Charter Schools and Money
Update: when pondering this question of charter schools and money, I recalled the wording about charter schools and district levies. Now we all know that charters, whether new or conversion, may access levy dollars, whether capital or operations.
That likely extends to the Families & Education levy. I have asked the City about this and yes, they are taking it up with the City Attorney. My reading of the law (and Eric if you are out there, chime in) is yes. Problem is the City does not give money via F&E levy. (The district doesn't but it is somewhat easier to figure out a charter share.) The City provides services so I guess the City could decide which services to give to a charter but it cuts up that piece of pie even more.
End of update.
The question gets asked, all the time, and especially now that we all know that under 1240, a private school can open/change to become a charter school.
The question is - can a private school operate on the same funds as a public school?
They can certainly try; they don't have to. They can go after private money or grants, just like the school districts they sit in.
But here's a great example of a charter school in California that loves parents...and wants parents to show the love back. The school relies on 20% of its budget coming from family contributions alone. Their "Parental Commitment to Excellence" page at Pacific Collegiate School:
Parents are a vital part of the team at PCS. You play an essential role in both individual student success and overall school support. This is as true today as it was when the school was founded. PCS needs you!
Our Board, administration, faculty and staff strive for excellence in all that we do to serve our students and represent the school. We embrace our role as partners and strive for excellence and collaboration in all that we do.
We ask that you partner with us and make a commitment to excellence on behalf of our family and student in the following ways:
Also, to get into the lottery for this school you have to submit their enrollment form AND attend an information night. This would probably be allowed under 1240.
Your child also has to maintain a C average to be promoted or not have to repeat a course.
This is the top-ranked charter school in California.
That likely extends to the Families & Education levy. I have asked the City about this and yes, they are taking it up with the City Attorney. My reading of the law (and Eric if you are out there, chime in) is yes. Problem is the City does not give money via F&E levy. (The district doesn't but it is somewhat easier to figure out a charter share.) The City provides services so I guess the City could decide which services to give to a charter but it cuts up that piece of pie even more.
End of update.
The question gets asked, all the time, and especially now that we all know that under 1240, a private school can open/change to become a charter school.
The question is - can a private school operate on the same funds as a public school?
They can certainly try; they don't have to. They can go after private money or grants, just like the school districts they sit in.
But here's a great example of a charter school in California that loves parents...and wants parents to show the love back. The school relies on 20% of its budget coming from family contributions alone. Their "Parental Commitment to Excellence" page at Pacific Collegiate School:
Parents are a vital part of the team at PCS. You play an essential role in both individual student success and overall school support. This is as true today as it was when the school was founded. PCS needs you!
Our Board, administration, faculty and staff strive for excellence in all that we do to serve our students and represent the school. We embrace our role as partners and strive for excellence and collaboration in all that we do.
We ask that you partner with us and make a commitment to excellence on behalf of our family and student in the following ways:
- I understand that PCS is a charter school and is dependent upon donations to bridge the gap between state funding and the actual cost of providing my student(s) with an education of this caliber. I acknowledge that each family is asked to donate $3,000 per student and 100% family participation is the goal of the Annual Fund Drive.
- I will stay informed using the school website, reading school-related emails and checking PowerSchool on a regular basis.
- I will communicate with my student’s teachers in a way consistent with the protocol I receive from them at Back to School Night.
- I will fulfill the annual minimum of 40-hour parent volunteer requirement for my family. I will register and report these activities and hours on the PCS website at the Volunteer Central Tracking System.
- I will attend at least one Campus Work Day to help care for our school as part of my 40 hours of volunteer service. (Work days are on Saturdays).
- I will attend at least one Board Meeting during the school year.
Also, to get into the lottery for this school you have to submit their enrollment form AND attend an information night. This would probably be allowed under 1240.
Your child also has to maintain a C average to be promoted or not have to repeat a course.
This is the top-ranked charter school in California.
Comments
Pacific Collegiate School Report
HP
CHM
One, this charter can't operate on state money or even added dollars from grants, etc. So they have to ask the parents for money. (And many parents in SPS PTAs give a lot of money and time; these are just people with more money to give.)
Second, the charter's ability to do this. I thought it was supposed to be a level-playing field and that a charter was just like a public school except for freedom and autonomy.
I think that "freedom" allows them to do things that public schools cannot.
The law does not, however, preclude charter schools from expelling students for any reason, which theoretically could include failure to contribute. It would be up to the charter school authorizer to police that. But the charter school authorizer wouldn't be policing that unless they chose to do so. Given the public concen over charter schools pushing out students, I would expect it is an area of attention for the authorizers. At least I would hope that it is.
On the F&L levy, I'd have to look back at the initiative text. My recollection is that charters get a piece of the school levies, operating and capital. Whether that extends to the F&L levy is unclear, and may also depend on the wording of the F&L levy. If F&L says that it is for public schools, I-1240 defines charters as public schools*, so it would be hard to argue that they shouldn't get a piece of that. I don't think they could demand money if F&L doesn't give cash to schools, but they could certainly demand services that F&L provides to other schools.
Future F&L levies could potentially be written narrowly to support only Seattle Public Schools and not charters, but that would likely invite a legal challenge from charters or their supporters who want a piece of the money/services. It also would be tough to defend morally if the courts have decided that charters are in fact public schools*. I can't see how you would say that one group of public school students should get support, while another shouldn't.
* Whether charters are public schools is the big bone of contention in the lawsuit against them. That's the key to this argument as well as whether charters exist at all.
Eric, it says any "local levy" and that's what gave me pause. I'll let you know what the City says.
My understanding is that just being a public school doesn't guarantee access to funds though, the money is supposed to go to schools with more need. So there is clearly a mechanism to turn down requests. Criteria seem to be " Organizations are evaluated in three areas: 1) key people, 2) previous experience, and 3) ability to use data to track success..."
So "previous experience" might preclude grants to charters for awhile.
How does this differ from our immersion schools and their fundraising goals? I'd like to know if this charter can actually refuse to re-enroll children the next year if their families did not meet their commitments.
Lake Washington School District has choice schools that require a specific number of volunteer hours. (Their Community School requires 100 hours per family each year.) They have required dues too (only $200 per year though.)
These are requests we might not like to see charters make - but I don't know how much we can complain if our public schools are already doing it.
Lynn
However, charters can make up any reason they like to exit a child. They might not say, "You didn't give the money we need" but they can say "we need more parent participation from you and you are not meeting our standards."
No PTA or regular public school can do that.
Lynn, I cannot believe any public school can "require" volunteer hours or "dues". I saw the "dues" page and it says "voluntary".
It's all in the high-pressure wording but charters can exact a penalty that no regular public schools can.