Bill would give districts some control over charters

AB 2954, a bill that would allow a school district to deny a charter petition if it could be established that the charter would have an adverse financial impact on the district, has passed the legislature and is on Arnold's desk. The bill also requires charters to provide free/reduced-price lunch for eligible (that is, poor) students.

(Choosing not to provide lunch to low-income students is a way charters help keep such students out of their schools, while professing to serve them, of course.)

The charter school lobbyists are heatedly opposing this bill and urging the governor to veto it.

Naturally, I call upon the governor to sign the bill. "Adverse financial impact on the district" = harming our kids.

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Here's the material from the California Charter Schools Association calling on its members to oppose this bill.

Keep Opposing AB 2954!
AB 2954 (Liu) is still on the way to the Governor. This measure allows authorizers to deny charter school petitions for financial reasons. It also mandates charters to provide free and reduced priced lunch for all eligible charter school pupils. If this measure passes, it would give districts much more freedom to deny charters. We have drafted a letter to the Governor requesting a veto on this measure. We ask that you send it to the Governor if you have not already done so. After printing and signing the letter, please direct it to the attention of Paul Navarro, the Governor’s Deputy Legislative Secretary. His fax number is (916) 327-1009. Thank you to all of you who responded to our calls for action in the last two weeks. Your letters are making a difference, so keep them coming...

And here's material from the California School Boards Association calling on ITS members to support the bill:

Level the playing field for all students!

Current law favors charter schools in the petition process. AB 2954 (Liu) is an attempt to level the playing field for traditional schools by authorizing two new options for chartering boards. (1) AB 2954 allows a governing board to deny a charter petition if a new charter school would have a negative fiscal impact on the school district and (2) it authorizes a chartering board to require a charter to provide free and reduced priced meals to eligible students.

Please convince your representative in the California State Assembly to level the playing field for all students.

Sample Letter for Campaign
Subject: Support AB 2954 (Liu)

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As a school board member on the "insert school district name" I ask you to protect programs and services for all students by supporting AB 2954.

The approval process for a charter school petition strongly favors the petitioners and districts are finding it increasingly difficult to deny a charter petition that comes before the school board members. Current law sets specific guidelines for school boards to deny a charter petition. However, these factors fail to capture the impact a charter school may have on a district's ability to maintain programs and services for their remaining students. This is particularly true for districts with declining enrollment that are losing revenues because the population of children in the district has decreased. Therefore, providing districts the flexibility to deny a charter petition if the charter would have a negative fiscal impact on the district is an important amendment.

The bill also defines a negative fiscal impact if a school district meets any of the following factors: received a qualified or negative financial certification; required to provide the county superintendent with a fiscal evaluation or audit; demonstrates fiscal distress; has applied for an emergency apportionment or loan; or the district is closing a school due to declining enrollment. This will allow governing boards to act in the best interest of their students and not force governing boards to approve a charter that will harm programs and services in the district.

Charter schools are exempt from Current law, EC 49550, which requires all K-12 schools to provide one nutritionally adequate meal through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to all students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. While many charter schools provide an education to students who qualify for free and reduced priced meals, many of those do not provide meals to these children. It has been widely noted that a nutritious meal is key to ensuring that students are successful in the classroom. This measure would authorize, but not require, school district governing boards to require that charter proposals include a plan to participate in a free or reduced price meal program as a condition of approving the charter.

CSBA is pleased to sponsor AB 2954 and we ask for your "AYE" vote when it is before you on the Assembly floor.

— Caroline