Charter schools gaining in popularity

Charter schools have become a popular alternative to not only the poor education students receive in California, but also to the educational budget crisis as well, state school officials claim.

Unlike public schools, charters schools are accountable for student performance and achievement. If the school is not performing, it will be shut down. According to the Center of Education Reform, of the 5,000 or so charters schools that have opened, 12.5 percent have shut down due to academic, funding or managerial reasons.

Charter schools receive their funding through the state and federal government. They are more flexible in their spending because of their structure; their ability to fix an issue within the school before it can become a major problem is largely due to the fact that they do not have the same categorical limits on their funding that public schools do, said Alice Miller, Director of Knowledge Management for the California Charter Schools Association.

There are many myths about charter schools and how they help or hinder public schools, for example the loss of ADA (average daily attendance) money and jobs loss for teachers.

According to Miller, while districts may lose ADA money if the student leaves, the reason the district receives the money is to support the cost of the student. Should the student go to another school, they are no longer a burden to the district.

In other words, if the student no longer attends a school within the district, then the district no longer needs the money for the student because they are no longer providing resources to that student and should downsize accordingly, said Miller.

It is argued that other students will suffer without the money, because charter schools "drain" the funding, but charter schools receive less money than public schools, typically about 67 cents per dollar given to public schools according to the California Department of Education.

A good example of this principle comes from the Tassajar Preparatory High School's Web site. If a school district receives a total of $50 million for their 5,000 students from the State of California, their per-pupil funding without a charter school would be $10,000.

When a charter school opens in the same district, they would receive $9,000 per-pupil, because California expects charter schools to operate at less cost.

If the charter school serves 500 students, they would receive 4.5 million from the State, leaving the district with a total of $45.5 million for the remaining 4,500 students, the new per-pupil funding for the district is now $10,111.

Another myth about charter schools deals with the job loss they cause teachers. Since charter schools hire teachers, they actually open more teaching opportunities within the community.

According to a 2004 study by the Washington, DC: Center for American Progress and Institute for America's Future, the number of teaching jobs within a district is higher because of their high turn-over rate, putting the national average over 15 percent.

What this means for teachers is that "unless charter schools provide the opportunity for a district to consolidate by more than 15 percent of its teaching force, reduction in the teaching force due to charters allows the district to reduce their hiring needs through attrition," their fear of job loss is unfounded.

Many teachers in Cottonwood do not like the idea of a charter school in the district and voiced their concern at the Nov. 17 board meeting. Bob Lowden, superintendent for Cottonwood Union Elementary School District, said that the district is looking into ways they can benefit from a charter coming into the district with possible joint ventures, not in starting a charter school.

It is unknown how soon a charter school may enter the district; however, Lowden said at the board meeting he expected a proposal to come to the district within the next few months.

The board ultimately has no say in whether a charter school can be in their district, if they deny sponsoring the charter school, they can go to another district and request to be sponsored through them and still have a school in Cottonwood.

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