[Durham INC] Correction: Here's the whole board of education resolution

[Melissa Rooney]

See below for the entire resolution being considered by the board(s) of 
education and up for discussion at the meeting the evening of March 2.

 Melissa



___________________

Whereas, we are elected/appointed by the citizens of                   to 
provide for the education of the students of the                        school 
system (currently numbering approximately                ); and
 
Whereas, leadership of this school system charges us with the responsibility for 
securing and appropriately using funding for the educational program from 
multiple sources including federal, state, and local governments, as well as 
private donations, additional grants, and various fees and fundraisers; and 

 
Whereas,                   Schools have voluntarily taken affirmative action to 
secure funds to provide elective programs for their students including, but not 
limited to, prekindergarten programs and JROTC, believing that these programs 
provide significant benefits for their students beyond the basic education 
requirements; and
 
Whereas, the North Carolina General Assembly has provided for charter schools in 
North Carolina and is currently considering Senate Bill 8, No Cap on Charter 
Schools, that would expand these schools and redefine their funding; and 

 
Whereas, Senate Bill 8 would entitle charter schools to a portion of all funds 
that flow through local public school system accounts, including: donations from 
private entities; reimbursement of expenses (such as activity bus fees and 
gymnasium rental fees); grants that school boards took affirmative action to 
secure for programs that charter schools choose not offer (such as Head Start, 
More-at-Four, JROTC and Free and Reduced Lunch); fund balances; and child 
nutrition funds (which include fees paid by parents and governmental subsidies 
even when the charter school does not serve lunch); and   

 
Whereas, the only funds that Senate Bill 8 would exclude from charter school 
entitlement would be funds where donor specifications have provided that such 
funds be accounted for in a particular way, and federal grants restricted as to 
use; and
 
Whereas, in practice grantors and donors to public school systems restrict the 
use of funds but do not specify the manner of accounting; and
 
Whereas, when public school systems receive grants for specific programs such as 
Head Start and More at Four, the funds must be used solely for the purpose of 
providing those programs; thus, any portion of these grants shared with charter 
schools would have to be taken from the current operating budget of the local 
school system, leading to a reduction in services and/or positions that would 
otherwise be provided; and
 
Whereas, under Senate Bill 8, charter schools may apply for and secure grants 
for specific programs at their schools with no obligation to share such monies 
or donations with any local school system; and
 
Whereas, Senate Bill 8 as proposed would result in a significant disparity of 
per pupil operating funding in favor of charter schools; and
 
Whereas, Senate Bill 8 removes the minimum number of students necessary to form 
a charter school, thereby potentially diverting public funds for education to 
small groups of private individuals or homeschoolers, creating a voucher-type 
system; and
 
Whereas, Senate Bill 8 also provides for consideration of capital funding for 
charter schools which are owned by private in-state and out-of-state 
corporations at a time when local public school systems have billions of dollars 
of capital needs that are going unmet. 

 
Therefore, be it resolvedthat the                      Board of Education 
respectfully requests members of the North Carolina General Assembly to 
reconsider Senate Bill 8 and make modifications that address the above concerns, 
specifically: 

 
	* Provide a mechanism for accounting for funds that are not appropriate to 
share with charter schools.
	* Allow for monies to follow the students involved, not requiring sharing of 
funds when charter schools do not provide the programs involved.
	* Remove the provision requiring donor specified accounting and replace it 
with     restrictions of use of funds as stated in the grants.
	* Allow for reimbursement of funds (such as activity bus fees, facility rental 
fees) to be accounted for in such a way as to not create a surcharge for charter 
schools.
	* Reinstate a reasonable number of minimum students necessary to form a charter 
school.
	* Reconsider the capital funding provision.
	* Create a bill that is truly fair and equitable for all public schools and 
public school students in North Carolina and is not subject to ambiguities which 
will have to be resolved through years of litigation at the expense of students.
 
At a minimum, revise the proposed legislation so that traditional public 
schools: 1) are not required to share in self-sustaining, fee-based programs 
such as child nutrition; 2) are not required to share preschool and other 
federal funds (such as JROTC and Free and Reduced Lunch) with charter schools 
that do not provide these programs; 3) are not required to share fund balance 
reserves; and 4) are not required to share reimbursements (such as facility 
rental fees and activity bus fees) to which charter schools have no legitimate 
claim. 

 
If the General Assembly passes Senate Bill 8 without the requested changes we 
respectfully request that the Governor veto the legislation. 

 
Adopted by the                         Board of Education
 
Date: 


      
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