Mayor Plans to Underfund Charter Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another reminder of entitled charter parents who want to have a bigger share of the pie at the expense of everyone else. You chose to leave the public system but still expect to get all the same benefits of that system? That is not how this works.

I used to do fundraising for a charter school and was so shocked at how the parents believed that because it was a public charter, that they shouldn't have to give and fundraise to support the school, and wanted the school to kick out any child with behavior issues or learning differences and looked down on DCPS parents. I am so glad to be gone from that job and will never work for a charter network ever again.

This. Talk to me when charter populations look like DCPS populations.

So we should dramatically reduce funding for Ward 3 DCPS schools, yes?

Go look at funding for Ward 3 schools and get back to me -- they are already funded at far lower levels than Title 1 schools elsewhere in the city, for the exact same reasons.

Some of you don't know anything about school funding in this city but sure are eager to opine on it anyway.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I read OP's link and it says funding for charter schools is INCREASING

Did you miss this paragraph?

"Overall, Bowser’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget would send $2.9 billion to public schools in the District — a $123 million increase over the 2025 budget. Her plan directs $75 million to D.C. Public Schools and $48 million to the city’s charter campuses."

Would you be OK with charter schools getting $75M more money while DCPS gets $48M?

DCPS has more students total, so yes.

I mean, DCPS has more students total, so obviously DCPS gets more.

But in this case DCPS is getting disproportionately more.

Per pupil funding is the same, yes? Do charters keep that funding if a student leaves after count day?

The difference is not in per pupil funding but in other allocated funds as described in the article. Did you read the article?

AGAIN you are missing that DCPS educates a bunch of kids who cost a lot more to educate than charters do. Much higher levels of SpEd, at-risk, ESL, etc. DCPS has to hire extra personnel with specific training to work with these kids, and in some cases has to pay them more. Thus DCPS gets more money.

Some of the very reasons you chose a charter over a DCPS school, likely, are precisely why DCPS needs more money. Stop being obtuse.

No, I was actually questioning your reading comprehension as you had missed the point. Also my kids both have special needs and attended charters. Many kids with special needs and who are ESL attend charters. ALL of our city's students deserve equal access to a good education, regardless of which school they are zoned for.

The kind of special needs where they need dedicated 1:1 aides all day? What percent of students at your charter are unhoused? What percent qualify for OSSE busing due to SpEd or at-risk status? What percent have a parent in jail or prison? What percent have no English speaking family at home?

You don't know what you are talking about. Do you think the extra money at DCPS is paying for enrichment programming for UMC kids?

So you think the only help UMC kids could possibly need is enrichment programming? Be careful, your prejudice is showing.

What prejudice? I'm an UMC parent with an UMC kid. I'm just also actually educated on this subject. Is that the prejudice you're referring to? You caught me -- I'm prejudiced against dumb, illogical, ignorant arguments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read OP's link and it says funding for charter schools is INCREASING

Did you miss this paragraph?

"Overall, Bowser’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget would send $2.9 billion to public schools in the District — a $123 million increase over the 2025 budget. Her plan directs $75 million to D.C. Public Schools and $48 million to the city’s charter campuses."

Would you be OK with charter schools getting $75M more money while DCPS gets $48M?

DCPS has more students total, so yes.

I mean, DCPS has more students total, so obviously DCPS gets more.

But in this case DCPS is getting disproportionately more.

Per pupil funding is the same, yes? Do charters keep that funding if a student leaves after count day?

The difference is not in per pupil funding but in other allocated funds as described in the article. Did you read the article?

AGAIN you are missing that DCPS educates a bunch of kids who cost a lot more to educate than charters do. Much higher levels of SpEd, at-risk, ESL, etc. DCPS has to hire extra personnel with specific training to work with these kids, and in some cases has to pay them more. Thus DCPS gets more money.

Some of the very reasons you chose a charter over a DCPS school, likely, are precisely why DCPS needs more money. Stop being obtuse.

No, I was actually questioning your reading comprehension as you had missed the point. Also my kids both have special needs and attended charters. Many kids with special needs and who are ESL attend charters. ALL of our city's students deserve equal access to a good education, regardless of which school they are zoned for.

The kind of special needs where they need dedicated 1:1 aides all day? What percent of students at your charter are unhoused? What percent qualify for OSSE busing due to SpEd or at-risk status? What percent have a parent in jail or prison? What percent have no English speaking family at home?

You don't know what you are talking about. Do you think the extra money at DCPS is paying for enrichment programming for UMC kids?

.

This. Elementary charter parents have NO CLUE how many resources DCPS elementary schools have for the neediest students. Take a really detailed look at the budget of a Title 1 school with SPED and ESL kids, too. They need many more specialized staff members.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another reminder of entitled charter parents who want to have a bigger share of the pie at the expense of everyone else. You chose to leave the public system but still expect to get all the same benefits of that system? That is not how this works.

I used to do fundraising for a charter school and was so shocked at how the parents believed that because it was a public charter, that they shouldn't have to give and fundraise to support the school, and wanted the school to kick out any child with behavior issues or learning differences and looked down on DCPS parents. I am so glad to be gone from that job and will never work for a charter network ever again.

This. Talk to me when charter populations look like DCPS populations.

Charter schools in DC serve a higher percentage of at-risk students (53% vs 46%) and a higher percentage of students with disabilities (17% vs 16.3%) than DCPS.

So, what are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

Aren't these all public schools? Shouldn't they all be funded the same way? I can understand funding schools differently if they serve a lot of at-risk kids, kids learning english, kids with disabilities, etc., but otherwise who cares if it is a charter school or a DCPS school. Schools are schools. Kids are kids. No?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't these all public schools? Shouldn't they all be funded the same way? I can understand funding schools differently if they serve a lot of at-risk kids, kids learning english, kids with disabilities, etc., but otherwise who cares if it is a charter school or a DCPS school. Schools are schools. Kids are kids. No?

Then whey do both exist is they are the same thing to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read OP's link and it says funding for charter schools is INCREASING

Did you miss this paragraph?

"Overall, Bowser’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget would send $2.9 billion to public schools in the District — a $123 million increase over the 2025 budget. Her plan directs $75 million to D.C. Public Schools and $48 million to the city’s charter campuses."

Would you be OK with charter schools getting $75M more money while DCPS gets $48M?

DCPS has more students total, so yes.

I mean, DCPS has more students total, so obviously DCPS gets more.

But in this case DCPS is getting disproportionately more.

Per pupil funding is the same, yes? Do charters keep that funding if a student leaves after count day?

The difference is not in per pupil funding but in other allocated funds as described in the article. Did you read the article?

AGAIN you are missing that DCPS educates a bunch of kids who cost a lot more to educate than charters do. Much higher levels of SpEd, at-risk, ESL, etc. DCPS has to hire extra personnel with specific training to work with these kids, and in some cases has to pay them more. Thus DCPS gets more money.

Some of the very reasons you chose a charter over a DCPS school, likely, are precisely why DCPS needs more money. Stop being obtuse.

No, I was actually questioning your reading comprehension as you had missed the point. Also my kids both have special needs and attended charters. Many kids with special needs and who are ESL attend charters. ALL of our city's students deserve equal access to a good education, regardless of which school they are zoned for.

The kind of special needs where they need dedicated 1:1 aides all day? What percent of students at your charter are unhoused? What percent qualify for OSSE busing due to SpEd or at-risk status? What percent have a parent in jail or prison? What percent have no English speaking family at home?

You don't know what you are talking about. Do you think the extra money at DCPS is paying for enrichment programming for UMC kids?

So you think the only help UMC kids could possibly need is enrichment programming? Be careful, your prejudice is showing.

What prejudice? I'm an UMC parent with an UMC kid. I'm just also actually educated on this subject. Is that the prejudice you're referring to? You caught me -- I'm prejudiced against dumb, illogical, ignorant arguments.

Well, news flash! You still have prejudice.

[Anonymous]

They should kill the charters and focus on bringing DCPS schools up to scratch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't these all public schools? Shouldn't they all be funded the same way? I can understand funding schools differently if they serve a lot of at-risk kids, kids learning english, kids with disabilities, etc., but otherwise who cares if it is a charter school or a DCPS school. Schools are schools. Kids are kids. No?

They are all funded with the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula. And the way facilities are funded is different. And most DCPS schools have to take all students living in their boundary all year long, so there's some extra built in for late additions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They should kill the charters and focus on bringing DCPS schools up to scratch.

DC would lose tens of thousands of residents at a time when the coffers of the city really can't take that kind of loss, so, luckily for my family, your idea is a non-starter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They should kill the charters and focus on bringing DCPS schools up to scratch.

So for parents who can't afford to move into neighborhoods with good schools or to send their kids to private school (2 "acceptable" forms of school choice) we should get rid of the system of school choice that nearly 50% of public school parents in DC have chosen so that they can return to the neighborhood schools they fled. Got it.

Good news for you - it looks like the Mayor is doing her part to kill off the sector. Let's see if she can finish the job before she gets voted out or the control board comes back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tubman’s budget was cut by $1.2 million costing them an estimated 12 positions. Suddenly DCPS says the hold harmless provisions no longer apply and they say the school will have an enrollment drop of 152. This is because they are in a swing space. It’s funny the Post article mentioned schools with smaller cuts but not this one.

+1

Tubman is getting totally screwed by this budget. A 9% DECREASE. Of course they lost enrollment when they moved to a swing space. EVERYBODY loses enrollment when they go to a swing space. To ditch a bunch of teachers for one year, when of course enrollment will go way up the next year in the new building, is absurd. Tubman has been improving so much (highest test score improvements in the city last year) and this is just a slap in the face.

Charter schools can cry me a river.

This is concerning as I'm looking to send my child to pre-k at Tubman next year. Will they presumably increase the budget again after moving back to the swing space or will this cause lingering damage?

Absolutely will cause lingering damage. Even if they restore funds ahead of the year they move back to the new building they will still probably under predict enrollment. But even if they do fully fund it, who are you hiring? You lost experienced teachers and the hiring pool is never large. Or even worse they realize they under funded and try to add teachers later, so you’re hiring from whoever is leftover in the pool and potentially splitting established classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tubman’s budget was cut by $1.2 million costing them an estimated 12 positions. Suddenly DCPS says the hold harmless provisions no longer apply and they say the school will have an enrollment drop of 152. This is because they are in a swing space. It’s funny the Post article mentioned schools with smaller cuts but not this one.

+1

Tubman is getting totally screwed by this budget. A 9% DECREASE. Of course they lost enrollment when they moved to a swing space. EVERYBODY loses enrollment when they go to a swing space. To ditch a bunch of teachers for one year, when of course enrollment will go way up the next year in the new building, is absurd. Tubman has been improving so much (highest test score improvements in the city last year) and this is just a slap in the face.

Charter schools can cry me a river.

This is concerning as I'm looking to send my child to pre-k at Tubman next year. Will they presumably increase the budget again after moving back to the swing space or will this cause lingering damage?

Absolutely will cause lingering damage. Even if they restore funds ahead of the year they move back to the new building they will still probably under predict enrollment. But even if they do fully fund it, who are you hiring? You lost experienced teachers and the hiring pool is never large. Or even worse they realize they under funded and try to add teachers later, so you’re hiring from whoever is leftover in the pool and potentially splitting established classes.

I suggest talking to your council member. These seem like very legitimate concerns that should be addressed before the budget is passed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't these all public schools? Shouldn't they all be funded the same way? I can understand funding schools differently if they serve a lot of at-risk kids, kids learning english, kids with disabilities, etc., but otherwise who cares if it is a charter school or a DCPS school. Schools are schools. Kids are kids. No?

They are not the same. The union issue is well established here. As is the special ed. But it really cannot be stated enough that charter schools simply do not have to serve the same population as DCPS. And they don't want to. Look at what happens at charters Nov. 1 after enrollment numbers for the year are finalized. Look at the requirements for teaching. Look at the marketing frankly.

DCPS schools are community hubs. Charter schools serve only their families and students. And they want the same city resources without contributing to the city in the same way.

I'm not demonizing parents who send their kids to charters, but a massive flaw in DC education is that charters have been given equal footing to community schools at the expense of those communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tubman’s budget was cut by $1.2 million costing them an estimated 12 positions. Suddenly DCPS says the hold harmless provisions no longer apply and they say the school will have an enrollment drop of 152. This is because they are in a swing space. It’s funny the Post article mentioned schools with smaller cuts but not this one.

+1

Tubman is getting totally screwed by this budget. A 9% DECREASE. Of course they lost enrollment when they moved to a swing space. EVERYBODY loses enrollment when they go to a swing space. To ditch a bunch of teachers for one year, when of course enrollment will go way up the next year in the new building, is absurd. Tubman has been improving so much (highest test score improvements in the city last year) and this is just a slap in the face.

Charter schools can cry me a river.

This is concerning as I'm looking to send my child to pre-k at Tubman next year. Will they presumably increase the budget again after moving back to the swing space or will this cause lingering damage?

Absolutely will cause lingering damage. Even if they restore funds ahead of the year they move back to the new building they will still probably under predict enrollment. But even if they do fully fund it, who are you hiring? You lost experienced teachers and the hiring pool is never large. Or even worse they realize they under funded and try to add teachers later, so you’re hiring from whoever is leftover in the pool and potentially splitting established classes.

Definitely talk to your councilmember. The mayor's office and DCPS continually underestimate their communities and schools which causes overcrowding and underfunding. Look at the what Ward 4 tried to tell the city about Wells and Coolidge and it's been five years and now both are overcrowded with many of the feeders expecting enrollment increases.