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.
Archbishop Seeks to Convert Catholic Schools to Charters in D.C.
Archbishop Donald Wuerl is proposing to convert eight of D.C.'s Catholic elementary schools into secular charter schools to avoid closure. The schools' names would change and specific religious references would be removed from the curriculum. About 1,200 of the 2,200 children in Catholic elementary schools in Washington would move to charters under the current proposal. Monsignor Charles Pope, pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Roman Catholic Church, whose parish school would be converted to a charter, said chartering is better than shutting down. "At least we'll be able to serve children in some capacity in our neighborhoods."
Source: Washington Post (free registration required), (09/10/2007)
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Delaware Charter Denied State Bond Authority
Delaware's economic development director has denied a charter school's request to take advantage of low interest rates on state bonds for repayment of debt. The state's 1995 charter legislation directed that state funds be used to support operations, but not facilities. Delaware Military Academy requested the lower-cost financing option and officials said state bond authority could have saved the school between $100,000 and $120,000 in annual interest costs. State Education Secretary Valerie Woodruff said she was not familiar with all the facts in this case but said that charter facility funding needs to be resolved. "These are controversies that have been swirling ever since the original law was passed back in 1995...It's an issue that needs to be settled."
Source: The News Journal, (09/09/2007)
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Ohio District Leaders Blame Enrollment Decline on Charter Schools
Declining enrollment in Ohio's largest school districts continues, and some leaders are blaming the popularity and growth of charter schools on their losses. Across the state, the largest school systems have reported declines in each of the last five years. Although thousands of students have transferred to charter schools since 1998, the decline in urban districts started well before that. Michael Straughter, a spokesman for Columbus Public Schools, said he is hoping the district will turn-around the enrollment trend even with the increased competition from vouchers and charters. "I'm going to say we are optimistically cautious and hopeful," said Straughter. Vouchers, low birth rates, and suburban migration are also blamed for the enrollment decline.
Source: Toledo Blade, (09/08/2007)
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Local Board Wary of New State Charter Sponsoring Body in Florida
Many of Brevard County's charter schools want to be directed by the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission, a new, independent, statewide commission that can sponsor charter schools. Last week, county board members said they were worried about handing over control to the state commission. They expressed concerns that the commission is too new, and that many of the services provided to Brevard's charters wouldn't be provided by the commission. "If the schools withdraw, what happens to the equipment, technology, or leased buses," said board member Amy Kneessy. "Do we take those things back? Do they now go to the state?" The Florida Consortium of Charter Schools said charters must have the right to select their overseer. Consortium spokeswoman Lynn Norman-Teck said the state commission will have stringent requirements and provide needed services. "The commission is working closely and under the supervision of the Department of Education, and we are confident that it will be successful and will help improve charter schools."
Source: Florida Today, (09/07/2007)
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Virtual Charter School in Oregon Seeks Residency Waiver to Help with Start-up Costs and Competition
Following the 2005 opening of Oregon Connections Academy, a K-11 cyber charter school, the state passed a law that required at least 50 percent of the students attending any virtual school to come from within the sponsoring district. Because Oregon Connections Academy had opened previously, it was grandfathered in, avoiding the residency constraints. A new virtual charter high school, which would be run by Insight Schools, Inc., seeks to compete with Oregon Connections Academy and is requesting a waiver from the residency requirements from the State Board of Education. School developers said the waiver is necessary to be able to draw on a broader pool of students to cover startup costs. Matt Wingard, a spokesman for Oregon Connections Academy, said the company thinks "more choice is good. If there is another school that wants to provide choice, we think that's great." Approximately 10,000 school children are educated in Oregon's 80 charter schools.
Source: Forbes, (09/05/2007)
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New Orleans Launches New School Year with Highest Percentage of Charter School Students in the Nation
In the two years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the city has evolved to have the highest percentage of students in charter schools in the U.S. Principals and teachers from across the nation have come to the city to help run charter schools targeted at helping struggling New Orleans students catch up. Many people believe the city is now the nation's proving ground for charter schools in urban areas. "There's definitely a hope that the experience in New Orleans after the hurricane will show that public charter schools can work at scale, particularly for those students who have struggled historically," says Todd Ziebarth of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Bree Dusseault, the principal at New Orleans Charter Middle, says she is driven by idealism more than pay. "This is an opportunity for people who like dreaming big ideas to put them into reality."
Source: Christian Science Monitor, (09/04/2007)
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