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.
In Los Angeles, Eyes Are On Locke Charter High School Experiment
Locke Charter High School in Los Angeles is one of the most closely-watched experiments in the public charter school world this year, as one of the city's most troubled schools undergoes a massive transformation under the control of Green Dot. The Los Angeles Times reports today: "Nearly three months into the school year, the changes at Locke are obvious. Last year, when it was still run by the Los Angeles Unified School District, Locke was known for student brawls, rampant graffiti, ditched classes and a dropout rate so high that the senior class was routinely one-fourth the size of the freshman class. This year, the halls are virtually empty during class. Teachers and aides say the campus is almost graffiti-free, and fights have diminished from one a day or so to less than one a month. Tardiness and ditching are down, now that both of those bring detention. Student attendance for September and October averaged 92 percent, close to that at suburban high schools."
Source: LA Times (free registration required), (12/01/2008)
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Idaho Public Charter Schools Seek Creative Solutions to Facility Challenges
Idaho's public charter schools have launched their programs in a variety of structures, from a former plant nursery and pet store in Coeur d'Alene, to a strip mall in Garden City and former athletic center in Boise. Unlike traditional public schools, they cannot access public funds to buy buildings through bonds or levies. "That is the largest financial challenge charter schools face," said Shirley Rau, school choice coordinator for the state Department of Education. A third of the state's public charter schools started out in portable trailer classrooms, typically in rural areas of the state where facilities are harder to find. Many of these public charters have since purchased or built facilities, but some still operate from mobile classrooms. "What you'll see is a big farm field with trailers," Rau said, adding that a charter school set to open next year in northern Idaho is "probably going to end up in a furniture store."
Source: The Olympian, (11/29/2008)
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Some School Board Members in Detroit Refuse to Sell Closed School Buildings to Public Charters
Cash-strapped Detroit Public Schools is trying to sell a dozen closed buildings and three vacant parcels of land to help it reduce a $400 million budget deficit. The properties are to be sold "as-is," and "will not be available for interior inspection prior to submission and acceptance of proposals." An investigation last year found that many of the nearly 70 empty DPS buildings were ransacked by thieves. The district says it reserves the right to reject all proposals, waive requirements and negotiate with whoever wants to buy the properties. Some board members have announced publicly they will not approve property sales to groups that might create public charter schools that would compete with DPS for students and state funds.
Source: Detroit Free Press, (11/27/2008)
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Time Magazine Profiles D.C. Chancellor of Schools Michelle Rhee
Currently, a third of DC public school children attend public charter schools, and at the current growth rate, approximately one-half of the district's students will choose to attend public charters schools within the next ten years. Traditional schools are feeling significant competition. Time Magazine reporter Amanda Ripley writes how reform-minded D.C. Chancellor of Schools Michelle Rhee is responding to challenges in the district and her methods for improving traditional public schools. Rhee has promised to make Washington the highest-performing urban school district in the nation. She is attempting to do this through a focus on finding and rewarding strong teachers, getting rid of incompetent ones, and weakening the tenure system that keeps bad teachers in the classroom.
Source: Time Magazine, (11/26/2008)
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Teachers Unionize Public Charter School in Massachusetts
Teachers at the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton have organized into a union, the first-ever at a Massachusetts public charter school. The move comes at a challenging time for the state's public charter school movement, under a governor who does not support expanding charters and is seeking to create an alternative to the public charter school model. The Massachusetts Charter Public School Association has characterized the teachers' action as an isolated incident at a school plagued with high turnover among its administrators and faculty. The association, however, acknowledged the development could represent a major setback for its movement if teachers at other public charter schools unionize too. The association contends that union contract work rules, governing everything from length of school day to employee termination procedures, strangles educational creativity, leaving administrators with less flexibility, especially when they want to quickly execute new programs or institute new policies. "The big question on the table is, what is the motive of the [federation of teachers] . . . is this an attempt to kill charter schools?" asked Marc Kenen, executive director of the association. If so, Kenen predicts they will not succeed: "Generally, charter school teachers join charter schools because they don't want to work in a unionized atmosphere."
Source: Boston Globe, (11/26/2008)
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Catholic Schools in San Antonio Studying Public Charter School Idea
This year, 13,717 students are enrolled in San Antonio's 44 Catholic schools, down from 14,303 in the 2007-08 school year. The migration of families out of urban areas nationwide and fewer families able to afford the $3,000 to $7,000 annual tuition, has forced some Catholic schools to make difficult decisions. One trend to save the schools from closing has been to convert to public charter schools. As the concept gains national attention, some in San Antonio are asking principals and pastors to look into transforming some of the local Catholic schools to public charters. "We know it's a good idea; we know the model works, and we are actively pursuing this," said Simón Salas, chief operating officer for Academica, which operates public charters in San Antonio and in other states. "We're looking for the right opportunity." The idea has already taken root elsewhere in Texas. St. Mary's Academy in Beeville reopened in August 2001 as St. Mary's Academy Charter School with 180 students. Enrollment is now up to 330. “It was a loss to many of them that valued religious instruction in a school setting,” said school principal Stan Simonson. "But the community couldn't afford to keep it open, so a decision was made."
Source: Express News, (11/25/2008)
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