Forwarded at the request of Marj Rolland Charter Schools vs. Public Schools � some comments regarding the differences.
The district or another entity may sponsor a charter school. Sponsoring is different than supervising. The sponsoring agent is not legally or financially responsible. The charter school is the responsibility of the state � they are directly funded by the state and they report directly to the state. In order to cut transportation costs, the district has restricted choices of public school students to their attendance area. However, the district is required to provide citywide transportation for charter students. The district cannot restrict charter school boundaries for busing unless there is a duplicate school in another part of the city. What this means is the district provides citywide busing for charter schools and not public schools. The district is not reimbursed for the actual costs of busing charter students -- only the statewide average costs. The cost to provide citywide busing exceeds the average -- the district eats the difference. The district is mandated to provide special education services -- the expenditures for these services are greater than the special education revenue received by both the state and federal government. In one year the "cross subsidy" portion exceeded $27 million. If a charter school provides special education services, they are fully reimbursed for those services. Whatever the state does not fund the district is required to pay, with little to no say over the costs. The accountability requirements are not the same as public schools. What are the achievement accountability systems for charters schools? Are they making better progress than the public schools? My guess would be some are and some are not. Do charters require the same attendance, number of credits, graduation standards, etc.? My point -- it is not a level playing field -- costs are born by the public school system that help the charters and the accountability systems are different. Hope this helps. Marj Rolland Windom Neighborhood Minneapolis Public School Parent Budget Director, Minneapolis Public Schools REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
