Your View by Allentown, Bethlehem superintendents: Why tighter controls are needed for charter schools

There is little that is more fundamental or more vital to Pennsylvania’s future prosperity than the quality of its public schools, both district and charter. For Pennsylvania to attract new businesses and grow job opportunities for residents, its public schools must provide a high-quality education that prepares all students to become the leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.But the commonwealth’s charter school law undermines this possibility for thousands of public school students.Auditor General Eugene DePasquale called the 1997 charter law “the worst in the nation.” We couldn’t agree more.Our message to the General Assembly is clear: The need to overhaul Pennsylvania’s charter school law is real and urgent. School districts need better tools to hold charter school operators accountable to families and taxpayers.The commonwealth has an ethical and moral responsibility to its public school students to ensure charter schools are held to the same state academic standards as district schools. It also has a fiscal responsibility to taxpayers to ensure funds invested in charters are a good investment and are safeguarded against misuse.Current charter law falls woefully short on these fronts and many others.Thomas E. Parker, Allentown superintendent of schools (AMY SHORTELL / THE MORNING CALL/)Joseph Roy, Bethlehem superintendent of schools (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL/)Legislation pending in the General Assembly pushes the charter law in the wrong direction. HB 356 and 357 create more risk for students, local districts and taxpayers. We vehemently oppose these bills.The legislation would undermine local control by allowing charter schools, including the poorest performers, to expand without the authorizing district’s knowledge or approval. These new and unbudgeted expenses would wreak financial havoc for the school districts that would have to absorb them.The Allentown School District allocates $63 million or 18% of its annual operating budget to charters. The Bethlehem Area School District allocates $31 million or 11% of its annual operating budget to charters. Significant unbudgeted and unforeseeable charter expenses jeopardize our recent investments in early literacy, parent engagement and behavioral health supports for students. Our districts must shift hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars from district schools to charter schools for unbudgeted charter students.Newly proposed charter legislation also frees charters from oversight that is necessary to ensure they are meeting academic standards. They make it harder to close underperforming charters and allow unfettered expansion of charters — even those with failing performance — without regard for their ability to successfully operate.The proposed standard charter application form lacks information on an applicant’s experience, finances, past performance and operational ability, all of which are necessary to meaningfully assess whether the applicant can sustain a school that meets the needs of the very students it aspires to serve.The original vision for charter schools was teacher-driven laboratories of innovation that would develop promising practices to inform and advance all public schools. Charters have not lived up to that promise.According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, of the 3,262 public schools in the state, 179 or 5.5% are charters. Of the 97 public schools listed as the lowest in state testing as defined under federal Every Student Succeeds Act legislation, 24 are charter schools. Is this the future we want for the commonwealth’s public education system? Is this the future our students and families deserve?Two other bills, HB 355 and HB 358, would correct questionable charter school practices such as staffing boards with family members. They set clear conflict-of-interest provisions, require schools to follow accepted accounting standards and promote budget and operating transparency. These changes are welcome and long overdue, but do not offset the harm to school districts from the overall charter package.School districts statewide are proactively advocating for significant amendments that promote high-quality charters. Real charter reform must require greater accountability. It must set clear performance goals for charter schools and hold them to the same need-based special education funding model as school districts. It must also give authorizers the tools needed to ensure charter operators are living up to their promise and providing our students the education they deserve.A high-performing, well-managed school, whether district or charter, is a good investment for students and taxpayers. We ask our lawmakers to go back to the drawing board on the charter school package and pass legislation that supports high-quality schools.Our children, our families and our commonwealth are depending on it.Thomas Parker is superintendent of the Allentown School District. Joseph Roy is superintendent of the Bethlehem Area School District.
Source: Morningcall