R.I. charter schools lack adequate state support, report finds

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s public charter schools may not receive adequate state funding to address their unique challenges, according to a new report released Wednesday by the Rhode Island League of Charter Schools.

The report – produced in conjunction with the Colorado League of Charter Schools and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools – is based on information from all 16 public charter schools currently operating in Rhode Island, which comprise a total of 20 charter school facilities statewide.

Rhode Island’s charter schools serve approximately 5,000 students or 3.5 percent of the state’s public school population.

“The report confirms what we have been saying for years – Rhode Island’s charter public schools have been treated unfairly in regards to facilities support,” said Stephen Nardelli, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Charter Schools, in a release. “Not only does this impact our schools fiscally, but it affects how our schools can operate best to support students.”

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According to survey, enrollment and operating-revenue data collected at charter schools in Rhode Island for the 2012-2013 academic year, the typical charter school spends $729, or 6 percent of its per-pupil revenue, on its facility. The typical per-pupil revenue for Rhode Island charter schools during the academic year was $13,507.

Charter schools that own their school facility spend slightly less per-pupil than schools that rent their facility from a private entity, while schools that use facilities provided by a public entity such as a public school district or government agency pay the least.

“The more you take for the facility from your operating funds, the less you can spend on your education programs,” said Nardelli in a phone interview. “Charter schools are required to take more from their operations aid to support their facilities than traditional schools.”

The report stated that only 30 percent of charter school facilities meet or exceed size standards prescribed by School Planning & Management, an industry magazine that publishes an annual school construction report. Only 47 percent of classrooms at charter schools meet or exceed size standards.

“To address this challenge, Rhode Island charters often find other means to provide students with the education services offered by traditional public schools,” the report said. “These charters pay an average of $4,467 extra per year for renting [more space] and an additional $2,500, on average, to transport the students to the off-site facilities.”

Half of Rhode Island’s charter schools lack a dedicated library, according to the report, while 75 percent lack a dedicated science lab and 20 percent lack both an art room and a music room.

Many charter schools in the state also lack adequate kitchen facilities. On average, 65 percent of students enrolled at Rhode Island charter schools qualify for free or reduced-price meals, the report said, but 67 percent of those schools lack federally approved kitchen facilities in which to prepare hot meals that qualify for reimbursement under the National School Lunch Program.

“Without the ability to prepare meals on-site, charter schools that provide meals to students often contract with third-party vendors to bring in prepared food,” the report stated. “These outside vendors’ services cost more, per meal, than the federally subsidized reimbursement rate.”

Charter schools also fall short in terms of school housing aid reimbursement, the report concluded. While 61 percent of Rhode Island charter schools launched capital projects of at least $20,000 during the last five years, only 37 percent reported using school housing aid to fund the projects.

Charter school administrators surveyed in the report cited several reasons for not applying for school housing aid, including poor timing of the application process and the “cumbersome or confusing” nature of the application process.

In addition, 67 percent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, “The state housing aid reimbursement percentage received by charter schools is equitable compared with the percentage received by traditional school districts.”

Survey data collected in the report showed that 89 percent of Rhode Island’s public charter schools plan to increase enrollment over the next five years, “but few have the capacity in the current facility to do so.”

The National Alliance for Charter Schools proposed eight solutions to address what it sees as inequitable support for charter public schools in Rhode Island compared with traditional public schools. The solutions included developing state grant and loan programs for charter schools and providing equal access to facilities-funding programs available to traditional schools.

Rhode Island law currently provides that district-sponsored charter schools may receive school housing aid reimbursement at a rate equal to the district rate, the report said, while independent charter schools receive reimbursement at a fixed 30 percent rate compared with the district rate of between 35 percent and 95 percent based on the affluence of the community.

State law also provides that charter schools can access bonding support through the Rhode Island Housing and Education Building Corporation.

The Rhode Island League of Charter Schools report recommended that the state amend the current school housing aid law to ensure that the reimbursement rate for both district-sponsored and independent charter schools is equal to the rate for traditional schools, and improve access to surplus space through laws incentivizing the use of vacant district public school facilities by charter schools.

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