I found Ms. Rolland's post to be extremely misleading. Marj Rolland, Budget Director of the Minneapolis Public Schools wrote:
> Charter Schools vs. Public Schools < some comments regarding the > differences. First off, by state law charter schools ARE public schools. (124D.10 Subd. 7). It's a false dichotomy to imply that they are not. They have different structures and legal requirements but they are still public schools. Additionally, although in some cases the district is required to pay for transporting charter school students, this is not necessarily the case (see 124D.10 Subd. 15). And, a large proportion of charter school students do not use the District's transportation services. > 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.? Charter schools are accountable according to 124D.10 Subd.10. Pupil performance. A charter school must design its programs to at least meet the outcomes adopted by the commissioner for public school students. In the absence of the commissioner's requirements, the school must meet the outcomes contained in the contract with the sponsor. The achievement levels of the outcomes contained in the contract may exceed the achievement levels of any outcomes adopted by the commissioner for public school students. All public school students are required to take Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments. Charter schools are also subject to the requirements of the Federal No Child Left Behind law, just as the MPS are. > 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. I believe that expenditures for MPS own special education students are also "... greater than the special education revenue received by both the state and federal government." It is not surprising that this would also be true of charter schools. Perhaps Ms. Rolland could give the exact percentage of the MPS budget that charter school transportation and special education account for? Many of the special education expenses are paid by the State although there are some overages that are paid by the District. I would agree that some of these costs could be covered directly by the State, but I expect that the State government does not feel it to be unreasonable for the District to redistribute some of the its own funding to other public schools in its jurisdiction. I'm not a big fan of charter schools, because I think they are a half-way measure and often do not adequately address needed reforms, but they do offer an avenue for innovation. I find it amusing that the MPS are so concerned about Charters, maybe one reason is that so many parents are now taking advantage of their "choices." I personally don't see a problem with a smaller MPS, they'll just be failing to educate smaller numbers of students and employing fewer union teachers (which is probably the primary reason for opposition to Charters and vouchers). It's more an issue of intelligent management. The District currently has 700 underutilized classrooms. I don't see any reason they can't run leaner and more efficiently. And, please keep in mind that if you want to reduce public education costs, vouchers (with income limitations) would have the largest impact. Vicky Heller asked: > What are the requirements to teach at a Charter School? Teachers at charter schools have the same licensing requirements as other public school teachers. > Do teachers and other staff persons at Charter Schools receive the > same compensation as MPS employees? Must they be members of the same > union? Charters set their own pay scales. Charters are not necessarily union, although they do have the right to organize. BTW, unionized public school teachers can legally take a five year leave to teach at a charter school. Michael Atherton Prospect Park 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
