Luna: 'Charter schools are here to stay'

Since Tom Luna took office in 2007, the number of students attending public charter schools has doubled and the waiting lists haven't decreased.

"The debate over whether we should have more charter schools is past," said Luna, Idaho State Superintendent of Public Instruction. "Public charter schools are here to stay. It's no longer a partisan issue. It has broad support among liberals, conservatives, Republicans and Democrats."

But not everyone is excited about the proliferation of charter schools in Idaho over the past decade. Critics believe they are sucking money from the traditional public school system by shrinking enrollment and deconsolidating community schools.

"I visit many of the schools in this legislative district and I have witnessed amazing and creative student-centered teaching," said state Rep. Liz Chavez, D-Lewiston. "Creating more charter schools dilutes the funding for our neighborhood schools, which is the gateway to an education that provides all of Idaho's children with options for their futures."

Idaho passed the public charter school law in 1998, and the state now has 37 charter schools serving more than 10,000 students statewide, and another 7,000 students are on waiting lists. In addition, seven virtual charter schools operate in the state. (Washington doesn't authorize charter schools.)

In this region, Moscow has two charter schools.

They've had an impact in the Moscow School District, where declining enrollment is an issue. Part of the drain is likely linked to the opening of the second charter school this fall, said Superintendent Candis Donicht. She estimates the district will open on Sept. 2 with about 2,300 students in traditional schools, compared to more than 2,400 last fall.

"Enrollment in any district is the key factor in the funding formula and almost everything connected to schools," Donicht said. "When a charter school opens, it draws kids out of the district and, therefore, the district loses students and funding. Districts have to respond by cutting staff, so jobs are lost in the home district."

The Moscow district faced a double whammy this year with a reduction in the state appropriation and fewer students coming through the doors. "Because we had to respond to two things that were going to affect our finances, we didn't fill six positions," Donicht said.

Luna said he doesn't agree the public-education funding pie is getting sliced thinner because of charter schools.

"All of these students are in public schools," he said. "If anything, charter schools cost taxpayers less per student than traditional public schools because they do not rely on property-tax levies for their facilities like our traditional public schools do."

Luna uses the Nampa area as an example, saying about 2,000 in the district are attending charter schools. "If those 2,000 students were going into traditional schools, the district would have to build three elementary schools to accommodate them, which would cost $15 to $20 million."

Traditional public schools do lose funding when a student chooses another school, but that's not something that's specifically caused by charter schools, Luna said. "The public school the child was attending won't receive money to educate children who are no longer there. The traditional school will receive less money, but that happens all the time when students move."

Donicht said comparing traditional schools to charter schools is more complicated than it may appear on the surface. For example, the larger districts in the region are failing to make adequate yearly progress, even if all of their schools are meeting the requirements, because they have to hit the target for every subgroup.

"In charter schools, it's far easier to make AYP because of their small numbers. The comparability when you look at AYP is not apples to apples. I think that needs to be looked at with a more complex lens."

"Charter schools are legal and have a lot of popularity," Donicht added. "I think the key to a successful charter school is accountability and being held responsible for the same things. There are good and great charter schools and there are ineffective charter schools."

Several other issues deserve scrutiny, Donicht said, including how they are weighted on the state-funding scale and how they divide districts.

"The irony of charter schools is it's deconsolidation in an era when legislators are calling for consolidation of school districts," Donicht said.

Luna, a Republican, wants state lawmakers to lift the cap limiting the number of charters school so the state will have a better shot at competing for $4.3 billion in federal grants. He said Idaho will seek between $100 million to $200 million in Race to the Top grants.

"President (Barack) Obama has been very clear that states that limit the number of charter schools run the risk of losing federal grants," Luna said. "There are not a lot of things that I agree with President Obama on, but when it comes to charter schools and pay-for-performance in education, on those things we agree."

Chavez said if the Department of Education and Luna request lifting the cap on the creation of charter schools, she wants to make sure there is evidence available to everyone that community schools won't be lost.

"Also that the data and evidence prove that the current charter schools are in fact, the incubator of innovative techniques that further student learning and teaching, which was the original premise for the creation of charter schools in Idaho," she said.

Lifting the cap on the creation of more charter schools for the sole purpose of being able to compete for federal funding may sound appealing, but may short-change all our students if the new funding will only flow into charter schools, Chavez said.

"The best thing we can do is embrace charter schools," Luna said. "We will never have a public-education system that meets the needs of every child unless we offer that child many, many educational choices."

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Sandaine may be contacted at kerris@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2264.