New Hampshire Center for School Reform
www.nhschoolreform.org

 Telephone:  603.224.0366                    Fax:  603.224.8366
Concord, NH 03301 Email: info@nhschoolreform.org

Newsletter Update #35, April 18, 2006


IN THIS EDITION: Facts and figures about charter school funding. House Bill 76—a bill that addresses direct payment to charter schools, RSA 194-B: Section 11, Funding--will be decided any day now.


FUNDING CHARTER SCHOOLS
• The Intent of Charter School Law
• The Funding Scheme Intended
• The KEY Sections of Funding Statute: RSA 194-B: 11
• The Funding Scheme Scuttled—what happened
• The Numbers
• The Research
• The Legislative History of 194-B—the NH Charter School Law
• Fixing Charter School Funding

NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOL WEEK


FUNDING CHARTER SCHOOLS

1. The Intent of the Charter School Law (quotes from key 1995 and 2003 legislators)
  “We had a vision of specialized charter schools quilted in with our traditional public schools. We saw a more flexible and dynamic system of public schools helping more young people reach their potential.” [Former Senator Jim Rubens, Etna.] “The purpose…was to reinvent public schools free of external bureaucratic control, able to focus on individual student and parent needs.”
[Representative John Hunt, Jaffrey]
   
 

“Our goal was to create public school opportunities for students who did not fit or did not thrive in the local neighborhood school. Our vision was charter schools for the arts, for math and science, for special needs, for drop outs, or for technology. We saw and interest and we saw the need. We wanted to assure more opportunities so students could find a school where they could thrive.” [Former Senator Jane O’Hearn, Nashua]
   
2. THE FUNDING SCHEME INTENDED—a 20% reduction
 

In 1995, the state funding policy for "district-authorized" charter schools was a 20% reduction of average public school costs. Provisions of law allowed for more or less, but the funding policy was based on a 20% reduction (80% of cost).

In 2003, the state funding policy for "state-authorized" charter schools differed. In 2003, weighted state aid + state grants to students would have resulted in funding at 60-70% of average costs—or a 20-30% reduction of average public school costs.

Read more.
   
3. KEY SECTIONS OF FUNDING STATUTE: RSA 194-B: 11
 

Section I (at time of passage said): "For any charter school authorized by the state board of education, the pupil's resident district shall pay tuition beginning July 1, 2004 and every fiscal year thereafter, in an amount per pupil equal to the amount determined in RSA 198:40, I [Note: the reference is to “weighted funding, allowing for additional funds for poor students, special students, high school students, etc. But then, wording changed to:] “(a) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2005, $3,500 annual tuition.” [Apparently, no one noticed the huge impact in loss of funds this would create this year for charter school students]

Section X (at time of passage said): “There shall be an appropriation in the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2003 for the establishment of charter schools under this section. … Grants under this section shall be administered and determined by the state board of education … The total grants provided under this program shall not exceed the amount of money appropriated in the budget, or transferred, or provided by gift or grant to the state for this purpose."

Section XI (at time of passage said): “Any money appropriated in the budget for matching charter school grants that remains unused after the department of education issues matching grants to eligible recipients under paragraph X shall be used to provide a one-year transitional grant to public school districts that have lost pupils as a result of the establishment of a charter school.” [Charter school grant appropriations could allow funds to help districts for whom the charter school created a hardship]

   
4. THE FUNDING SCHEME SCUTTLED
  Last year, the Senate Budget Committee reviewed a bill by Representative John Hunt to add money for funding charter school grants. The Committee decided that charter school grant amounts should be determined during budget hearings. Then, at the Department of Education budget hearing, a DOE representative testified that charter schools had been lowered in priority by the Department. This resulted in the budget line for charter school grants—$333,000 each year in the Governor’s proposed ’06 and ’07 budget—being reduced to $1.00 (for total grants to all schools). Funds students needed for adequate public education were completely removed and charter school student funding plummeted to a 70-80% reduction of total average funding provided to other public students (based on last year’s expenditures). Currently, the Charter School Grant line item is funded with $1.00.
   
5. THE NUMBERS
  We estimate the 2005-2006 enrollment of state-authorized charter schools at 244 students—129 in statewide choice schools and 115 in district choice schools. We believe the estimates to be accurate within 20-30 students.

For 2006-2007 (with 2, possibly 3 more schools opening and most schools increasing enrollment as per their charter plan), we estimate 480 students.

Read more about enrollment projections.
   
6. THE RESEARCH
 

Whether 20% reduction or 30% reduction of total average costs, schools where students thrive are a great investment.

For schools serving young children, assuring early intervention, the payback is estimated as high as $10-$17 dollars for every dollar spent--in higher achievement, less special education, less public services needed, and greater contribution in the workforce.

For drop-outs prevented or recovered (as with the North Country Charter Academy) the cost-benefit estimate is $236,000 (female) to $365,000 (male) per student in lifetime income. In addition, students who earn a high school diploma provide more tax revenue and require less public support through family assistance, food stamps, and incarceration.

Read more about outcomes of the North Country Charter Academy.
   
7. THE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
 

New Hampshire’s charter school law has been revised 6 times since passage in 1995. It was amended in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, and 2005.

It is typical for states to continually improve laws so they work as intended. And it is entirely understandable with changes in law, changes in legislators, changes in boards, and changes in officials, that few people understand the former and current details of New Hampshire charter law funding.

Read more about Legislative History of RSA 194-B.

   
8. HOW TO FIX THE SITUATION
  A.
 Restore the Charter School Grant Account for FY06 through a transfer, and make charter schools
    whole based on the legislature's intent to establish successful charter schools in New Hampshire.
     
  B. Restore the Charter School Grant Account for FY07 through a transfer, and provide charter schools
    their intended funding.
     
  C. Revise the revised wording of RSA 194-B: 11 so that the students in charter schools are protected
    from political whim and vague language. Sustain the legislature’s original funding policy--a reduction of 20% or perhaps 30% of total state average cost for public school expenditures. This is a sustainable approach. There was never a funding policy to strangle the new charter schools and make it so very difficult to function in New Hampshire.
     
  D. Assure that the count of students for funding is based on the approved or amended charter
    application plusconfirmation of enrollment, and not other state reports. Charter schools have approved growth plans and maximum enrollment limits. These are the approved, enrollment plans.
     
  E. Assure the system for charter school funding is foolproof, tamperproof, and timely. Charter schools
    cannot afford to waste limited staff and resources billing, pleading, and reporting just to receive the public funding other students receive automatically.
 

NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOL WEEK is the first week in May. Look for our special newsletter profiling charter schools in New Hampshire, their vision, and their remarkable progress.

Read More about the topics mentioned in this report.

 

 

For more information about chartered public schools, click here. To view the complete listing of new schools in New Hampshire, click here. Visit our web site. Check our new sections on jobs and grants. Read up on the basics of charter schools in New Hampshire. We welcome questions and suggestions. So contact us. Know someone who might like our newsletter? Let us know

 Telephone:  603.224.0366                   Fax:  603.224.8366
Postal Address:  89 South Street, Concord, NH 03301 Email:  info@nhschoolreform.org