FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Malcolm Peabody
(202) 387-4000

April 14, 1999

On Tuesday the District Council's Education Committee meets to mark up the education portion of the city's FY'2000 budget. The proposed budget sets funding for D.C.'s public charter schools beneath the levels required by law. Unless the Council addresses this situation, the public charter schools may again suffer the budget uncertainties that caused severe cashflow problems last fall.

• The proposed budget includes $43.3 million for charter schools: $25.5 to fund the 3,594 students now enrolled in public charter schools and $17.8 million in an escrow fund for anticipated growth.
  
• A careful survey by FOCUS shows that at least 6,800 students will enroll in the 19 existing and the 8 to 10 new charter schools starting in September, an increase of 2,850.
  
• Including the base formula amount, a facilities allowance, and other add-ons and increases mandated by The DC Education Reform Act and the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula Act, public charter schools in FY'2000 are entitled to an average of $7,643 per pupil – the same as D.C.P.S. schools.
  
• Using these figures, the charter school appropriation must be at least $51.9 million -- $8.6 million more than now proposed.
• Last year, the Council and Control Board provided funding for only 1,700 of the 3,600 students who attended charter schools in FY'1999 (estimates at the time were for 3,800). Congress made up the difference with $15.6 million in Federal money, but funding remained in doubt more than two months into the school year.
  
• The Education Committee of the City Council will meet on Tuesday, April 20, to determine funding levels for public education, including charter schools.

FOCUS president Malcolm Peabody met with Education Committee staff this week to alert them to the potential shortfall.

to the formula it adopted last year