FOCUS D.C. Public Charter School Bulletin

October 21, 2003

--Charter School Startup Seminar Set for November 15, 22
--Council Education Committee Hears Charter School Successes, Trials
--Board of Education Turns Down 12 of 15 Applicants
--FOCUS Mobilizes Forces to Block Dangerous Legislation
--Mayor Urged to Obey Law, Fully Fund Charter Schools

Charter School Hopefuls To Receive How-To Training

As part of a major new effort to increase the number of charter schools in D.C., FOCUS has scheduled a two-morning seminar for those wishing to apply for a charter in June 2004. At the seminar sessions, local experts will speak on all aspects of starting a charter school, from designing a curriculum to developing a business plan.

The seminar will be held the mornings of Saturday, November 15 and Saturday, November 22, 2003. Attendees will receive a copy of FOCUS's comprehensive "Guide to Starting a Charter School in the District of Columbia." The seminar is free; however, registration is required. For more information or to register please call FOCUS at 202/387-0405.

Sasha Bruce Students Wow Council; School Leaders, FOCUS Urge Quick Action To Eliminate Barriers

Eight students from Sasha Bruce Public Charter School bowled over members of the Education Committee of the Council with their brief but eloquent testimonials about how Sasha Bruce PCS had improved their learning and their lives. Delores Scott, Founder
and Director of the School, also testified about the school's progress since its opening in the fall of 2000.

Following the Sasha Bruce testimony, Donald Hense of the Friendship-Edison Public Charter Schools and Robert Cane of FOCUS hammered away at key issues affecting the District's charter schools, including inequitable treatment by the DCPS State Education Agency, which distributes federal education funding in the District; the District's failure to fund public charter school students at the same level as DCPS students (see below); and DCPS's continuing resistance to making space available to the public charter schools even though its enrollment continues to decline.

On the last of these points, Cane informed the Committee that DCPS had lost 13,000 students over the last five years, that preliminary estimates of its enrollment this year show a decline of another 2,200 students, and that by its own very conservative estimates DCPS has more than 10,000 empty seats -- the equivalent of 20 average-sized school buildings. Cane asked the Committee to constitute a broadly representative task force to study what can be done to ensure equity and efficiency in the use of our public school buildings. He urged that, among other things, the task force study the desirability and feasibility of creating an independent or quasi-independent agency to manage all public school property in the District.

Taking up another key issue, Donald Hense spoke eloquently in defense of the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula, which the Mayor and Council ignored in providing DCPS with $32 million for negotiated teacher salary increases. Hense also expressed dismay over a recently-introduced bill that would make it impossible for charter schools to finance the acquisition of school buildings (see below).

Finally, David Domenici of Maya Angelou See Forever PCS gave the Committee an update on the D.C. Public Charter School Association, which is in the early stages of development. The Association has hired an administrative assistant, is conducting a search for an executive director, and is beginning the process of reaching out to D.C. policy makers and opinion leaders.

Board of Education Continues Pattern of Rejection

The Board of Education last week announced the conditional approval of three new charter schools, rejecting the applications of
12 others. Previously, the D.C. Public Charter School Board had given conditional or first-stage approval to six other schools.

The three schools, which if fully approved later this year will open in the fall of 2004, are the Arts Explorer Performing Arts Conservatory PCS, Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy PCS, and Young America Works PCS.

Arts Explorer PCS will serve students in grades 4 through 8 with an academically rigorous program designed for students interested
in acting, dance, visual and media arts, and music. Bethune PCS seeks to provide pre-K through 8th grade students with a challenging academic program in a supportive learning environment; there also will be a half-day language immersion program for Pre-K through 2nd grade students. Young America Works PCS will be a vocational/technical career-based high school, with internships and job placements an integral part of the school's program.


Over the last three years, the Board of Education has received 31 charter school applications and approved only five, or 16%. Although without question some of these applicants were not qualified, judging by the Board's public comments and its correspondence with failed applicants, others were turned down for illegitimate reasons. For example, during the public hearing on this year's applicants, three board members expressed the view that the Board should not approve applicants whose proposed programs already exist at a DCPS school. Not only is this not a legitimate reason for denial under controlling legislation, but it ignores the reality that the DCPS program may not be working well or that the DCPS program (for example, bilingual immersion)
is working but hundreds of students whose parents would like them in the program are excluded for lack of space.

Schwartz Legislation Opposed by Charter Schools; Co-sponsors drop off.

A FOCUS-organized delegation recently visited the office of Council member Carol Schwartz in response to legislation she introduced on September 16. The legislation, Bill 15-431, would require that the property of any charter school that lost its charter would immediately become the property of the District of Columbia Government.

The delegation -- Tom Nida, chair of Eagle Bank and a member of the D.C. Public Charter School Board, Jennipher Snowden, head of the Charter School Credit Enhancement Fund, Norm Johnson, founder and director of IDEA Public Charter School, and FOCUS staff -- argued that the bill, if passed, would effectively destroy the charter schools' ability to obtain financing for the acquisition or
renovation of their facilities.

Prior to the meeting FOCUS had obtained a preliminary analysis by pro-bono counsel for the charter school movement indicating that the bill probably violates the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution and may also violate the Takings and Contracts clauses.

In a letter previously sent at FOCUS's request to Council member Schwartz, Mr. Nida stated his view, shared by others at the meeting, that "the proposal would effectively preclude D.C. charter schools from eligibility for any financing for school facilities, as the proposed...language does not recognize any encumbrances resulting from conventional mortgage financing or
bond financing." Mr. Nida added that "The language of the proposed amendment does not address the interests of lenders, nor does it address the interests of other private sources of funding, from grant-makers and major contributors."

Mary Ann Facente of M&T Bank and Kendall Joyner, President of the Board of Trustees of Arts and Technology Academy, also wrote
letters to Mrs. Schwartz at FOCUS's request.

Copies of the letters to Mrs. Schwartz were sent to all of the other Council members, several of whom had signed on as co-sponsors when the bill was introduced from the dais at the Council's legislative session on September 16. As of today, FOCUS is informed that Education Committee members Phil Mendelson and Kevin Chavous have withdrawn their support for the bill; Committee member Sharon Ambrose, not a co-sponsor, also opposes it. FOCUS has asked that the bill be withdrawn, but so far Mrs. Schwartz's office says only that it will be modified to take into account the objections raised by those opposing the bill.


FOCUS Urges Mayor to Obey Law, Fully Fund Charter Schools

FOCUS has written a letter to Mayor Williams expressing the continuing concern of the public charter schools over the inequitable funding they are scheduled to receive in FY 2004 and asking for a remedy.

The Administration's budget, later approved by the Council, provides $32 million dollars outside the Uniform Per Student Funding
Formula for DCPS teacher salary increases -- approximately $500 dollars per student. Providing funds to DCPS outside the Formula violates the School Reform Act, which requires that all operating expenses for DCPS and the public charter schools be distributed through the Formula on a per student basis to ensure that all public school students will be funded at the same level.

The letter, written by FOCUS Board Chair Malcolm Peabody, urges the Mayor to level the playing field and to protect the Formula by coming up with equivalent funding for the charter schools. The Mayor informally committed to do so many months ago, but no formal confirmation has been made.

Friends of Choice in Urban Schools
1530 16th Street, NW #001
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 387-0405 phone
(202) 667-3798 fax
www.focus-dccharter.org