From the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Welcome to National Charter Schools Week
20 Years of Innovation: Proving the Possibilities
May 6 - 12, 2012
Join us as we celebrate the great work accomplished by public charter schools across the country and the increasing momentum that we’ve enjoyed over the past year! As we know, our work is never done. Take part in National Charter Schools Week 2012 and:
- Advocate for a more favorable policy environment for charter schools.
- Show how the quality and accountability of charter schools is transforming public education and the lives of over a million children.
- Increase awareness that charter schools are public schools dedicated to improving our nation’s public education system.
With more than 5,600 schools serving over two million students, not to mention strong bipartisan support in Congress, there is a lot to be excited about this year.
We Need You!
Quality growth of the charter school movement will take a network of students, parents, teachers, administrators and other charter advocates to highlight what has worked and focus on replicating that success.
Click here to download the 2012 Advocacy Toolkit for tools, resources and advocacy ideas to help you make National Charter Schools Week 2012 a success in your state!
Jeanne Allen's Blog 
There was good education news recently in Florida (where one might think good education news would always be welcome). But in her blog post about Florida’s charter school law, Tonyaa Weathersbee twisted herself into a pretzel turning that good news on its head. Her post is so nonsensical and misleading, it is hard to know where to begin to address it.
While Florida received a decent grade in our recent ranking of charter laws (Florida’s law earned a “B” grade and the state ranked eighth in the nation), Ms. Weathersbee took a grim view of the matter. She cobbled together disparate pieces of information in an attempt to suggest that charter schools in the state are not performing well.
The numbers actually paint an impressive picture of performance of students in Florida charter schools. On the 54 comparisons of student achievement on the FCAT proficiency section, charter school students outperformed traditional public school students in 50 out of 54. There is also a narrower achievement gap between white and Hispanic charter school students, as well as white and African American charter school students, versus public schools, in 16 out of18 comparisons.
The learning gains section of the report makes 96 comparisons. Again, charter school students had higher average learning gains in 79 of the 96.
Perhaps most telling are numbers illustrating demand. Large numbers of students are chooseing charter schools, though many who would prefer a charter school are forced onto wait lists because of limitations in size and number of schools.
The most abusrd notion is that charter schools are not accountable. Not accountable? If parents are not happy with their charter school, they actually have a choice: they can go back to their public school! The reason Florida finally put a decent charter law on the books was because so many of the state’s public schools were failing their students, and parents had NO options. Talk about a lack of accountability! Now that parents have choices, some new schools have opened and are being allowed to thrive.
This will mean a much brighter future for kids in Florida. No matter how Ms.Weathersbee tries to spin it, that is great news for the Sunshine State.
Jeanne Allen is one of the nation’s leading experts on education reform. She is the Founder and President of The Center for Education Reform (CER), a DC-based national organization that advocates for structural and sustainable changes to dramatically improve educational opportunities for all children.
Please see Press Release regarding the Student Achievement in Florida’s Charter Schools: A comparison with Achievement in Traditional Public Schools. The report is available below as well.
For Immediate Release
April 10, 2012 Media Contact:
Lynn Norman-Teck, Director of Communications
Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools
(305) 216-6208
l.norman-teck@floridacharterschools.org
CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE EXCELLING ACADEMICALLY
New study compares public charter and district-run school achievement data
TALLAHASSEE – A report released today - April 10, 2012 - by the Florida Department of Education shows that charter school students are excelling academically, and in several instances, outperforming students attending district-run public schools.
The report, Student Achievement in Florida’s Charter Schools: A Comparison with Achievement in Traditional Public Schools, is a statewide analysis required by law, of student achievement in public charter schools versus the achievement of comparable students attending district-run public schools. Using data from the 2010-11 school year, the Department of Education made 168 comparisons using three measurements: FCAT proficiency percentages, achievement gaps, and learning gains.
According to the report:
· The FCAT proficiency section of the report contains 54 separate comparisons of student achievement using both overall rates of proficiency by grade groupings and comparisons of subgroup performance. In 50 of the 54 comparisons, charter school students outperformed traditional public school students.
- · The achievement gap section contains both longitudinal and current data to analyze the gap between white students and African American students, and white students and Hispanic students in reading, math and science. The achievement gap was smaller for charter school students in 16 of the 18 comparisons.
- · The learning gains section of the report makes 96 comparisons of learning gains made by charter school students and traditional public school students. Charter school students had higher average learning gains in 79 of the 96 comparisons.
“This report is great news,” said Robert Haag, President, Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools. “The report validates what charter school advocates, teachers, and parents already know…that high quality public charter schools are making an incredible contribution to the state’s public education system and helping thousands of children learn.”
"This report clearly demonstrates that charter schools are a viable option for parents,” said Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson. “Charter schools offer a wide range of educational environments to meet the needs of students and their families.”
Student Achievement in Florida’s Charter Schools: A Comparison with Achievement in Traditional Public Schools can be found by clicking here.
Charter schools are independent public schools with the autonomy and flexibility to provide expanded learning opportunities to meet students’ individual educational needs. Charter schools are overseen by a governing board, and also held strictly accountable to state standards for academic performance and financial solvency.
###
Founded in 1999, the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools (FCPCS) is a 501(c) charter school support organization with a membership more than 400 public charter schools and three school districts in the State of Florida. Since its inception, FCPCS has worked diligently to promote the establishment of high quality public charter schools within the state through the development and implementation of focused online and statewide activities.
Summary of the Auditor General’s Most Recent Report on Significant Financial Trends and Findings in Charter Schools and Charter Technical Career Centers
The most recent report issued by the Auditor General of the State of Florida (“AG”) for Charter Schools and Charter Technical Career Centers revealed some staggering issues facing these schools as a result of audits performed during fiscal year 2009-2010. To begin, the AG’s report on significant financial trends noted that 39 of the 394 charter schools in the state that submitted an audit report reported a deficit in either their unreserved fund balance or general fund unrestricted net assets. Although this number is a decrease of 4% over the 2008-2009 year, there are 24 and 13 schools that have reported deficit balances for at least two and three years or more, respectively. In addition, the number of charter schools with a financial condition ratio that was below average was 64%, or 253 of the 394 schools.
It was also noted in the AG report that a significant number of schools’ reports included a going concern or audit finding. These findings included issues related to internal control weaknesses, noncompliance with laws and rules, or other matters for those charged with governance to address. Specifically, 160, or 41%, of the audit reports included a finding and five included a going concern statement from the independent auditor. These 160 audit reports contained a total of 390 findings, 38 of which were considered to be material weaknesses. These 38 material weaknesses were primarily related to the accuracy of financial information or proper recording of transactions. It should also be noted that 40% of these findings are repeated from 2008-2009. The other findings fell into one of the following categories:
- Segregation of duties
- Budget administration
- Policies and procedures
- Cash controls
- Capital assets
- Payroll and personnel administration
- Other expenditures
- Records management
- Charter contract compliance
It has been our experience that some charter schools lack the appropriate personnel levels to address some of the issues that have been cited in this report. Also, due to decreases in funding, proper staffing to assure separation of certain functions and keeping up with the constant changes in applicable laws and rules continues to be difficult. BKHM CPAs is here to offer the assistance you need to avoid some of these issues before your audit begins. Whether it is by a preliminary review of your controls, charter or personnel files or by performing interim compliance testing, we can help you avoid or correct these problems. To discuss how we can assist your school in complying with the more than 100 requirements within the Florida statutes, please contact us at 407-998-9000 or visit our website at www.bkhmcpa.com.
Picture this. An audit firm submits a proposal to perform an audit of a large city. It's an audit the firm has been trying to land for years. The firm finds out that the city's audit committee ranked it No. 1, based on the criteria used to rank all firms that had submitted proposals. All the hard work that went into putting together the proposal and making the presentation to the audit committee - not to mention the firm's efforts to hire and train staff with municipal audit experience - had finally paid off.
Then the chair of the audit committee called to say the firm wasn't selected to perform the audit. Instead, the city decided to go with a lower-ranked firm because it offered to do the audit for a lower fee. In other words, the audit committee chose to ignore all other factors that determined the rankings. The firm is frustrated because it doesn't believe a quality audit can be done for the lower fee.
In the attached article you will learn about how and why the auditor selection process should be done correctly. You will read about the following topics:
- Florida law governs auditor selection
- Selection guidelines are excellent resource
- Law prohibits considering audit fees only
- Selection process must work
- Ensure compliance with auditor selection law
Please click here to view the entire article. Contact us if we can help answer any questions!
by Ted J. Sauerbeck, Deputy Auditor General
by Florida Charter School Alliance
Hundreds of Parents and Students Across Florida March on The Capitol in Support of School Choice
On Wednesday, February 22nd, more than 700 parents, students and teachers gathered from every region in Florida to learn first-hand about the legislative process, listen to remarks from high-level policymakers, and interact with their elected representatives. Their mission this year was twofold; equitable funding for charter school students and increasing the number of Florida virtual charter school applications being approved at the local school board level.
The event kicked off at the Leon County Civic Center with presentations from Rose Fernandez, with the National Parent Network for Online Learning; Michael Kooi, Executive Director of the Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice; and Brian Kennedy, Executive Director of the National Coalition for Public School Options. Participants then marched to the Capitol to show their support for public school choice legislation.
At the steps of the Capitol, Cheri Shannon, President/CEO of the Florida Charter School Alliance and Wendy Howard, former Florida Chair, Coalition for Public School Options emceed an awards ceremony where policymakers were recognized for their support. The Future of Educations’ Golden Apple Award honorees included Florida Governor Rick Scott; Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos (R-Melbourne); Florida Majority Leader Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando); State Senator John Thrasher (R-Jacksonville); State Senator Stephen Wise (R-Jacksonville); State Representative Janet Adkins (R-Fernandina Beach); State Representative Erik Fresen (R-Miami); and State Representative Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland).
In addressing the large crowd of attendees, Governor Rick Scott said, “This year we're going to put $1 billion more into education. That's because you showed up. You let your House and Senate members know that you care about the education system in our state. You know that the future of our state is 100 percent tied to your education..."
Florida Commissioner of Education Gerard Robinson told the group, “You live as young people at the best time to be a student in Florida. As your Commissioner, I believe that a quality education across the board is important -- public, private, home school, virtual, tax credit, the whole works. And the Governor believes so as well.”
The day concluded with one-on-one meetings between parents, students and their elected officials.
Click here to read about it and watch a short vido clip.
House Panel Denies More Money For Charter Schools by John O'Connor -
Florida lawmakers agree on one issue: Charter schools need more money for renovations, equipment and software.
But House lawmakers have rejected a proposal that school districts say would take money from their traditional public schools and give it to charter schools.
Committee chairman Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna, said lawmakers need to find a funding solution for both types of schools.
“How do we treat all our public schools fairly? At this point I don’t see legislation that has completely satisfied that question.”
–Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna
“We have many policy issues that need to be discussed,” she said. “And that is how do we treat all our public schools fairly? At this point I don’t see legislation that has completely satisfied that question.”
The bill is the top priority of charter school advocacy groups this year, and supporters say they’re not giving up on it yet.Florida education advocacy groups including Citizens for Strong Schools, Fund Education Now, Save Duval Schools and Support Dade Schools issued this statement today praising the House Pre-K-12 Committee for defeating Rep. Janet Adkins’ amendment to HB 903.
Yesterday’s bi-partisan vote in the House Pre-K-12 Committee was a bold rejection of Rep. Adkins’ goal to hand our hard-earned public tax dollars over to for-profit charter developers to buy or improve private assets. This is the second failure by the House to pass this measure which was stripped from HB 903 by House K-20 Innovations days ago. Members of our alliance testified against companion bill SB 1852 last week in the Senate K-12 Education committee. That bill still gives public tax dollars away to for-profit corporations to buy and maintain assets the public will never own. We oppose any and all efforts by politicians to turn tax dollars over to private corporations who value profit over the children we love.
New Florida TaxWatch analysis reveals inequity in level of charter school funding. Florida’s charter schools receive an estimated 70 cents for every dollar of revenue per full-time student compared to traditional public schools, according to an analysis released today by Florida TaxWatch, the statewide nonpartisan, nonprofit taxpayer research institute and government watchdog.
The report shows that while approximately 1 in 15 Florida students will attend a charter school this year, there are significant differences in funding levels between charter school students and those at a traditional public school.
“This report shows that while charter schools are a viable alternative to the traditional public school model, the funding disparity puts those students whose parents have chosen a non-traditional option at a disadvantage, and the Legislature has the means to correct this inequity,” said Dominic M. Calabro, President & CEO of Florida TaxWatch. “Discovering and highlighting these research findings can help to reduce or correct this difference, and allow us to invest equally in each of our students, to ensure that each and every child has the chance to excel in the educational environment that best suits them and their parents. That is the essence of school choice and healthy competition.”
The report recommends several possible changes to ensure that allocated dollars for each student are passed directly to the appropriate institution to help provide funding parity between charter schools and traditional public schools, including adjusting state funding to account for locally-derived funding that is not available to charter schools specifically.
State Representative Janet Adkins, a strong supporter of charter school funding reforms said, “With a growing enrollment in charter public schools and the disparity in funding, the current model is not sustainable and must be addressed. I believe parents should have a choice in which public school their child attends and that choice should not result in less funding for that child’s school. I appreciate the thought-leadership shown by Florida TaxWatch in examining charter school funding and I remain committed to achieving equity in student funding for all students. We should not discriminate among public school students. There should be no winners or losers depending on the type of public schools our students attend.”
See the full analysis here.
This legislative term promises to be an important one for the state of Florida because of 6 very important bills that will be voted on by Florida Legislators, many of whom are up for re-election in redistricted or reapportioned districts. These bills will undoubtedly impact every important issue in the state especially Florida's economy, public rating, and education.
Brainstorming sessions and multiple solutions are being examined by legislators to find ways to compenstate for the 18.1 percent deficient that resulted from previous cuts to schools' budgets. Legislators are collaboratively working with Governor Rick Scott to creatively identify solutions in which at least 1 billion dollars could be added to the budget in order to implement new reforms and extend the economic recovery of school districts in the state of Florida. Some legislators oppose the idea and are still actively searching for a less expensive way to address the problem of the financial shortfall that still exists for the states' schools. Click here to read the full article. BKHM can help charter schools with any questions regarding these current issues.
A national charter advocacy group has ranked Florida's charter law third-friendliest in the country, down from second last year.
The annual report from the Washington, D.C.-based National Alliance for Public Charter Schools ranks the country's 42 charter laws.
The best charter law, according to the group, is the one in Maine.
The group faulted Florida's laws for not providing charters with equal funding or access to facilities, though proposals in the state House and Senate would change that.
Lauren RothOrlando SentinelJanuary 17, 2012