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 Alliance to Host November 12 Teleconference, "Assessing Financial Risks for Public Charter Schools"
Worries about tightening credit markets, stock market losses, and a looming economic recession are a serious matter for public charter school operators trying to adjust and react to the current financial crisis. In response, the National Alliance for Public Charter schools will host "Assessing Financial Risks for Public Charter Schools," a teleconference for public charter school operators on November 12 from 2:00 to 3:30 EST. The teleconference will feature a panel of experts on charter school financing issues who will speak and take questions. The panel will include: Kathleen DeLaski, Senior Program Officer (Education), Walton Family Foundation; Susan Harper, Vice President, Merrill Lynch Community Development Company; and, Tom Nida, Executive Vice President, Community Development Group, United Bank (Nida also serves as Chairman of the Washington DC Public Charter School Board). The teleconference is free but registration is required.
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, (11/10/2008)
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Public Charter School Student Market Share Increases Around the Nation
For the third year in a row, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has gathered public school enrollment data from around the country to find the highest local proportions of students enrolled in public charter schools. This year's report shows 12 communities have at least 20 percent of their public school students enrolled in public charter schools, double the number from just two years ago. Additionally, 64 communities now have at least 10 percent of public school students in charter schools. New Orleans remains number one, with 55 percent of all public school children enrolled in public charter schools. The percentage of public school students enrolled in D.C.'s public charters in jumped from 27 percent in 2006-07 to 31 percent in 2007-08. Because of the surge in enrollment, D.C. pulled away from the two other communities with which it was tied at the second spot last year (Dayton, OH and Southfield, MI).
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, (11/03/2008)
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Public Charter Schools Expand in Kansas City
The number of students attending public charter schools in Kansas City increased by 15 percent this year. About 23 percent of schoolchildren in Kansas City public schools are getting their education at one of the city’s 18 public charter schools. John Martin, former interim superintendent of the Kansas City School District, said he knew children were leaving to attend public charters “due to the perception of a better education and more for the reality of better discipline.” Discipline is stiffer in public charter schools, Martin said. Generally, “if a student acts up at a charter school, they put them out and keep them out," he said. "There, parents have to be more involved, so there is more incentive for students to behave.”
Source: Kansas City Star, (11/02/2008)
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Dayton Ranks Third in Public Charter School Enrollment
With 28 percent of its public school students enrolled in public charter schools, Dayton, Ohio ranks third in the nation among communities with the highest percentage of students in charters, behind only New Orleans and Washington D.C. The city's public charter school enrollment rose four percent in the past year.
Source: Dayton Daily News, (11/02/2008)
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Texas Contends Several Public Charter Schools Inflated Attendance
Texas officials say seven public charter schools owe more than $16 million to the Texas Education Agency for allegedly inaccurate and inflated attendance reports. The state has aggressively sought refunds from the schools, including $8 million for attendance claims at Houston's Gulf Shores Academy (GSA), where absenteeism averaged 30 percent every day during the 2004-05 school year. Texas state Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, a lawyer who represents Gulf Shores Academy officials, said many public charter schools in Texas have had a difficult time learning how to enter attendance information into the state's complex computer system.
Source: Abilene Online Reporter News, (11/01/2008)
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White Hat Rejects Allegations it Misreported Life Skills Centers Attendance Records
In response to an inquiry from Scripss Howard News Service about absenteeism at its Life Skills Centers in Ohio, White Hat Management Company issued a statement denying allegations that the company had improperly misreported attendance records. The response stated in part "Our policies require written documentation for excused absences and we comply with all applicable sections of the Ohio Revised Code. We will not dignify allegations made in interviews with 'former employees,' 'former teachers' and 'former students' since we have not been offered transcripts of such interviews. We find offensive any implication that White Hat Management, the management company for Life Skills Centers, has not complied with reporting and legal requirements.”
Source: Scripps News, (10/31/2008)
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Districts Rally Against Public Charter School Funding in Utah
In Utah, the Jordan Board of Education has joined other school districts in protesting a new law that requires districts to help pay for public charter schools. Last week, the Jordan board joined two other school district boards in passing a resolution protesting Senate Bill 2 (also known as the omnibus education bill) which requires a transfer of money from traditional public schools to public charter schools. "The state has effectively created a second level of funding for these schools," complained Barry Newbold, Jordan School District superintendent. "It reflects a shifting of that responsibility." Public charter school advocates, however, have said it is reasonable to expect that school districts pay money to public charter schools because the traditional public school system would be educating children attending public charter schools anyway if the public charters did not exist.
Source: Salt Lake Tribune, (10/30/2008)
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KIPP Moves into Early Education
KIPP schools recently announced the receipt of a $5.5 million grant from the Rainwater Foundation to expand the number of KIPP early elementary programs. By 2011, there will be 30 KIPP elementary schools, many beginning in pre-k, and one out of every four KIPP schools will be an elementary school. The Rainwater grant will accelerate the expansion of KIPP's early education work, and fund specialized early elementary training for new school leaders participating in KIPP's Fisher Fellowship principal training program. The expansion will begin next year, with the opening of nine new KIPP schools in Baltimore, Newark, and other high-poverty communities. “It is incredible to see how quickly students learn at an early age with KIPP’s approach. By the end of kindergarten, our students are performing above grade level in reading and math,” said Aaron Brenner, founder of KIPP SHINE in Houston, the first KIPP pre-kindergarten/elementary school. “The Rainwater grant is exciting for the future of KIPP. By the time children enter KIPP in middle school, we will see fifth graders at or above grade level, rather than several years behind.”
Source: KIPP, (10/29/2008)
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Paul Vallas to Remain Recovery School District Superintendent in New Orleans
Recovery School District Superintendent Paul Vallas, whose two-year contract expires in June, has agreed to lead the state-run school system through the 2009-10 school year. Vallas, a Chicago-area native who commutes to the Illinois suburb where his wife and teenage sons live, had previously said he likely would leave New Orleans after this school year. "My wife is supportive of me staying another year. She wants me to get home a little more often, but ultimately, she is supportive," said Vallas. The state-run district directly operates 34 public schools in New Orleans and oversees 33 more independent public charter schools. Most educators say that longevity in a superintendent's tenure bodes well for a district's success. "While I might not agree with everything that Vallas has done, I think the system needs stability and he's bringing enough energy and new ideas to the reformation of the school system, " said Mickey Landry, principal of Lafayette Academy Charter School. "Getting him for another year is a good thing."
Source: The Times-Picayune, (10/29/2008)
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