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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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.  [/quote]

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. [/quote]

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...[/quote]

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 [i]not[/i] 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[i] do[/i] 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.[/quote]

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