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Moratorium Extended on District-Sponsored Charters

Posted on: Saturday, 28 January 2006, 09:00 CST

By Peter Simon

The Buffalo Board of Education Wednesday evening imposed a two- year moratorium on district-sponsored charter schools. In addition, the board asked the state to revamp its charter school funding formula so it does not damage traditional public schools.

The moratorium, approved by a vote of 7-2, means the school district itself will not license new charter schools for at least two years. It comes on the heels of a previous one-year moratorium that expired Jan. 1.

Prior to the first moratorium, a broad network of district- sponsored charter schools was seen as a cornerstone of the district's reform effort.

Several board members said their votes were not against charter schools, but against a funding formula that they say drains the district of millions of dollars.

"The issue is the funding of this [charter school] movement," said West District Board Member Ralph Hernandez. "That's the only issue to me."

The vote does not limit either the State Board of Regents or the State University of New York, which license the bulk of charter schools in the state. However, SUNY reached its limit of 50 charters earlier this week and, under current law, cannot issue any more. The Regents are also close to their limit of 50.

Gov. George E. Pataki has proposed raising the cap on charter school licenses to 250 from 100, which would free the Regents and SUNY, both of which view charter schools favorably, to license more of them.

Immediately after approving the moratorium, the Board of Education voted to ask the state to tie a new funding formula to any move to raise the cap.

That resolution, sponsored by North District Board Member Donald Van Every, raises several possibilities, including a separate, dedicated funding source for charter schools. Public school districts now pay more than $8,000 to charter schools for every student the charters enroll.

The two-year moratorium was opposed by Park District Board Member Jack Coyle and Christopher Jacobs, an at-large member.

Coyle said many of the things the board would like to do in traditional city schools -- such as smaller class sizes and expanded school hours -- are already in operation in charter schools. "They do more with the same dollars," he said.

Jacobs said it is not charter schools that are draining money from traditional public schools, but state mandates and contractual agreements -- including lifetime health insurance and pensions for retirees -- that the district itself agreed to.

The board also unanimously passed a resolution stating that newly established state assessment tests in math are unfair because the district was not given sufficient time to implement a curriculum and teach the material. The tests, given in third through eighth grades, are required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

e-mail: psimon@buffnews.com

Source: Buffalo News

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