Tuesday Talk: The Same Standard for All Public Schools?
November 10th, 2009 at 7:23 am By Chris ShieldsWhat do charter schools and traditional public schools have in common? They’re all public schools that are funded with public money. The difference? Public schools operate inside school districts. These districts have publicly elected boards and licensed professionals overseeing how that public money is invested. Charter schools don’t have those same requirements.
Given the financial problems illustrated in today’s MN2020 report, should charter schools be subject to the same financial accountability as other public schools?
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I view charter schools as another way to undermine the public schools. I observe that the charter schools that I am familiar with are becoming private schools for white students. Please educate me if this is not the case. It has been white flight from our local public school. Our schools used to offer foreign language in elementary school but because of funding (or lack of) these have been eliminated. Are charter schools required to accept everybody? Are all children welcome to attend these schools? Why not improve the public schools not simply dilute them?
In answer to the question about financial accountability. If charter schools are funded by the government than all schools should be treated the same (adherence to no child left behind, standardized testing, school boards, etc).
It’s not the case on several counts, Beth. Charter schools are not allowed to be selective the way private schools are. Any student can attend any charter school, up to the maximum number of students that school can handle. Full schools select from applicants by lottery, or at least this has been the case at two different charters my kids have attended. It’s a completely fair system. And the charter they currently attend is about 1/3 minority students. Additionally, some charters are actually designed for ethnic minorities, providing specialty education like bilingual schools for immigrants.
And I don’t think the answer is as simple as “improve public schools”, because charters often provide alternative and experimental education models that are too new and untested to be applied to mainstream public schools. Parents and students consent to using these new methods, and the practical experience gleaned from them can then work its way more slowly into mainstream schools. That’s the case with the charter my kids attend – I don’t think its approach would be effective with most kids, but for some children it’s wonderful. The charter school system provides a chance of academic diversity that is unfeasible in centralized schools. Every child is different and has different needs, and there is no “best” way to teach that works for all of them.
And finally, charter schools are also subject to standardized testing, NCLB, and state graduation requirements.
Two points, that I know I’ve raised before when MN2020 has brought up this issue, and which you STILL have not addressed. First, was a comparison made to regular public schools? How does their audit success rate compare? Having lived under conservative government and media for a long time, I’m EXTREMELY distrustful of media outlets that raise hysterical-sounding figures about a target they dislike politically, without a comparison to the groups they like. Frankly, this REEKS of political bias on your part. Last time I raised this issue, I was accused of being a conservative plant (which I am not – I’ve never voted Republican in my life). If you want to be taken seriously here, you need to address the audit issue evenhandedly, not just in a one-sided manner.
But since you didn’t cover it, I think I’ll quote the Star-Tribune’s comment on your coverage here:
“Some groups, such as Minnesota 2020, say the changes need to go much further. On Tuesday, the public policy think tank issued a report saying that 80 percent of charter schools in the state had at least one financial irregularity on 2007 audits, and half the schools with problems did not correct them in the next year.
The think tank, founded by DFLer Matt Entenza, who plans to run for governor, did not look at school district audits to see how they compared. That gap in the report surprised Morgan Brown, state Education Department assistant commissioner, who said audit findings — which range widely in seriousness — are common for both charter schools and districts.
A report last year from the legislative auditor’s office said that, as a group, Minnesota charter schools were about as healthy financially as districts. This year, a third of Minnesota charter schools received state awards for their financial health and reporting, compared to 19 percent of school districts, Brown said.”
For my second point, your proposed solution – publicly elected school boards for charters – is illogical on its face. Charter schools represent just 4% of Minnesota students, and that’s tripled since 2000. Most voters have little or no awareness of ANY individual charter schools. Opening up their boards to public elections is basically opening them up to anyone with an axe to grind, who is willing to spew a few lies to voters about their target school in order to pack the board and sabotage the school. Instead, charters have boards made of parents, teachers, and concerned community leaders who genuinely care about the schools and wish for them to succeed – which is as it should be.
Another reason why publicly elected boards are illogical is because such boards are inherently local, and guard the taxpayers’ interest in local funding. But unlike public schools, charters do not receive money from local taxes and bonds. Their money comes from state and federal sources, donations, and sponsors. Therefore, the local community doesn’t have the direct financial interest they do in public schools.
I know I’ve raised these points with MN2020 before, and I’m deeply saddened to see they have not even been considered in your work.
Beth, in answer to your question, charter schools ARE required to accept all applicants.
Why not improve public schools rather than dilute them? Well, first of all, charter schools ARE public schools. Second of all, I believe that charter schools provide options for families that have a different educational philosophy than the standard neighborhood school philosophy (i.e., the families believe in language immersion or classical education). Finally, charter schools can challenge neighborhood schools to ask themselves “How can we improve to be as attractive as the charter schools around us?”
I went to excellent public schools from third grade through high school. Parents withdrew their children from private schools to send them to our public schools, particularly our high school. We had foreign language opportunities from seventh grade on, which included French, German, Spanish and Latin. In high school, Russian was offered, too. From fourth grade through sixth grade, the brightest students could take math, English, science and social studies through the academically talented program. Most classes in junior high and high school were divided into four “phases” — a phase-four English class was honors English. The honors American Civilization English/history class (held over two class periods) was one of the most challenging classes I have taken in my life, and I have a graduate degree.
When I started thinking about an education for my child, I looked for something that would provide an even better education than what I received. I looked at all of my options. Homeschooling was not an option; I must work outside the home. Private school was not an option; our family doesn’t make enough to pay tuition, but we make too much for significant scholarship aid. I found that my suburban school system offered an education that didn’t measure up to my own.
At the same time, my daycare provider introduced me to the concept of a classical education. The philosophy behind classical education made sense to me, and I wished I could homeschool my child based on the classical model. When I discovered a charter school that offered a classical curriculum, I was THRILLED! We didn’t get in until my child entered first grade; while our neighborhood kindergarten was not bad, I did notice a definite difference in how my child did once we entered the classical charter school.
Is a classical education for everyone? Probably not, though I think it could benefit many more students than are currently served by classical schools, charter and private, within Minnesota. But maybe this will help you understand the “why” behind charter schools. If our neighborhood school system is satisfied with “good enough,” and I am not, and I cannot afford the options wealthier families could, why shouldn’t I have the option to seek out the very best for my child? ANY parent, of ANY race or income level, should be able to seek out excellent education for his or her children. Maybe our neighborhood schools will wake up and realize that we don’t want mediocrity, we want nothing short of excellence.
Accountability should be required for use of public money in schools. If appropriate alternatives are in place for Charter Schools, public elections of a representative Board many not be necessary, but accountability is. The Charter Schools effort is worthwhile, but monitoring of funds and performance must accompany the investment. What mandate is in place for this? Please advise. Joanne
The charter school law was revised this spring by the legislature, addressing financial oversight and other issues – a move I applaud. Sadly, MN2020 chose to not mention the reforms that had been passed by the legislature here. I wonder why that is?
Charter schools should be held to the same accountability standards as public schools. The state auditor should be conducting yearly financial audits of all schools that receive taxpayer funds.
I view charter schools as re-instituting segregation. Segregation by language, religion,and interests. This type of segregation harms a democratic society and undermines tolerance. Charter schools for ethnic minorities are unAmerican.
The Legislature’s new laws were mentioned on page 4 of this report and were discussed in detail in the report released earlier this year. Then, as now, we say the changes in the law do not go far enough to ensure accuracy and transparency. We say board members and directors must take classes on how to run a charter school before they are allowed to handle public money. We say “hands off” sponsors must be removed and new charters formed with more active sponsors. The new laws come close but do not demand these requirements. Our demand for improved accountability and transparency for charter schools is direct and unequivocal.
…. and biased and politically motivated.
They already are!
Engaguing you guys an an actual discussion is impossible. I have made my case several times in the past. Since then I have looked at just a few regular school district audits and I have seen audit “findings.” One of them involving my own Winona Area Public Schools involves public bidding processes – something that I would think would be an important to regular public schools. And you know what? The Winona Area Public Schools had a clean audit! You see, such findings are not in themselves the result of violations of the law. They are an acknowledgement on the part of the aditor that internal checks and balances are not being designed or adhered to. They present learning opportunities.
MN2020 should either get over it or engauge us in a meaningful conversation.
I totally agree Leslie. When will all the resident school district’s audits be put up? My charter school has a clean audit and the board is much more representative of the school population than the resident districts – including parents staff and community brings three important perspectives. And, they don’t get paid – unlike the resident district’s board members.
1. Charter schools should be subject to the same financial scrutiny that non-charter public schools receive.
2. Charter schools that are affiliated with any religious sect must be audited closely for violations of our constitutional requirement that no public funds can be used for sectarian purposes of any kind.
3. Charter schools must demonstrate that they are truly public and accept all, rather cherry picking their student population by appealing to minority groups, ethno-centric groups and sectarian populations.
4. Charter schools can have a positive effect if they are required to share their innovations and methods with the public school district in which they operate.
Charter Schools are held to the same standards as traditional school systems. It’s interesting that 2020 only reports on “findings” in audits on Charter Schools but not districts of residence. I researched my own district and found them to have “findings” in their audit as well. Why not report that?
MN2020 also misuses the term “Clean Audit.” Many audits with “findings” are “clean” audits. That determination is made by the auditors themselves in their “Independent Auditors’ Report,” which is a part of every audit. I quote from the FY2008 audit of Bluffview Montessori School (one of the baddest of the bad in 2008):
“ln our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of the governmental activities and each major fund of Bluffview Montessori School, as of June 30, 2008, and the respective changes in financial position and budgetary comparison for the General Fund and the Pre-school School Fund, thereof for the year then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.”
That statement says that Bluffview had a “clean” audit and MN2020 cannot change that no matter how hard they spin it. The same is true for nearly all of the other charter schools in the state.
Based on the fact that Bluffview had this “clean” audit in FY2008 and met all of the other requirements, the school won a Minnesota Department of Education Finance Award.
This entire effort by MN2020 is a red herring! That’s why they have refused to engage me and others in a public conversation about this “issue.”