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Schools

Charter school reforms urged

The alternative schools, in Tampa and statewide, are having financial and academic difficulties.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK and CARRIE JOHNSON
Published February 9, 2005

TAMPA - The North Tampa Alternative charter school closed its doors owing the Hillsborough school district $135,000 that can't be collected.

Pepin Academy of Tampa, which operates one charter school and wants to open three more, owes about $175,000. It has made no move to pay.

Meanwhile, six of Hillsborough's 20 charter schools are failing the state's standard for acceptable academic progress.

Enough is enough, Hillsborough School Board members declared Tuesday. They want changes in a system that makes them responsible for charter schools but gives them little power to intervene when the schools are in trouble.

Hillsborough's problem is Florida's even bigger problem.

In Tallahassee on Tuesday, school officials and charter school providers urged two House education committees to relieve the growing strain between charter schools and the districts that oversee them.

Statewide, nearly 30 percent of charter schools ran deficits in 2003, forcing local school districts to bail them out, legislators learned.

And when state auditors reviewed 50 charter school contracts, about two-thirds of them failed to include measurable performance objectives.

Charter school operators can't have it both ways, said Hillsborough board member Jennifer liero in Tampa.

They open their schools because they want to educate children free from many state rules and outside local bureaucracy, she said. But at the first sign of trouble, they come running to the district for help.

"If you can't run your business successfully, then we're going to have to close you down," Faliero said.

The financial problems are worsening, a state study found. In 1999, just 18 percent of state charter schools ran deficits.

"There is a money issue," said Don Lewis, who oversees charters for Alachua County. "Don't let anyone fool you about that."

The biggest problem appears to be accountability, said Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey.

"Not just on the part of the charter schools," said Legg, who is also an administrator at Dayspring Academy Charter School in Pasco County. "But also among the school districts."

The study by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability found many of the financial problems stem from start-up costs but also pointed to inaccurate enrollment projections and lack of financial management expertise.

About 83,000 students attend charter schools in Florida, and many of the schools are small.

"With small student bodies, charter schools can have a difficult time building reserves and contingency funds an entire district would have at its disposal," the study found.

The relationship between the state's 300 charter schools and local school districts is complex. Although charters are publicly funded, they operate as privately run alternatives to traditional public schools. While they are approved by local school boards, the schools have autonomy.

"We have some charter schools in our district that I would not send my children to," said Hillsborough School Board vice chairwoman Carolyn Bricklemyer.

She criticized the contracts the district signs with charter schools.

"We created a monster here," she said. "It takes too long to get a school closed that needs to be closed.

School Board attorney Tom Gonzalez recently reviewed the charter school contract and made alterations for future agreements, said Donnie Evans, the district's chief academic officer.

They include the right to monitor the schools more closely and to take action, up to termination, if necessary.

"The contract is the centerpiece," Evans said.

Unless the state gives local districts more authority over charter schools, chairwoman Candy Olsen said, perhaps the district should scale back its oversight rather than ramp it up.

"If we're going to be the chartering authority and spend a lot of money on supervision and monitoring, we need to have the authority to make changes quickly if kids aren't succeeding," she said.

Legg said the Legislature could give school districts greater authority - or it could instead remove them from local control by creating a statewide district.

In Tallahassee Tuesday, most of the speakers favored a statewide district. They said it would create a more centralized outlet for problems and more consistency for funding.

"Currently, there are some school districts who do provide additional funds for charter schools," said Charlie Dodge, city manager of Pembroke Pines, which operates a municipal charter. "Others you might say are not quite so friendly."

Critics charge a statewide district would undermine local oversight.

But Mark Cannon, executive director of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, said it might increase a school's autonomy.

"You need a far more intimate level of control than countywide," Cannon said. "That level of control needs to be inside the school building."

The Hillsborough School Board has selected Proact, a Milwaukee executive search firm, to conduct the district's search for a new superintendent.

The company has proposed a fee of $39,600 for the assignment. Proact has recruited superintendents for a number of districts, including Denver, Tucson, Ariz., Pittsburgh and New Orleans. Five companies applied for the job.

Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at 813 269-5304 or solochek@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 9, 2005, 00:43:19]