Druid Hills Charter Cluster Vote Tonight

You may not be aware there is a called Board of Education meeting tonight. They are meeting to vote on approval of the Druid Hills Charter Cluster. 

The agenda item is posted on the DCSD web site. It is significantly different from the agenda item posted when the BOE voted on the Tapestry Charter School. Two of the differences that caught my attention are the fact there is no recommendation from the staff (which is very unusual), and there is a section which discusses the financial impact to the school district. 

The financial impact section is confusing because it doesn't really explain what the impact will be, but lists estimated dollar amounts. "The District has determined that the Cluster’s financial impact for the 2014-2015 school year will be approximately 29 million dollars in District revenue during its first year of operation..." What does that mean? 

I think that means DCSD estimates they will lose that much revenue to the charter cluster. I also think that means DCSD will lose all of the expenses associated with charter cluster. Hopefully the revenue and expenses are the same.

I looked at the FY14 budgets for the schools in the cluster and found a total of $29,379,664. Assuming the school district holds back 3% of funding as was discussed at the last BOE meeting, the assumption made by the staff is the 2014-15 budget for the cluster is going to be $30,261,053. Where they got that number, I don't know.

My sympathies are with the parents and staff who want to separate themselves from the school district. I particularly like how the organizers included teachers in the planning of the program offerings. I have to agree those who say the vote that was taken was seriously flawed. My preference would be for the charter board to hold another vote. I believe the result would be the same and many critics would be silenced. 

I also have questions about the charter cluster. Will DCSD still rebuild Fernbank Elementary School or will the charter cluster assume that? Will the cluster provide resources to future students with disabilities that do not live in the attendance zone? Why does the charter petition contain so many waivers from state rules?

Being a Tuckercentric guy, I do not have strong feelings about how the vote goes tonight. If the BOE does not approve the charter petition, I have no doubts the State Charter Schools Commission will approve it. My happiness comes from the questions that have been asked and the conversations that have happened because of the charter petitions that have come before the BOE. 

*Disclaimer: This blog post is my opinion and does not represent any organization or group.