Reply to Will DCI and other charter schools back pay their teachers after they receive the funding ?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It's not just that people pay to be in the union. It's that the union is an agreement between the city and the teachers. The agreement includes all kinds of things, but basically it's that the teachers will be part of the school system of right, that offers education to all residents. And as such, they will be subject to the decisions of DCPS central office, they will have big class sizes if needed, they will take kids mid-year, and they will be part of a system that educates all kids no matter their circumstances. If charter teachers want to sign up for that deal, then they can get paid more.[/quote]

Charter schools also have a deal with the city. That contract (and the law) says that all operating dollars shall be provided to DCPS and Charters via the UPSFF. That is the deal that charter schools struck with the city. So, since you are so concerned about agreements...[/quote]

Cite?[/quote]

School Reform Act. You can look it up in the DC Code in the education section. [/quote]

The components of how an entity applies, what they must do to get annual funding (and how much), and what they must agree to can be found in multiple sections of the DC Code at https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/titles/38/chapters/18. It's not like a single citation. However, it basically says that you petition the PCBS. If approved, the charter may enroll students up to a cap. By virtue of becoming an approved LEA by the PCSB (via that application process) a charter is approved to be paid for the number of students that register x the UPSFF and facilities allowance. In exchange for this, charter schools have very detailed accountability plans and many other rules to follow.

You can see the details of the charter agreements for each charter network at the PCSB website at https://dcpcsb.org/school-profiles. The Charter Agreements are at the bottom of each school profile. This is the agreement that allows for a charter school to be established and paid under the laws outlined in the DC Code.

This is all set forth in law, regulation, and legal documents that charters work on with PCSB and the city for months during the approval and public hearing process.

Why are these laws/agreements important? Because the schools rely on these agreements and the uniform funding laws for things like obtaining long-term financing for buildings (because they have to acquire, renovate, etc).  This is a really important point for most charters- overhead is the single biggest expense for most schools (outside of personnel). Because the way that financing works- the banks that loan you the money do so based on a future promise of funding. The facilities allowance that provides a stable source of funding for banks to feel comfortable loaning large sums of money to the schools for capital projects.

These loan agreements also have to estimate how much the facilities payment will be in to the future. We know it grows, but we don't know by how much. So, let's say my bank loan assumes that the allowance will increase by 3% in 2017 and it only increased by 1.5%. Because my loan requires liquidity (me to have and hold cash at a certain % of my total budget), I have to go find the funds from my operating budget. (No, banks won't just "renegotiate" a better rate or reduce your debt covenants.)

Now, if the funding doesn't keep pace with DCPS's increases (or inflation) my facilities needs start eating in to my ability to pay teachers too.

To be clear- this is a very real situation for most charter schools! The each year different percentage increases, without a solid base of funding and stability year over year, seemingly "little" percentage inequities are magnified due to other fiscal obligations of the charter schools. Many newer schools already have to use a small amount of operating funds to pay for buildings (because the facilities allowance is not enough for a newer school to afford a building in DC with the current property rates).

It really isn't so easy to just "pay teachers more" or "cut admin". There are banks to pay and other fixed costs that rise each year too.

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