The D.C. City Council held a press conference today announcing that the council would support a $309 cut to the per-pupil facilities funds provided to charter schools - for charter schools, that's an improvement from potentially bigger cuts in Mayor Fenty's budget. This cut in facilities funding clearly poses some large problems for charter schools in DC, but it could also be a warning sign for charter schools in other districts around the country.
For DC charter schools, the cut in facilities funding means needing to reevaluate lease terms on facilities to ensure they can afford the rent, or, if the school owes money on a facility loan, it might mean reallocating budget dollars to ensure they don't default on that debt. More broadly, it introduces political risk to facilities funding - what bank will lend to a school if their facilities allotment might be cut in half next year? See this article in the Washington Times for more on how this impacts DC charter schools.
In the bigger picture, states and districts everywhere are trying to find ways to cut budgets, and charter schools present a potentially easy target. They're not seen as part of the public school system in many areas, allowing political leaders to make cuts without seemingly cutting public school funding. And, they're not always very popular. Particularly in states like Ohio, where charter schools have been facing increasing resistance and efforts to restrict growth, the tightening fiscal situation only adds fuel to arguments that charter schools siphon money away from public education and are an unnecessary extravagance in a time of limited resources.
It's possible that President Obama's support for charter schools and the 'race to the top' funding may stem some cuts to charter schools. But as school district leaders look at their budgets, charter school advocates will need to lobby hard and may need to make some deals to maintain their funding levels.
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Welcome to the real world. Although I don't disagree with most of the "deals," you should remember that making deals requires people to see the other sides of the arguments. Charters, by definition, raise overhead costs for the remaining schools while usually leaving them with greater challenges. And neighborhood schools just have to ride out recessions. Larry Mishel estimates that the recession will increase Black childrens' poverty by 50%. We can't hope to address that challenge while pushing for all of the bells and whistles that accountability advocates would like.
NCLB-type accountability can not claim results until:
a) they raise NAEP for high school kids, and
b) survive an economic downturn.
The recession, hopefully, will prompt some modesty, which could create a greater willingness to make deals.
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