Why can't charters get together and provide bus service?

[Anonymous]

Especially since so many are located in Brookland.

[Anonymous]

are you serious?

you have a handful of small schools that are there THIS year. They have a lot of things they are trying to do to get the school up and running and you want them to also coordinate a bus schedule - across schools that have different start and end times and schedules?

Which parts of the city should they offer this service for? Start pick-up in NW and work the way around the city to SW, SE and do final drop off in NE?

[Anonymous]

You want bus service? Organize it. Yu Ying parents do.

[Anonymous]

Actually, some charters do have bus service that is not parent run. Potomac Lighthouse--the charter that shares the building where Yu Ying was and where IT is going, does have bus service. Not sure how they fund it, but they have it.

[Anonymous]

It's a matter of a school deciding what they think is important and choosing to fund it. Take a look on the Charter School Board website and you can see the budgets:

http://www.dcpubliccharter.com/School-Finance-and-Facilities/2010-Charter-School-Budgets.aspx

Potomac Lighthouse spends money on transportation for their students. Other schools save it up for a building or other expenses. (A school like Yu Ying spends a ton on administrative costs, so they are known for having excellent communication with parents.)

It just depends on what the school's priorities lie. If it's important to you as a parent, lobby the school hard and get what you want. Isn't that what the whole charter school movement is about?

[Anonymous]

DCPS does not provide buses for regular ed students. Why should charters?

[Anonymous]

Charters have tight budgets, some more so than others. Parents who don't need a bus might balk at paying for it. You're better off organizing it yourself.

[Anonymous]

Charters have much, much more cash at their disposal than the average DCPS. Look at the link provided above. If a low-income school like Potomac can provide bus service, every charter could do it.

It's just a matter of priorities. If you parents all have cars or can pay for private bus service, why bother? Right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Especially since so many are located in Brookland.

Because they are charter schools. Meaning each one does it's own thing. Like setting their own application and lottery deadlines. They're not required to do anything in concert. Nor are they required to offer transportation. Or uniforms. on and on and on

Good luck coordinating across multiple schools, vendors, and parents. There may not be much stopping parents from doing it on their own, but it's not the schools' job.

Yes. Technically charter schools are public. But in reality they operate more like private schools. If you're asking yourself "why don't charter schools do xyz", remember that it's the same as asking "why don't all private schools do xyz".

The whole point of charters is autonomy from a central system. Trying to centralize things like transport or admissions is basically recreating a centralized school system. If you're at a charter and want something done, you'll have to do it yourself.

The multiple-school charter orgs like KIPP, Friendship have the capacity to coordinate. But no real incentive to centralize with other schools.

[Anonymous]

I would be livid is my daughter's charter started spending significant sums on bus service. First, it's impractical, given the far-flung geographic spread of the students. Second, when you apply, you do so with the realization that you'll have to get your kid there. It's a choice, and we have all accepted it. Let's spend the money on programs and facilities, not something that parents have already agreed to take care of.

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Charters have much, much more cash at their disposal than the average DCPS. Look at the link provided above. If a low-income school like Potomac can provide bus service, every charter could do it.

It's just a matter of priorities. If you parents all have cars or can pay for private bus service, why bother? Right?

You simply can't compare charter finances to those of DCPS. The access that DCPS has to public school buildings alone is a HUGE disparity. Charters have the autonomy to set their own budgets, DCPS is all tied up in contracts and unions and what-not. It's not fair to either to try and make a comparison here.

[Anonymous]

And the autonomy that charters have more than balance the buildings (crumbling around the children) that DCPS has.

I know charters do a great job boo-hooing about this, but the cash available and the ability to channel it to programs, teachers, training or even transportation is something that even the "autonomous" DCPS schools can only dream of.

[Anonymous]

DCPS is cash poor
Charters are house poor

Everything is greener on the other side.