BASIS DC shut down/abolished the school list serve
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Anonymous
| People who post in online forums are losers |
Anonymous
This is how most charters operate. They recalculate and plan for available slots each and every year, based on the prior year. This is not rocket science. It is not at all "intelligent and intelligble" for the PP to think, let alone insist that a school wouldn't modify and update the number of available slots to hit it's fullest approved total, because this is precisely what they do every single year. |
Anonymous
Sock puppet. |
Anonymous
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^ "NP here, and not a Basis parent..." but then goes on to post something they already previously posted, almost verbatim.
Obviously not a "new poster" |
Anonymous
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If the PP is "not a Basis parent" then they might want to at least read up on how BASIS has been operating for the last 20 years, rather than jumping on the bandwagon of completely wrong assumptions about how they accommodate for things like not meeting the number of slots or having students leave, let alone leaping to "fiscal malpractice."
If their model were truly such a broken system that would allow compounding fiscal disaster as the PP asserts, they wouldn't have had the financial wherewithal to survive 20 years, let alone open all of the successful schools that they have. They have far more experience than any of us in dealing with these issues and know far more about how to run a successful school than any of us here do. |
Anonymous
Must agree with a previous poster, participating to this thread at this point is for losers (and I include myself, but what the heck I have an afternoon to waste). Nothing meaningful can be added to this discussion and it has become a vehicle for stupid claims and vitriol. |
Anonymous
I was not trying to sock puppet, just repeat NP's post again. Go ahead, ask at the coffee hour whether a Basis school in its 3rd year has EVER left 250K on the table, and how they are going to prevent it in the future. And if you are really interested, ask whether that has ever happened at another of their schools in its 3rd year. Just don't be dumb enough to ask whether they can recover that money or find some financial way to compensate for the mistake they made this year because the simple answer is they cannot. DC is not Arizona. We are not "take it or leave it," because many come to Basis having no intention of keeping their kids there after MS. So if they want to keep us, they have to treat our kids well. Failing at that miserably now, but that only accounts for the attrition in the upper grades not the failure to fill open slots in 6th. If we are lucky, the boss of our HOS will provide some open and honest answers on Thursday, because he has yet to dismiss the question as a non-issue, and BOOSTER BABIES, you have a lot of people here telling you it is a big deal. People who have no skin in the game. Why don't you take the time to listen to them? Because you are BOOSTERS... |
Anonymous
NP and BASIS parent -- I was planning on going to the coffee this week to ask about some academic issues, but I am starting to wonder if the coffee is going to be hijacked by the same person who keeps obsessing over the $$$. I don't care how they want to run the place financially -- I'm not an investor or board member. I am a consumer/customer and so far my DC has received an excellent education, much better than any of our other options. If BASIS DC is so poorly run that it will no longer be financially viable, then we will go somewhere else and be grateful for the time we had there, |
Anonymous
That doesn't even make sense, to suggest boosters "don't have skin in the game." The boosters have the most skin in the game of anyone - that's the very reason they are engaged, because they want to see the school be successful and to be there for them through the years to come. As for us, we intend to stay through 12th, and we know plenty of folks with younger kids, we're invested in seeing the school be successful for at least the next 5-10 years. And again, you keep portraying the loss as though it keeps accumulating each year, as though $250k loss in 6th grade this year becomes an additional $250k loss in 7th grade for a total of $500k and so on through 12th - again, that's not at all how it works. They base the number of available 5th and 6th slots on the TOTAL, it's not by per-grade, and next year their target numbers will again be 400 total - if they hit that number, there's $0 additional loss. Also, it's not like there's compound interest being lost. We're talking operating budget, not banking or money sitting around, and I seriously they went into hock to meet their budget this year. The numbers for ANY school will vary year by year, and given a population of 400, 25 students would amount to 6%. Ultimately is no different than attrition, students leaving before count day, or other losses, in terms of how you plan 5th and 6th grade slots to get to the total. And as for the other BASIS schools vs. DC, you are wrong there too - because BASIS is not the only game in town in the other cities where they have schools, they compete against other charters there also, they also face the threat of students leaving for other charters and options there as well. Again, they have been doing this for 20 years, they factor in attrition and losses. If you do show up on Thursday, I suggest you ask ONE question at a time, ask it concisely and coherently, and stop to give them time to respond, rather than just going on a rambling 15 minute tirade. You might get a bit further that way. And, I suggest you actually LISTEN to what is being said, rather than just disregarding what people are saying and repeating yourself over and over, particularly when it's already been shown many times that you have made and repeated many erroneous assumptions and incorrect statements. For someone who says boosters are not listening, you yourself seem to be quite disinterested in listening to what people are saying, and particularly disinterested in hearing from those of us who DO have skin in the game. What earthly purpose does it serve you to be so dismissive toward what's being said by those of us who do have skin in the game? What earthly purpose does it serve you to be so dismissive toward the school staff and what they have to say? If, on Thursday you ask them if there are still 25 open slots and they refute it, you don't get to just return here claiming there are still 25 open slots. Or, if you ask them if a loss due to underenrollment multiplies next year and they refute it, that you don't just go back to your spiel claiming it does. I for one won't accept any more of these statements from you unless you can factually back them up. Assumptions don't cut it. |
Anonymous
| ^ I seriously doubt they went into hock to meet their budget this year |
Anonymous
It will not be hijacked. But as a parent who is far from blase about "if Basis closes........." the questions will be asked and should be answered. Everyone here is hypothesizing, why don't we just get an answer and move on. BTW, apparently it is more like 15k per kid that DC coughs up - they list over 12K per and then 3k for overhead, and it was budgeted for, resources were allocated, everyone anticipated we would fill up - and we should have, with over 100 kids according to a PP on the 6th grade waitlist. It is perfectly reasonable to ask what happened and how they intend to prevent it in the future, just so that they know that some parents realize as well that it is a mistake that cannot be repeated annually for the school to be financially viable. I intend to see all my kids graduate from Basis DC, not just "be grateful for the time we had there," and part of leadership is fiscal responsibility and accountability - to those of us who are putting not only our kids but our hearts and souls into the school. OK with you? And please don't ask about mastery defense as one of your academic questions, because that was asked, answered, and then answered much more coherently in a subsequent email...... |
Anonymous
That doesn't even make sense, to suggest boosters "don't have skin in the game." The boosters have the most skin in the game of anyone - that's the very reason they are engaged, because they want to see the school be successful and to be there for them through the years to come. As for us, we intend to stay through 12th, and we know plenty of folks with younger kids, we're invested in seeing the school be successful for at least the next 5-10 years. And again, you keep portraying the loss as though it keeps accumulating each year, as though $250k loss in 6th grade this year becomes an additional $250k loss in 7th grade for a total of $500k and so on through 12th - again, that's not at all how it works. They base the number of available 5th and 6th slots on the TOTAL, it's not by per-grade, and next year their target numbers will again be 400 total - if they hit that number, there's $0 additional loss. [b] Also, it's not like there's compound interest being lost. We're talking operating budget, not banking or money sitting around, and I seriously they went into hock to meet their budget this year. The numbers for ANY school will vary year by year, and given a population of 400, 25 students would amount to 6%. Ultimately is no different than attrition, students leaving before count day, or other losses, in terms of how you plan 5th and 6th grade slots to get to the total. And as for the other BASIS schools vs. DC, you are wrong there too - because BASIS is not the only game in town in the other cities where they have schools, they compete against other charters there also, they also face the threat of students leaving for other charters and options there as well. Again, they have been doing this for 20 years, they factor in attrition and losses. [b]If you do show up on Thursday, I suggest you ask ONE question at a time, ask it concisely and coherently, and stop to give them time to respond, rather than just going on a rambling 15 minute tirade. You might get a bit further that way. And, I suggest you actually LISTEN to what is being said, rather than just disregarding what people are saying and repeating yourself over and over, particularly when it's already been shown many times that you have made and repeated many erroneous assumptions and incorrect statements. For someone who says boosters are not listening, you yourself seem to be quite disinterested in listening to what people are saying, and particularly disinterested in hearing from those of us who DO have skin in the game. What earthly purpose does it serve you to be so dismissive toward what's being said by those of us who do have skin in the game? What earthly purpose does it serve you to be so dismissive toward the school staff and what they have to say? If, on Thursday you ask them if there are still 25 open slots and they refute it, you don't get to just return here claiming there are still 25 open slots. Or, if you ask them if a loss due to underenrollment multiplies next year and they refute it, that you don't just go back to your spiel claiming it does. I for one won't accept any more of these statements from you unless you can factually back them up. Assumptions don't cut it. There are so many people posting here that 1) if you attempt to link an author to the question you are STUPID, but you clearly have one person in mind and 2) you lack basic reading comprehension skills. I said that the "NP here" who tried to explain to you the magnitude and severity of the financial loss was the most objective because he has no "skin in the game." Those 25 6th graders were supposed to mostly go through 8th at least. That is an ongoing loss. The only way to compensate for it would be to add an ADDITIONAL 25 slots next year in 5th or 6th AND fill them all up. I hope your child understands basic math better than you do. You certainly are no accountant, and you are a bad bad booster who is addressing a monolithic mythical poster and not bothering to read what I have said, nor provide a link to the actual charter So I think until you come up with some evidence of a plan to increase the existing 5th/6th by 25 slots (to compensate for the lost opportunity this year, which cannot be regained and you are again either a blockhead or being deliberately obtuse and make up for the departures before count day in 5th (which I'm sure they do count on, although perhaps not quite as many as they had this year), why not shut up yourself. PS where do all the rest of us fit in your 400 thickly haired head or our allegedly 400 student limited charter? What are the 9th and 10th graders, kids who don't "count?" If there is a population limit on the school, then us hanging around is impeding your progress. You sound like an absolute idiot. Please don't show up on Thursday. Clearly none of you want to hear the answer to the question, you want to hide your heads in the sand, and whomever asks the question will automatically be responsible for ALL the crazy posts here. Not happening. |
Anonymous
| Take that back. It might happen. But it would be completely unfair to whatever poor person asks the question. |
Anonymous
There are so many people posting here that 1) if you attempt to link an author to the question you are STUPID, but you clearly have one person in mind and 2) you lack basic reading comprehension skills. I said that the "NP here" who tried to explain to you the magnitude and severity of the financial loss was the most objective because he has no "skin in the game." Those 25 6th graders were supposed to mostly go through 8th at least. That is an ongoing loss. The only way to compensate for it would be to add an ADDITIONAL 25 slots next year in 5th or 6th AND fill them all up. I hope your child understands basic math better than you do. You certainly are no accountant, and you are a bad bad booster who is addressing a monolithic mythical poster and not bothering to read what I have said, nor provide a link to the actual charter So I think until you come up with some evidence of a plan to increase the existing 5th/6th by 25 slots (to compensate for the lost opportunity this year, which cannot be regained and you are again either a blockhead or being deliberately obtuse and make up for the departures before count day in 5th (which I'm sure they do count on, although perhaps not quite as many as they had this year), why not shut up yourself. PS where do all the rest of us fit in your 400 thickly haired head or our allegedly 400 student limited charter? What are the 9th and 10th graders, kids who don't "count?" If there is a population limit on the school, then us hanging around is impeding your progress. You sound like an absolute idiot. Please don't show up on Thursday. Clearly none of you want to hear the answer to the question, you want to hide your heads in the sand, and whomever asks the question will automatically be responsible for ALL the crazy posts here. Not happening. Blah blah blah blah and blah |
Anonymous
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The "NP with no skin in the game" demonstrated pretty clearly that they do not understand how BASIS operates. How can they be understood as "objective" when they appear to be operating on nothing but assumptions based on a a lack of knowledge of the charter and a resultant fundamental misunderstanding of school enrollment mechanics?
And as for adding slots to 5th and 6th, that could definitely be done. Again the approved charter, as I read it, specifies an overall total enrollment, not a grade-by-grade enrollment. And one person is a "bad bad booster" simply because someone else can't be bothered to simply look up the charter on the DC PCSB website? Sheesh. You are really too much. Here you go, scroll down to 2011. http://www.dcpcsb.org/report/charter-applications-archive |