Franklin
Career Academy was the first charter school approved in New Hampshire
under the 2003
pilot project, minutes before Seacoast
Charter School 's approval. When the Franklin School District
Board would not accept Franklin's charter application to review (under
the local approval provisions in place ) citing procedural concerns,
Franklin Career Academy then requested authorization to open by the
State Board of Education (see How
to Begin, Part 4). The stakes were high for the new charter school--under
local district authorization the school was entitled to local funding,
approximately 80% of the average per pupil cost. Under state authorization,
the amount of funding was far less, $3340 per student--the state's
portion of public student funding which passes through school districts
to charter school students.
Even with clarification of legal responsibility to pass on state funds
and with almost every New Hampshire school district complying, Franklin's
City Council just
plain refused. Papers reported that the City Council was going
to withhold funding and then seek to revoke the charter based on financial
unsustainability. As of today, July 8th, the Franklin Board had no
clarification of how or when any arm of the State will invoke compliance
with state law about their receipt of state funds for the 2004-2005
school year. Two teachers and the Academy's director respectfully resigned.
The Board voted to close the school on Tuesday.
New Hampshire's charter school law has multiple provisions for charter
school funding. There is no provision that students be unfunded
or that schools close due to funding non-compliance. In addition
to per pupil state funds, a section of law also provides that "any
federal or other funding available in any year to a sending district
shall...be directed to a charter ... school...on an eligible per
pupil basis." No federal or other funding under this provision
reached the Franklin Career Academy. New Hampshire statute also requires
funding for special education students to continue as local district
responsibility. Special education students attended Franklin Career
Academy but no funding for special education was provided, either.
All of these local students were denied all local public funding this
year.
This charter school did receive over $100,000 from a 2004 special
grant fund of state money to help new charter schools, a fund that
was not replenished for the 2005-2006 school year.
What is truly amazing (and a tribute to the 4 staff that served the
Academy's 40 students) is that all the students thrived. All the education
plans were implemented without any special help by the 3 teachers who
covered every high school subject for every student at every level
in grades 7-12. There was an individual plan for every student, as
per the charter commitment, and the end-of-year scores in some areas
were so improved parents and students were incredulous. The three teachers
handled academics, sports, arts, class advisement, college SATs, college
applications, community service, student leadership, and even lunch,
discipline, grades, regular parent meetings, and .... 4 students were
graduated after completing their high school requirements (complete
story). Assisting them were parent and community volunteers and
the school's director, who pitched in and taught a cooking class and
supervised independent studies.
Will Franklin Career
Academy re-open? According to Bill Grimm, this is uncertain.
Board members are exhausted from funding stresses but are ever so
proud of their accomplishments.
The two questions we have are: 1) In a sea of concern for public school
accountability nation- and statewide, how can elected officials in
3 communities withhold, without consequence, all public funding from
one group of public school students? Who is accountable? and 2) What
happens now for the Franklin Career Academy students and their parents
who were inspired to achieve at high levels?
We are interested in your comments, please
contact us.