Charter school plans in Chester should be rejected
To the Times:
Within days, plans to turn as many as two or more of Chester Upland School District’s schools over to charter schools will be on public display.
This radical reimagining of our community’s schools will reduce the choices Chester Upland’s families have, limit their traditional public school options, and move more students into charter schools. The charter school operators say this is all about choice. But the “school choice” crowd only wants us to have one choice – them.
We just can’t allow more charter schools to be approved in Chester Upland. Full stop.
On Thursday, May 6, at 5 p.m., Chester Community Charter School, Friendship Public Charter School, and Global Leadership Academy Charter School, the three operators bidding to take over some of Chester Upland’s public schools, will make public presentations at Chester High School (232 W. Ninth St., Chester). I hope the community will come and hear them.
Before the doors open, it’s important for us to understand a few key things.
First, student performance in Chester Upland’s traditional public schools is comparable and, in many cases, better than the charter schools bidding to take them over – despite the fact that the school district is drastically underfunded. The percentage of students who score proficient or advanced on state assessments in English and Science attending the traditional public schools that may be turned over to charter schools is actually higher than the charter schools bidding on them.
So, why turn them over to charter schools? It could very well be about money.
One of the three charter school applications include an offer to buy the Chester Upland School of the Arts and Main Street Elementary School for $1 million apiece. At first glance, that seems like a decent deal. However, according to District audit statements, capital assets of the Chester Upland School District were more than $32 million as of June 2017. If all the capital assets of the District are more than $32 million, is the fair market value of Main Street Elementary and Chester Upland School of the Arts combined worth only $2 million? This potential selloff takes away valuable community assets, without ensuring that the community is getting fair value for its property. Any exchange must be a fair one.
The inequities don’t stop with bad real estate deals.
The state law that governs how traditional public schools pay charter schools is stacked against communities like ours. The more students enrolled in charter schools, the more money we send out the door, leaving less and less for Chester Upland students in traditional public schools.
Yes, charters schools are public schools, but they have funding advantages that traditional public schools don’t. Chester Upland is required to pay charter schools for special education services. Under the law, Chester Upland pays charter schools a flat rate for students with special needs of $43,588 – the seventh highest rate in the state.
However, based on the way the state funds special education programs in public schools, the estimated per-student cost of educating most students with special needs is between $1 and $26,506. Approximately 2 percent of students with disabilities required expenditures of more than $26,506. Even so, Chester Upland pays charter schools $43,588 for each student with special needs that the charters enroll – $17,082 more than the estimated cost of educating them. In each of the three charter schools who have submitted proposals in this process, approximately 98 percent of their students with special needs have estimated costs of no more than $26,506.
Is this good for Chester Upland’s traditional public schools or Chester Upland residents? Clearly not.
On May 6, we can learn more about this. And all of us should.
In-person attendance is limited due to COIVD-19, but if you’d like an opportunity to attend you must register by May 4 at: https://www.eventbrite. com/e/board-meetingfor-proposals-of-potential-outsourcing-ofmanagement-tickets