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.
U.S. Representative Rahm Emanuel Puts Forward $300 Million Targeted Grant Program to Create High-Quality Public Charter Schools for Students in Failing Public Schools
Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois (D) is proposing an alternative to President Bush's $300 million private-school-choice plan that would instead enhance public charter school options for school children around the nation. Rep. Emanuel's "Pell Grants for Kids Act" establishes a $300 million competitive grant program to help create and replicate high-quality public charter schools for students trapped in failing public schools. The proposal would give Democrats an alternative to voting for the private-school-choice plan and would provide the growing charter school movement a significant boost. The program would establish grants for new or expanding eligible public charter schools serving students from schools in restructuring or with a graduation rate of 60 percent or less - including support for facilities, hiring new teachers, special education programs, transportation, technology, and other operations activities associated with the schools' development or expansion. "When it comes to education, parents and students deserve to have a choice. Charter schools offer students and parents high quality, innovative public school education," said Emanuel.
Source: Education Week (subscription required), (03/17/2008)
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Scholars Debate Charter Schools in Business Week
In this week's issue of Business Week, scholars Jay Greene of the University of Arkansas and Jeffrey Henig of Columbia University debate the quality of public charter schools versus the quality of traditional schools. Greene’s commentary focuses on studies showing charter schools more positively effect student achievement than district schools and their existence spurs improvement in traditional schools. He concludes: "The point is, charters give students more options to find schools that work effectively for them. And giving students those options motivates traditional public schools to be more effective for the students who remain." On the other hand, Henig says "Rather than pitting charter and public schools as sector vs. sector, we'll do better to think of charters and traditional schools as components of a broad public education system, ultimately responsible for democratic processes and open to change and adaptation as we feel our way along toward better schooling and a better society for all."
Source: Business Week, (03/16/2008)
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California Teachers Explore Options at Charter Schools
Due to state budget cuts, nearly 20,000 public school employees, including teachers, have been laid off. As a result, the Los Angeles Regional Charter Schools Job Fair last week was packed. While nearly every district in the state is cutting positions, charter administrators say they still have funds to grow because of their lower overhead and employee benefit costs, and a more streamlined bureaucracy.
Source: LA Times (free registration required), (03/16/2008)
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Oregon Board of Education Allows Online Charters with Significant Restrictions
The Oregon State Board of Education recently decided that online charter schools can operate in the state but only under severe restrictions, including limiting enrollment to 100 students to each grade and securing operations permission from each local school district. Organizers of the Oregon Virtual Academy said they were unsure how difficult it would be for them to get permission from local school districts for students to enroll in their charter, but they plan to work hard to convince districts that the online school will be an effective learning option for some of their students. The fact that the state board will allow cyber-schools to open at all "is a very positive outcome for us," said Dianne Phillips, a Eugene parent who is on the school's founding board. "Their intent is to do what's right for kids."
Source: The Oregonian, (03/14/2008)
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Proposed Increased Charter Funding Wins in New Hampshire House, but Loses in Senate
A New Hampshire House panel endorsed a measure to give an additional $2,700 a student to the state's charter schools. At the same time the House was deciding its views on the measure, a move to increase financial support for charter schools failed in the Senate. Governor John Lynch has come out in opposition to new spending in the coming year as the state faces an expected $50 million shortfall in expected state revenues by June 30.
Source: Sea Coast Online, (03/14/2008)
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Action Delayed on Tennessee Bill Seeking to Broaden Students' Eligibility for Charter School Attendance
Currently, Tennessee's six-year-old charter school law has one of the most restrictive enrollment provisions in the nation, allowing charter schools only to draw their enrollment from failing schools or students considered to be failing. Sen. Jamie Woodson (R), the chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, is pushing legislation that would broaden the state's current law on charter school eligibility to allow charter schools to fill some slots with any student who participates in the federal free or reduced-price lunch program. The bill has met resistance from some legislators and the teacher's union. Jerry Winters, a lobbyist for the Tennessee Education Association, said the bill would "change the focus of the original law" off of low-performing schools and students and onto opening enrollment to possibly a "huge number of students" classified as low-income or "at risk." Estimates are that passing the bill as is would fill just 51 spots that are currently available with low-income students. Those 51 spots would all be at Nashville's Smithson-Craighead Academy, the only charter school in the state not currently at full capacity. "It's a very modest proposal," said Matt Throckmorton of the Tennessee Charter Schools Association.
Source: Nashville City Paper, (03/13/2008)
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Denver Public Schools Seeking New Schools
Denver Public Schools has released a new request for proposals (RFP) for new schools, inviting proposals for both charter schools and non-charter schools as part of the Denver New Schools Initiative. Although the district does have 19 charter schools currently operating in the city, this is the first time it has issued an RFP for charters. While the RFP is an "open call" for all types of new schools, the district is designating two areas of urgent priority: improving and expanding the educational offerings to middle years (grades 6 to 8) students and providing a diversified array of educational services and programs to meet the needs of secondary students identified as being "at-risk" of dropping out of school. "It is our hope that the release of the RFP...will encourage the many talented leaders we have in this district, as well as others, to create high-performing new schools in Denver," said DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet. All applicants should submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by April 18, 2008 for the "early stage" or June 27, 2008, for the regular cycle. A copy of the RFP package can be found online.
Source: Rocky Mountain News, (03/11/2008)
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National Charter Schools Conference (New Orleans, June 22-25)
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools will host the 2008 National Charter Schools Conference from June 22-25 in New Orleans, LA. "Still We Rise: Achieving Academic Excellence at Scale" is the conference theme, reflecting the growth of quality public charter schools across America. The theme has special resonance in New Orleans, which boasts the nation's largest percentage of public charter school enrollment. Register for the conference or apply to sponsor/exhibit at http://www.nationalcharterconference.org. The conference is the largest gathering of charter school operators and proponents in the nation. Geoffrey Canada, President and Chief Executive Officer for the Harlem Children's Zone, will offer the keynote speech. Attendees will learn and share best practices, discuss national and state policy issues, have the opportunity to volunteer at local charter schools, and enjoy special events featuring New Orleans traditions, food and music! Questions? Call 206-463-3344 or e-mail nationalconference@publiccharters.org.
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, (03/01/2008)
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