Megan Reilly weighs the pros and cons of going all-charter

Declaring that she has no intention of turning LA Unified into an all-charter school district, board member Mónica Ratliff chaired a board committee meeting yesterday that examined just what it is that makes charters different from traditional schools.

For one thing, as she learned from a presentation to the committee, charter school teachers don’t have to have to meet as rigid teaching credentials. They can pick their own textbooks, and they can choose their own disciplinary procedures.

As chair of the Budget, Facilities and Audit Committee, Ratliff insisted that neither she nor the committee members are seriously considering turning LAUSD into an all-charter district, but this was the second report in two months that assessed the advantages of charters over traditional schools. The presentation was made to clarify misunderstandings about charter schools along with what they can do that traditional schools can’t.

“This is an investigation for learning purposes,” she said. “We are not turning the district into an all-charter district.”

Rules for charter schools are determined by the state. Nonetheless, Ratliff said she was concerned with some of the dialogue about charter schools, that it seemed as if the district is “fighting with charter schools.” She said some charter school administrators are concerned that charter school proliferation will “destroy LA Unified, and that’s not appropriate, but people did stand up and say they are concerned about that.”

The district’s Chief Financial Officer Megan Reilly said that experts on a state level seemed nervous when her team was compiling answers for the committee. Changing the second largest school district into an all-charter district is unprecedented, and there are few examples or models of such a transition, so a lot of it was “like chasing unicorns,” Reilly said.

One of the advantages a large-sized district has is the power to buy books in bulk, Reilly said. The costs are higher for smaller charter schools that may buy from boutique printers when they pick their own curriculum. But, charter schools do not have to guarantee every child a textbook, as LA Unified does.

Devora Navera Reed, a district lawyer, told the committee that charter schools cannot waive federal or state laws, are not exempt from state testing or state education requirements and must run criminal background checks for staff.

Class size limits are not required in charter schools, and schools are not required to cater only to students in their neighborhoods.

The biggest flexibility that charter schools have is in staffing, tenure and layoffs, unless they have a collective bargaining agreement, Reed said. Charter schools do not have to have collective bargaining.

“If you have younger employees coming in, those are cheaper costs,” Reilly noted. “Salaries are always the largest cost.”

LAUSD requires principals to have at least five years of teaching experience, which isn’t the case for charters. College prep courses and English Learner certificates are also required by traditional schools at LA Unified but not by charter schools.

Charter schools can set their own calendar and bell schedules as long as they meet the daily and annual state requirements. LAUSD requires 180 days of school instruction, but a charter school year can be only 175 days.

One of the biggest problems for charter schools is paying for rental property for classrooms, Reilly said, bringing up additional costs for the schools.

“The analysis we have been doing is in light of the Broad charter plan,” Reilly said, a reference to Great Public Schools Now. “We have community partners that have been approached, but they have also asked us for our feedback as well. That is part of the dialogue going on for the last several months.”

Reilly said the special education expenses by LAUSD is far more than required, and results in a rate of spending 7.6-to-1 compared with charters. Traditional schools spend $9,888 per student with disabilities while charter schools spend $1,291 per student with disabilities, according to Reilly.

“This is significant, the costs are not the same for charter schools,” Ratliff said “We need to work together and talk about it.”

Board member Richard Vladovic said that even if the district were to be broken up into smaller districts, the schools would have to handle the burden of retired teachers and other debts that would make it impossible for the schools.

A parent advisory committee discussing student issues.

Three LA Unified board committee meetings that were delayed a month by the superintendent search are scheduled back-to-back-to-back tomorrow, all at district headquarters.

Some of the issues on the agendas involve the continuing discussion about what it would mean to turn LAUSD into an all-charter school district, early childhood education and new information dealing with student expulsions.

The first meeting, at 10 am, is the Budget, Facilities and Audit Committee,  chaired by Mónica Ratliff. A discussion is scheduled to resume on what it would mean to establish an all-charter school district, an odd concept, given the district’s skeptical disposition toward charter schools. Megan Reilly, the district’s Chief Financial Officer, is slated to discuss the financial impact and, Devora Navera Reed, a district lawyer, will discuss the waivers and autonomies that charter schools have that traditional schools don’t have. The Charter School Division will also give a budget update.

The members will get a facilities division update on the hydration station plans, El Niño preparation and water conservation awareness efforts.The meeting also includes a review of the 2014-15 financial report.

At 2 p.m., the Early Childhood Education and Parent Engagement Committee, chaired by Ref Rodriguez, will get updates on early education from Dean Tagawa, the administrator of Early Childhood Education. The committee will also hear reports about parent engagement and expanding early childhood education opportunites.

At 4 p.m., board member Mónica García leads the Successful School Climate: Progress, Discipline and Safety Committee, which is scheduled to discuss attendance issues and expelled students.

All the meetings are open to the public

Tamar Galatzan

Bennett Kayser has taken over as chairman of the LA Unified School Board budget committee, replacing Tamar Galatzan, who stepped down after two years.

Galatzan said that she saw no reason for the budget committee — formally, the Facilities, Audit and Budget Committee — to meet at the moment, now that the district is conducting a a number of community meetings to address spending priorities.

“There are dozens of budget meetings being held throughout the school district,” she explained in an email. “In addition, many of the board committees are addressing budget issues, and board motions impacting the budget are introduced monthly. Until there are new procedures established to manage these multiple directions, I do not think a separate budget committee is effective or necessary.”

Kayser’s view is quite different.

“It’s the most important committee there is, and [Kayser’s] first priority is to get a three-year budget in place,” his chief of staff, Sarah Bradshaw, told LA School Report.

Kayser also chairs LA Unified’s new Early Childhood Education and Parent Engagement Ad Hoc Committee and sits on the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee.

“It means it’s a much bigger workload for him but someone has to take the lead,” Bradshaw said.

Galatzan, who represents a large chunk of the San Fernando Valley, is known as one of the more fiscally conservative board members, often questioning how her colleagues plan on paying for various proposals. She has chosen to serve on the Board part-time; she has a full-time job as deputy city attorney.

She is regarded as one of the “reform”-aligned Board members, and is a close ally of Superintendent John Deasy – in rather stark contrast to her replacement, Kayser, who is one of Deasy’s biggest critics on the board.

Additional reporting by Vanessa Romo.

Previous posts: Galatzan Resolution Addresses Contradictory Goals; Why Galatzan Opposed End to “Willful Defiance” Suspensions; Board Member Galatzan Tells (Almost) All