FOCUS D.C. Public Charter School Bulletin

May 3, 2004

--FY 05 Charter School Budget Picture Brightens
--Mayor Proposes to Transfer BOE Charter Schools to DCPCSB

Mayor, Council Move to Restore Charter School Funding

Responding to an aggressive education campaign by the public charter schools and FOCUS, the mayor and Council have taken steps to
restore charter school funding that the mayor initially proposed to cut from the FY 2005 budget.

In a letter sent to the Council on April 27, the mayor asked the Council to amend his budget by restoring the charter school
facilities allowance to its legally-mandated level of $2,380 per student. According to the letter, the increase was possible because District tax revenues were $50 million higher than expected. Previously the mayor had proposed to cut the allowance to $1,981, using the money saved to make up for a shortfall in the Department of Human Services.

This past Friday the Council Education Committee voted to accept the mayor's suggestion, and the whole Council is expected (though not guaranteed) to agree when it marks up the mayor's budget later this month.

The Committee also voted to restore pre-kindergarten funding, which the mayor's budget would have cut by $966 per student. The Committee agreed with arguments made by both charter school and DCPS advocates that the lower funding would have acted as a disincentive to expansion of pre-kindergarten access because the post-cut funding level would have been too low to properly educate these students.

Latest School Takeover Plan Would Eliminate BOE Charter Authority

The latest version of Mayor Anthony Williams's plan to take control of the DCPS schools would have a direct impact on schools chartered and overseen by the Board of Education and on the D.C. public charter school movement as a whole.

Like the mayor's earlier takeover plan, recently rejected by the Council, the new plan would give the mayor authority over the school system and its 64,000 students. Under the new plan, however, the Board of Education would be reconstituted as a "true
state board of education" with the power to set such state educational policies as minimum academic standards, attendance rules, and teacher certification and licensure requirements. The State Education Office, now under the control of the mayor, would become the "secretariat" of the state board and in that capacity would be charged with implementing the policies promulgated by the board.

If the plan were adopted by the Council, authority over the 18 BOE charter schools would be given to the D.C. Public Charter School Board, which would become the sole chartering authority in the District.


It is not known how this plan will be received by the Council, although several members appear to be skeptical. The Washington Post, which strongly supports mayoral takeover, editorialized today in favor of the new plan. The Post called the elimination of the BOE chartering authority an "especially noteworthy advance," as it would "eliminate duplication and vest chartering responsibility with the more effective authority."

The Post's opinion notwithstanding, having only one chartering authority would be bad for the District's charter school movement. Leaving aside the question of whether the BOE should or should not be in the charter school business (many think not), having multiple chartering authorities is the hallmark of a healthy charter school movement. Around the country, those states that have more than one chartering authority have more charter schools and more vibrant charter school movements. Creating a charter school monopoly in the District, where thousands of students sit on charter school waiting lists, would be a step backward. The mayor should amend his plan accordingly.


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