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Author Topic: CHARTER NON RENEWAL?  (Read 46122 times)
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« on: April 08, 2013, 09:12:03 PM »

The Corbett School Board delivered a letter to the Corbett Charter School Board of Directors that alerted them that at the end of 2013-14 school year the District will be critically examining any future rental agreements....

See more at this link:
http://corbett.k12.or.us/2013/04/11/corbett-school-districts-commitment-to-all-students-and-their-families/

* The original post was removed and re-posted... but the address was ;
http://corbett.k12.or.us/2013/04/08/corbett-school-districts-commitment-to-all-students-and-their-families/
_____________________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE ON THIS PROCESS HERE: http://corbettpost.com/csd/charter-school/

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Below is the letter sent to Parents via email by Bob Dunton 4/7/2013.
The 4 page letter ( PDF ) BD wrote and attached to this email is available below by selecting the text in light blue, if you would like to read it.



From: Bob Dunton <bdunton@corbettcharter.k12.or.us>
Date: April 7, 2013, 11:05:31 AM PDT
To: 2013 Charter Friends <2012CharterFriends@corbettcharter.k12.or.us>
Subject: Sounding a Note of Some Urgency

Hi, All,

Some of you know that when I came to Corbett, academic achievement was fairly abysmal.  Corbett's 10th graders had failed, for three years in a row, to reach a 20% passing rate on the state math assessment.  Kids and some adults could be heard saying, 'What do you expect?  I'm from Corbett.'   We changed that, but in doing so we deeply offended the defenders of the status quo.  They are still with us and still insisting that those were the 'good old days' and that Corbett needs to return to its roots.  Corbett Charter is the literal embodiment of the changes that they still resent.  They have set a goal of being rid of the charter school, and they are asking for your help!

Please read the attached note with some care and soon.  It is the latest update in a long story that is of immediate concern to you and your family.  If the people who want to be rid of Corbett Charter School ever gain control of the Corbett School Board (which they will have to do in order to attempt to get rid of the charter school), they will also attempt to dismantle all of the educational programming that brought you to Corbett in the first place!

If they ‘win’, there will be no educational refuge in Corbett. If they win, I predict that the District (and it's staff) will be unrecognizable in two years.  If they win, it will be because they have convinced charter parents to give them a hand.

Please do look over the attached and decide for yourselves.


Oh...and I am having the busiest, most gratifying year of my career!  I look forward to my classes without exception, every day.

Cheers.
 


--
Regards,

Bob Dunton, Director
Corbett Charter School

* April Note to Parents.pdf (104.39 KB - downloaded 1161 times.)
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skierhood
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« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2013, 10:33:20 PM »

A big problem with house bill 3681 regarding open enrollment is that it sunsets/terminates in 2017.  If you try to pull the plug on the charter and house bill 3681 doesn't get extended, Corbett will lose three quarters of a million dollars in funding that the charter contributes.  Interesting how the district wide news email today didn't bother to mention the fact that house bill 3681 has a time limitation and risks. 

You get a few large districts complaining to their legislators about student populations and related funding decreasing due to house bill 3681, house bill 3681 sunsets, and then Corbett is right back in a budget deficit.  I certainly hope that all members of the Corbett school board understand the facts before they start making decisions that could have serious detrimental budget impacts on the district if they try to terminate the rent agreement and then 3681 doesn't get renewed.   

Skierhood
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huskywind
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« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2013, 09:46:43 AM »

That's 3-4 years away.  If it happens maybe a different charter could be started exactly like the current one; one without the nastiness coming from the top down as we have just seen in the past 24 hours.
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« Reply #3 on: April 12, 2013, 09:22:15 PM »

A typical strategic plan for a "business" of any kind is more like 5 years.  So just grab the money for the short term, and hope the legislators have the sense to renew 3681 and when they don't, let someone else figure out how to clean it up later.  That's the type of planning that results in a poorly run district. 

If you want nastiness you should look at some of your own school board members.  I commend Bob for looking out for the best interests of the kids.  The public district is spinning the rhetoric to make folks think there's no downside to getting rid of the charter.    Seems to be pretty typical of the various Corbett blogs.  Typically, when you get down to the facts, Bob's communications are by far more truthful than most of the other communications coming out. 
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skierhood
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« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2013, 01:46:48 PM »

A post I could up got sent to the bottom of the pile.  Thought I would just put it here to:

Think of the charter as an education funding annuity

A lot of Corbett residents want the public school to stay "small".  If that is the case, then Corbett residents should think of the charter school as a insurance policy or an annuity to help fund operations. 

1) if you leave the charter in existence, the public school stays small. 
2) the public school can still qualify for "small high school" status and receive extra funding from the state.
3) the public school can continue to receive payments from the charter for rent, admin, and other things and the public school doesn't have to be responsible for educating any of the charter students.
4) The public school can stay small from a "number of students we are educating perspective", but yet still has enough students to have full size sports teams and bands.
5) The charter parents are "Booster" supporters also.  Every year they come to the auction and spend their money to help fund coaches, equipment and transportation for athletics. 
6) The public school can still benefit from the broader curriculum offerings since the charter is paying for half of the high school teachers.

Recent communications talk about not renewing the charters rent agreement  The rent arrangement is part of the charter agreement.  To be clear, the charter pays a lot more than "rent".  If the charter was just looking for space to rent, we could probably do it more cost effectively by just renting a separate building.  The point of the "rent and other services" was to fill the public district's budget shortfalls.  Which the charter has done for several years. 

If you really want to "stay small", then keeping the charter is a great way to increase your funding and not have to increase your responsibility.  Think if Randy had to deal with concerns from 50% more parents.   

Skierhood
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« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2013, 01:50:26 PM »

I've seen the numbers Principal Dunton has presented and if correct, it appears CSD would suffer monetarily should CCS be evicted.  This does not make fiscal sense, nor does it benefit in district kids like mine.  Skierhood makes many valid points Corbett residents need to consider - CCS is OUR insurance policy.  They are many of the reasons I support CCS - the benefits derived by CSD far outnumber anything CSD will gain by evicting CCS.  My concerns that remain are:

1) Traffic congestion, but I see an easy solution - Increase the current bus transportation for Charter and district transfer students.  Charge their families for the service so it is not coming out of the district coffer.  It is their "fee" for attending school in our district and saving our roads.  I'm sure many parents would love to take advantage of this service but are not currently able to because of the limited capacity.  Reduces congestion and wear and tear on the highway.

2) School bonds assessed to Corbett residents for any remodeling and new buildings.  It's obvious that if we have hundreds of kids coming to Corbett to use our schools that Corbett residents can't bear the majority of these costs.  This is one of the biggest issues we residents face and creative thinking has to happen.  CSD and CCS must work together to figure out how to mutually fund those costs.

3) I believe Randy Trani and Bob Dunton both have the best interests of the kids at heart, which is my primary concern.  They do, however, need to learn to communicate without offending the "other" side.
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« Reply #6 on: April 24, 2013, 10:52:27 AM »

http://corbett.k12.or.us/2013/04/22/an-open-letter-from-the-corbett-school-board/

( Just in case the link changes at CSD .. here is the info from that link )

An Open Letter From the Corbett School Board
April 22, 2013 By Randy Trani
In an April 14 letter to the Corbett School District, Corbett Charter School Director Bob Dunton sets out his position regarding the fiscal merits of the charter school.  In Mr. Dunton’s letter, he states that Corbett Charter School educates its students on about $4800 per pupil after rent. Based on this and other statements around the fiscal benefits of the charter, The Corbett School Board of Directors believe it is important to clarify and correct some of those assumptions in his letter to allow the patrons of the community to be fully informed. (A copy of that letter can be downloaded here OpenCorbBdltrhd(3))

First, the $4800 amount referenced in Mr. Dunton’s letter includes classroom related expenditures such as 18 classroom teacher salaries and benefits, classrooms supplies, school level administrative costs as well as $405/per student to help supplement District expenditures on items such as paper, janitorial, secretarial support, music, curriculum, break supervision and tech support. The caution here is that by selecting which costs you count in calculating a per pupil expenditure one can paint a picture that does not accurately represent fiscal reality. 
For instance, if Corbett School performed an equivalent rough analysis including expenses related only to 28 classroom teacher’s salaries and benefits, classroom supplies, school level administrative costs, and an equivalent per pupil expenditure of $405/student for those purchased services that the Charter helps supplement then the Corbett School spends approximately $3700 per student per year.

But that, of course, is not the whole picture.  Corbett School District pays for many more non-classroom expenditures, practically all of which directly benefit Corbett Charter students as well as Corbett School students.  These expenses include bus transportation, athletics, classroom aides, Special Education, the lunch program, and others.
Understand that when you hear that the TSCC reports Corbett School District’s per pupil expenditure at close to $8000 per student it includes all of those other infrastructure items without which the Corbett School and the Corbett Charter School could not operate.
An Analysis of Renting Classroom Space Compared to Filling  that Same Space With Resident or Transfer Students
 
It has also been reported that Corbett School District benefits more from renting classroom space than it does by filling it with resident students or transfer students.  This is not the case.  In fact Corbett School District realizes about $30,000 more per classroom by filling a classroom with residents or transfers than it does under the current rental agreement with the Corbett Charter Association.  (See attached PDF with 2012-2013 Charter Funding Highlighted in Red and Corbett District Funding Highlighted in Green.) SSF 2012-13

$ Generated By Renting A Classroom     $ Generated By Residents/Transfers
Average Occupancy Per Room
   
25.8ADMw
   
Average Occupancy Per Room
   
25.8ADMw
Funding Per ADMw
   
X    $5825=
   
Funding Per ADMw
   
X  $6033=
Total Revenue from the State
   
+$150,285
   
Total Revenue From the State
   
+$155,651
         
Revenue Transferred to the Charter School
   
-$150,285
   
Revenue Transferred to the Charter School
   
$0
Rent and Purchased Services Paid to the District by the Charter
   
+$40,555
   
Rent and Purchased Services Paid to the District by the Charter
   
$0
Average Cost to the District for Classroom Teacher and Supplies
   
$0
   
Average Cost to the District for Classroom Teacher and Supplies
   
-$85,000
         
Net to District per Classroom
   
$40,555
      
$70,651
The reality is that Corbett School District currently pays for all operations of all buildings and all of the personnel except for the 18 employees of the Corbett Charter School.  Thus, Corbett School District would not see any additional costs, other than the average cost to outfit a room with supplies and a teacher, IF the Corbett School District filled all 18 classrooms with resident students or transfer students.

The fiscal and lease-related issues raised in Mr. Dunton’s are certainly important issues that the patrons of this community must consider carefully and thoroughly.  The Corbett School Board of Directors believe it is equally important, however, that any consideration of these issues takes into account a complete and accurate account of the fiscal issues facing both the District, the charter and the patrons in the community.”


Sincerely,
Corbett School Board of Directors

(Funding per ADMw is based upon the most recent data published by the State of Oregon.  If this hypothetical situation occurred the funding per ADMw for the Corbett School District would be reduced to somewhere between the $5825 and the $6033 number.  However, the general result would be the same.  Corbett School District benefits more financially from filling a classroom with resident or transfer students than it does under the current rental agreement.)
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