allegations and charged the district with improperly flagging some of its students, causing the school to lose some state funding. Cincinnati Public Schools "in its need for funds in a shrinking district, has left no tactic unturned in its desperate need to fund schools that students are fleeing," said Harmony attorney James Callender.
Source: The Enquirer, (05/24/2007)
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Broad Foundation Provides Another Boost for California Charters
Philanthropist Eli Broad has committed $6.5 million to the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools in Los Angeles to help it dramatically expand. The anticipated expansion will nearly triple the number of Alliance schools to 20, matching the pace of growth of Green Dot Public Schools. The grant to Alliance is the latest indication that Broad views the work of charter schools as the best chance to reform the nation's second-largest school system. "Certainly the brightest hope for students in Los Angeles are high-performing charter school organizations," Broad said. "We need to change," he said in an interview. "We're looking for the superior performance of charter schools to create the pressure for change." A $10-million contribution to Green Dot last year and the gift to Alliance bring to $56 million the amount given by Broad to support charters in several U.S. cities (with $36 million going to Los Angeles charter groups).
Source: LA Times (free registration required), (05/24/2007)
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Georgia Governor Signs New Charter School Bill Allowing District Conversions
On May 22, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed a bill that creates a pilot program in which five school systems would be allowed to pursue charter status as early as next year. The bill will eventually allow other school boards to apply for the same flexibility for their entire systems that are already granted to charter schools. "Charter systems will allow local communities to have greater control, greater flexibility in deciding how to design their schools," Perdue said during a news conference at the Capitol before signing the legislation. "We're looking for innovation. We're looking for creativity." Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle pushed the idea as a campaign pledge last year. Cagle called the bill signing a "landmark decision." "I believe fundamentally when you allow local communities flexibility, that they will not only meet or exceed standards, but they will design an educational curriculum around the needs of each individual child," he said.
Source: Florida Times-Union, (05/23/2007)
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