NEWSLETTER FOR LEGISLATORS

Every Senator now has constituents participating in charter schools.
(See MAP)
April 26, 2008

DISTRICT CHARTER SCHOOLS?
WE STILL NEED SCHOOLS THAT SERVE REGIONS
DO ALL STUDENTS IN THE STATE HAVE ACCESS?
FUNDING: $2.374 BILLION.
HB 1642—a short message

DISTRICT CHARTER SCHOOLS?
For months, the governor and legislators have advocated “district charter schools”—a fine idea. But there’s a problem no one is mentioning.

New Hampshire’s charter school law (1995, RSA 194-B: 3) for district charter schools doesn't work. Not one district-authorized charter school has emerged between 1995 and 2008. After 13 years, no district charter school is functioning under the provisions of RSA 194-B. Why?

District-authorization under RSA 194-B: 3 need amending. The current statute is too cumbersome and confusing (it takes 2 years). So districts apply for state authorization (takes 6 months). In many states, school boards authorize their own charter schools. After all, the school board is the entity responsible for all the programs and funding. They must decide how to address overcrowding, underachievement, drop-outs, and all district needs. Should a charter school ever close, the school board must plan for student return. If district authorization only took 6 months to 1 year, it would be functional and used. And the state’s funding obligation would be less.

WE STILL WILL NEED SCHOOLS THAT SERVE REGIONS
Schools for unique populations—pregnant or parenting teens, dropping out students, performing artists, autistic students, or math geniuses—need to draw from a larger population base. So even with district-authorized schools, New Hampshire needs another vehicle for authorization. RSA 194-B’s 2003 revision created state board of education authorization. The 2003 goal: to create “schools that meet the needs and interests of pupils, parents, communities, regions, and the state as a whole.” The words “…that meet the needs of districts” was removed from this purpose statement because state authorization was not intended for district charter schools. Local districts will keep asking for state authorization and state funding until local authorization is amended.

DO ALL STUDENTS NOW HAVE ACCESS?
Senators have questioned whether or not students statewide have access to charter schools. Even with only 11 operating schools, students attend from over 100 communities all over the state. Our map plots out home towns of this year’s charter school students. They live--all over the state! If the map included students applying for next year and students who attended last year, another 40 towns would be added. If Ledyard Charter School (already authorized) opens in Lebanon, students from 10 to 15 Upper Valley towns will likely attend. And this map does not include the several hundred students statewide taking virtual courses from the new virtual charter school.

Almost every Senator now has constituents participating in charter schools. Click on the map to enlarge it and look. Students are attending charter schools from every county.

COMMON SENSE AND CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDING
New Hampshire spent $2.374 billion on public education in 2006-2007. The expense goes up and up while some citizens lose their homes and cannot afford heat. The total average cost last year was $12,426.83 per student. Even so, 2,185 students dropped out of school; 18.2% of students statewide were in special programs costing $415,946,689. State aid to districts totaled $835,317,000 (34.1%). Local taxation raised $1,330,587,000 (54.4%).

A $2.375 billion dollar business requires research and development to identify new ideas and models. A fraction of one percent of the education budget would support R &D for new approaches to schools and schooling. The charter school program provides this.

The Union Leader editorial (Friday, April 25th) asks:—does all public education have to take place in state government-run schools? Can there be other providers? “The point (of public education)… is not for the state to operate schools, but for the state to provide an education for all citizens.”

A fractional percent of New Hampshire’s $2.375 billion education expenditure (e.g. $0.002) would provide a thriving statewide choice schooling program from which smaller, more efficient models could evolve.

HOUSE BILL 1642
HB 1642 provides one year of additional state aid for the independent charter schools, making a bridge to the new state system of funding schools. There is a one-year period to cover.

The cost of HB 1642 is as little as $0.00 and as much as 1.1 million. The charter school program has taken 13 years to establish. The cost to the state if HB 1642 is not passed is much, much greater.

We join the State Board of Education in urging the legislature to pass HB 1642. In addition, we strongly recommend that local charter school authorization statutes be revised. Make the wishes of so many legislators possible--that local school boards, not the state, can decide, fund, and oversee their own charter schools.

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 Telephone:  603.224.0366                   Fax:  603.224.8366
Postal Address: Concord, NH 03301 Email:  susan@nhschoolreform.org