Contents
of this issue:
- GVSU
charter schools office closes two schools
- Genesee County students trapped in assigned schools
- Districts building schools too expensive to operate
- Saginaw Township district discusses schools of choice
- Schools concerned about number of snow days
- Comment and win an iPod
GVSU CHARTER SCHOOLS OFFICE CLOSES TWO
SCHOOLS
GRAND RAPIDS,
Mich. – Grand Valley State University will not renew contracts with two of its
charter public schools after the schools failed to meet the authorizer’s
enrollment and achievement standards, according to The Grand Rapids Press.
Contracts
with Advantage Academy in Kalamazoo and Tri-Valley Academy in Muskegon Heights
will expire this summer. Both schools failed to meet standards set by the No
Child Left Behind Act in 2005-2006 and received a "D" on the state report card,
The Press reported.
"We strongly
believe that charter schools should be accountable for the academic performance
of their students," Ed Richardson, GVSU director of charter schools, told The
Press. "We think it's critical that our charter schools have their students
perform equal to or better than the school districts where their students came
from."
Dan
Quisenberry, president of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies,
said that the closures show a commitment to accountability.
"It's part of
the process. A charter is a contract with performance measures and
expectations," Quisenberry, told The Press. "If a school cannot meet the
benchmarks, it closes, and it's not happening anywhere else in public
education."
SOURCE:
The Grand
Rapids Press, "GVSU ends ties with two charter schools," Feb. 6, 2008
http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/02/gvsu_ends_ties_with_two_charte.html
FURTHER
READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Mission Creep,’"
Jan. 11, 2008
https://www.mackinac.org/9183
GENESEE COUNTY STUDENTS TRAPPED IN ASSIGNED SCHOOLS
FLINT, Mich. – A cap on the Genesee County
Intermediate School District’s schools of choice program has prevented 421
students from transferring to the schools their parents want them to attend,
according to The Flint Journal.
The GISD
limits the number of schools of choice students a district can accept to 1
percent of the district’s total enrollment. This number was agreed upon by
district superintendents, The Journal reported.
Andre Bowie
has tried twice to enroll his two children in Carman-Ainsworth, but has been
denied both times. The district received 189 applications for about 50 available
spots. Carman-Ainsworth Superintendent Billy Haley said his district had room
for more applicants, but was hindered by the ISD.
"We'd like to
take them all, but we just can't. The ISD won't let us," Haley told The Journal.
Of the 421
students who were unable to transfer schools this year, 57 percent were
attempting to transfer out of the Flint Community School District. Flint lost
102 students through schools of choice this year. However, it did gain 13
students through the program, according to The Journal.
Bowie has enrolled his children in Grand Blanc
Academy, but is still hoping for a chance to transfer them to Carman-Ainsworth.
"When we
decided to move them, we were thinking long-term," Bowie told The Journal. "None
of the Flint high schools have a high enough grade (from the state)."
SOURCE:
The Flint Journal, "GISD’s cap keeps students from attending schools of choice,"
Feb. 6, 2008
https://www.mlive.com/news/flintjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-48/1202311211311430.xml&coll=5
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Nonresident Student Adjustment Not Under
Sections 105 and 105c," in "A Michigan School Money Primer," May 30, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8628#nonassign
DISTRICTS BUILDING SCHOOLS TOO EXPENENSIVE TO OPERATE
DETROIT –
Districts throughout the state are building new, highly innovative schools, but
have found they don’t have the money to operate them, according to The Detroit
News.
Howell’s new
$72 million Parker High School was deemed by state officials as a school of the
future, with its inclusion of a wing for community college courses, a credit
union and an opportunity to graduate with a high school diploma and an
associate’s degree. The district however, has had many budget concerns and
possible school closures, including Parker High, The News reported.
Other
districts are in a similar situation, as the Ann Arbor schools had to delay the
opening of an $80 million, four-story high school. The school was built to
alleviate overcrowding, but the district was unable to afford its operating
costs this school year. There are plans to have it open next fall with 400
freshmen, The News reported.
The Chippewa
Valley school district has delayed the opening of a middle school and two ninth
grade centers, even though enrollment increased by 348 students. The new middle
school will cost $2.4 million to operate and the ninth grade centers will shift
teaching responsibilities for high school teachers. Macomb Township resident
Grace Caporuscio is frustrated that the district could not organize their
finances well enough to plan for the opening of the schools, according to The
News.
"What was I
thinking?" Caporuscio, who voted in favor of a $168 million bond in the Chippewa
Valley School District in 2004, told The News. "We built these lavish schools
and now we can't afford to operate them."
Experts have
addressed many components of this issue, a primary concern being financial
planning.
"Districts that planned years ago for a new building may
now not necessarily need it," Gary Olson, director of the Senate Fiscal Agency,
told The News. He noted that more than 400 of the state's 552 school districts
reported declining enrollment this year and that 80 percent of the drop in
enrollment is due to declining birthrates, The News reported.
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "New schools now too costly to operate,"
Feb. 9, 2008
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080209/SCHOOLS/802090354/1409/METRO
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Budgets: A Crisis of Management, Not
Finance," Feb. 11, 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/6980
SAGINAW TOWNSHIP DISTRICT DISCUSSES SCHOOLS OF CHOICE
SAGINAW
TOWNSHIP – The Saginaw Township school board held a community forum to help
guide its decision on the future of the district’s schools of choice program,
according to The Saginaw News.
Board and
community members have been split over the issue for years. Many residents have
voted down bond proposals for school improvements because they feel the children
of non-residents will benefit from their tax money. About 17 percent of the
township’s students come from other districts, The News reported.
The board is
trying to decide between continuing, capping or cutting the schools of choice
program. Board President Judith Lincoln insisted that she would not cut schools
of choice if it meant sacrificing any other programs.
"I would not
be willing to cut a single program," Lincoln told the community forum, according
to The News.
SOURCE:
The Saginaw News, "Schools of Choice forum attracts 150,"
Jan. 29, 2008
http://blog.mlive.com/saginawnews/2008/01/schools_of_choice_forum_attrac.html
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac
Center for Public Policy, "Conclusion: Competition Is Improving Public Schools
for Michigan Children," in "The Impact of Limited School Choice on Public School
Districts,"
July 24, 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/2962
SCHOOLS CONCERNED WITH NUMBER OF SNOW DAYS
SAULT STE.
MARIE, Mich. – Many northern Michigan school districts are concerned about the
number of snow days already being used this winter, including some that have
reached their allotment, according to SooToday.com.
Clare Public
Schools has already used of all of its allocated snow days, and may need to
extend the school year or have longer school days if they need to cancel school
in the upcoming weeks. Some areas are also seeing cuts in their plow and salt
truck fleets, leading to more closures, SooToday.com reported.
Sault Ste.
Marie area school districts have only had one snow day this year. In the Algoma
school district, transportation has been cancelled once due to weather, but
students were still expected to attend. The Huron-Superior Catholic District
doesn’t set a number for allotted snow days each year, according to SooToday.com.
SOURCE:
SooToday.com, "Already too many ‘snow days’ in Northern Michigan," Feb. 6, 2008
http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/full_story.asp?StoryNumber=30054
FURTHER READING:
Michigan
Education Report, "Winter Weather Wonderland,"
Nov. 21, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8025
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