Tag: Charter Schools
It’s Settled?
Nutshell: 4-3. Settlement accepted. What remains to be seen is how the best interests of our students are being served by taking the settlement. Once the language is made public, we’ll get a good idea of what each board member believes is in the best interest of our kids.
When Opinions Get It Wrong (Again)
When a Board of Education approves the request for an operating tax increase that specifies exactly what the new revenue will be used for within the District and voters approve it, that revenue shall only be used for the purposes described on the ballot as approved by the voters.
A specific example would be the operating tax increase request from Brandywine School District earlier this year to renovate 3 of their athletic fields with a new artificial turf surface. If it were approved, the revenue generated from the tax increase would only be used to renovate those 3 fields. No portion of the revenue would be included in the ‘local cost per student’ formula that determines the funding sent to charters for each student. Why? Because voters would have approved ballot language that stated an exact use for the money which, in this case, was for 3 of Brandywine School District’s athletic fields. This money, though local operating revenue, would have been a district specific exclusion, as mandated by voters.
Delaware Department of Education Pulls a Fast One
A rising tide lifts all boats. With Christina slashing $9 million last year, this new formula applied retroactively would have increased Christina’s cost per student by roughly 3% resulting in a net increase payout this year for Charters that receive Christina resident students…despite the District having to decimate its budget last year.
Comment Rescue: Dorian Gray, Education And The Uncomfortable Truth
I keep going back to Dorian’s comment on my Education post. Here is what he said:
Charter Schools Ruled Unconstitutional In Washington State
In the ruling, Chief Justice Barbara Madsen wrote that charter schools aren’t “common schools” because they’re governed by appointed rather than elected boards.
Therefore, “money that is dedicated to common schools is unconstitutionally diverted to charter schools,” Madsen wrote.
Justice Mary E. Fairhurst agreed with the majority that charter schools aren’t common schools, but argued in a partial dissenting opinion that the state “can constitutionally support charter schools through the general fund.”
I always wondered why charters just received tax payer money when they weren’t listed on operational referendums. Consider that districts have to clearly spell out how they will use our money if the referendum passes. Shouldn’t the amount being diverted to current (and future) charter schools be listed? Those figures could result in public schools losing operational funds that the public actually, you know, voted on. Our referendum votes include funding these charters. Shouldn’t charters have to tell us how they plan on using our tax dollars?
A Modest Proposal
I have been following the charter school/high-stakes testing/Priority Schools debacle for the past few years. My proposal is that we use the same model for another daunting and complex problem: Crime.
We have a major crime problem in Wilmington and other locales around the state. I think we can solve it with a few transformations of the way that we structure our public safety. The key is to use the invisible hand of the market to reduce crime.
Wilmington City Council Votes To Not Let In More Charter Schools
Yes, this is symbolic, but we’ve come a long way.
The Wilmington City Council sent a request to state leaders Thursday night: Don’t allow any more charter schools to open in the city for the time being, and give the city more say over which schools get approved.
Council approved 9-3, with President Theo Gregory absent, a resolution urging the Department of Education not to consider any new charter applications in the city to “allow elected officials and community representatives time to assess the impact of charter schools in Wilmington and throughout the State.”
Impact is the key word and one of the biggest problem with charters – their impact on surrounding neighborhoods and schools isn’t really considered – and even though the new charter law pays lip service to impact, impact alone isn’t enough to stop a charter from entering a community. Try building an addition to your house without community approval. Maybe labeling the addition as a charter school would be the way to go!
Whether or not a community wants a charter in their neighborhood doesn’t matter. As long as a charter follows state law they can pretty much go where they want. Westgate Farms fought against Odyssey Charter moving in. They eventually won by focusing on the historic location. Good thing a cemetery was located there. Otherwise, Odyssey could have moved in – no matter what the surrounding community thought or wanted.
HB 424 – Eliminating The “Special Interest” In Charter And VoTech
On July, 1,2014, Rep. Darryl Scott introduced HB 424: Primary Sponsor: Scott CoSponsors: { NONE…} Introduced on : 07/01/2014 Long Title: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Synopsis of Orginal Bill: (without Amendments) This bill eliminates the ability of charter schools to give an enrollment preference to […]
Charter School Cherry Picking Was Predicted
Mike O., The Seventh Type blog, found an interesting document in his inbox. Go over to his place and read the whole thing – the link to the entire document is at Mike O’s place. I’ll post some of the highlights from this 1995 Delaware Senate debate on SB 200 (DE Charter School Law). This document pretty much puts an end to the but, but… whocouldhaveknown debate.
Here’s part of the question and answer segment with Bill Manning (Red Clay’s School Board President at the time)
SENATOR MARSHALL: Understanding that the harshest critics of charter schools around the nation where they’ve been in place and operating, is the issue of the schools skimming off the top and creating an elitist academy with public money.
My concern is looking at the focus of the charter schools by attracting the best at times for a specific educational discipline offered by that charter school; and the concern of recruitment.I looked at children throughout New Castle County in moderate low income neighborhoods, I looked at the City, the west side, the east side, hilltop, I need to understand how your board and how you will guarantee fairness and equal access to every student from every unit.
Finance Committee Hearing on the Bonds for the MBNA Charters on Monday
We talked about this here, when this item first came onto the City Council calendar. Monday — January 6, 2014 — at 5:00 is the Finance Committee hearing that will explore this proposal in some detail. You can see the agenda for the meeting here — this is the only item on the schedule. The meeting is open to the public, and is going to be held in the 1st Floor Council Workshop room (next to the Council Chambers) in the Redding Bldg. Pass this info along to anyone you think will be interested in what happens here.
Charter Schools To Get City of Wilmington Bond Funding?
Inside we have the proposal that is on the agenda for tomorrow’s City Council meeting — an authorization for the City to help with the financing of the MBNA buildings that are supposed to be converted to Charter Schools. But take a look at this: Charter Schools that the City will have no control of and can’t ask for any accountability from are looking for financial help from the City. Even though City residents certainly are paying school taxes already and provide additional funding via the income taxes we pay to the state. Besides, I thought that these schools are meant to operate more cheaply that public schools — which apparently won’t be asked for here, since they are asking for Bond funds from the City to get started.
Ed Reform Isn’t About Education
Yes, I’ve written about this before, but in case you’ve forgotten, Ed Reformers have changed their motto from Charter Schools offer a superior education (compared to public schools) at less cost to Parent Choice! Which is really convenient since it allows them to ignore failing schools by claiming these schools are what parents want. Oh, ed reformers are quick to point out failing public schools in the name of supporting charters, but are mum on schools like Moyer Academy and Pencader.
Which brings me to an interesting article in the News Journal on Sunday…
HB 165 Passes House – Time To Contact Your Senators
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to write a detailed post on what happened tonight. (Family responsibilities. Sheesh) Please read the comment section on this post for details.
Now, start contacting senators. Here’s the list. Just click on their name for contact info.
