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In early October, LAUSD board member Tamar Galatzan told us about “middle-class schools that don’t qualify for Title I anti-poverty dollars,” and that a lot of them “are becoming affiliated charters in order to get access to additional funds.”  (See: Board Member Galatzan Tells (Almost) All.)

There are 42 “affiliated charters”, schools which operate within the UTLA contract, but have more freedom as to how they spend their operating budget. LAUSD Charter Director Jose Cole-Gutierrez says that affiliated charters don’t necessarily get more money per pupil than district schools, but that they have greater flexibility on how the money they get is spent.

The lion’s share of the affiliated charters are in Galatzan’s San Fernando Valley district. Galatzan’s chief of staff Hilary MacGregor, says her office is getting a lot of calls about converting to affiliated charters: “The schools that are nervous are trying to move the process faster.”

The recommended date for a school to apply for affiliated charter conversion is March 15. For more on affiliated charters, see this page from the California Charter Schools Association. See also our explainer on the different types of public schools.