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School Board to Discuss Charter School Issues, Terms

Posted on: Sunday, 5 February 2006, 15:00 CST

By Andrea Eger, Tulsa World, Okla.

Feb. 5--The Tulsa school board is set to consider a resolution on Monday calling for a moratorium on new charter schools. If approved, the resolution would bar any sponsorship of new charter schools by Tulsa Public Schools and would limit the renewal of existing charter school contracts to a term of one year, instead of the standard three years. The board meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the Education Service Center, 3027 S. New Haven Ave. Superintendent David Sawyer said the school board's attorney, Doug Mann, has advised him that a pending lawsuit before the Oklahoma Supreme Court could set a precedent that would call into question the constitutionality of the Charter Schools Act, which was passed in 1999. "Were we to proceed and charter schools be declared unconstitutional, we would have to shut down schools that just opened. The board will consider a resolution saying, 'Let's not do anything until the constitutionality (of the Charter Schools Act) is decided,' " Sawyer said. School Board President Matt Livingood said the board's attorney is monitoring the outcome of the case of the city of Enid vs. Public Employees Relations Board of Oklahoma. "The city of Enid case is going to provide a legal reasoning that is directly applicable to the Charter Schools Act. Though the case will not in itself declare the Charter Schools Act unconstitutional, it could set a precedent that would have direct bearing on the issue," Livingood said. "I just want the clarity and the certainty that we're acting responsibly under the constitution of the state. I don't want to have to shut down anybody." The proposed board resolution questions whether the Charter Schools Act is constitutional because it limits the number of school districts that must consider sponsoring charter schools. The resolution states that the Oklahoma Constitution specifically prohibits the Legislature from passing "special or local" laws that regulate school districts. "The purpose of this constitutional prohibition is to prevent legislators from interfering with local management by passing laws that single out some localities but leave others unaffected by the law. This is the exact result of the Charter Schools Act," states the resolution. Under the Charter Schools Act, only school districts with 5,000 or more students that are located in Tulsa and Oklahoma counties or contiguous counties can serve as a charter school sponsor. Norman Public Schools and Yukon Public Schools are specifically exempted under the law, according to the resolution. Charter schools receive public funds through a sponsoring school district but are governed by an independent board. Tulsa officials estimate that by the end of the current fiscal year, TPS will have paid more than $18.5 million to charter schools since 2000. The district sponsors three charter schools -- Deborah Brown Community School, Dove Science Academy and the Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences. Contract renewals for the Deborah Brown and Dove schools are set for board consideration in March. District administrators are reviewing applications now for two new charter schools. Livingood said he hopes the Tulsa school board won't have to file a lawsuit to resolve its concerns about the charter school law, but he acknowledged that it could come to that soon. Janet Barisse, president of the Oklahoma Charter School Association, responded to news of the proposed resolution by asking that the Tulsa school board table the issue for further study. "I hope they consider the choice that parents and students have made to attend a charter school more so than what is the fiscal bottom line for TPS," Barisse said. "Not just in Oklahoma but across the country, charter schools are running up against opposition because of who is controlling the dollar bill. "It concerns me that Tulsa continues to show a negative attitude toward the opportunities that charter schools can offer students." ------------ Andrea Eger 581-8470 andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, Tulsa World, Okla.

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Source: Tulsa World

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