CPS Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer Speak Out Against HB 634

CPS leaders urge opposition to charter school expansion

Officials say proposed bill would hurt district

By Roger McKinney  Columbia Daily Tribune

Two top officials with Columbia Public Schools have sent a letter to Columbia-area legislators and members of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee outlining the potential cost of expanding charter schools throughout the state.

Current state law allows charter schools only in St. Louis and Kansas City. Charter schools are public schools but are operated independently of local school boards and can be sponsored by universities, school districts, community colleges, vocational-technical schools or the Missouri Charter Public School Commission.

According to the Feb.6 letter from CPS Superintendent Peter Stiepleman and Chief Financial Officer Linda Quinley under the proposed legislation — HB 634 — CPS would lose $8,423 in state and local funding for every student that attends a charter school within the district. If 100 of the district's 17,529 students were to enroll in a charter school, the cost to the district would be $842,300.

The letter specifies the CPS tax levy is determined by Columbia residents, who also elect members to the school board to provide oversight of the taxpayer funds.

"Sending those funds to charter schools without approval or oversight of locally elected officials is problematic," the letter reads.

Kathy Steinhoff, president of the Columbia Missouri National Education Association, said the teacher's union opposes expansion of charter schools until all are required to meet the standards of accountability and transparency that apply at traditional public schools.

State Rep. Chuck Basye, R- Rocheport, said he's read the letter from Stiepleman and Quinley, but he's inclined to vote in favor of the bill. He said he's getting a lot of emails and letters opposed to the bill that are filled with incorrect information.

"In the two existing areas of the state where they operate, a lot of these charter schools are doing well in high-poverty areas," Basye said. "I think it's another tool in the toolbox to help our children."

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has highlighted five high-performing charter schools on its website, but several other charter schools are low-performing.

Douglas Thaman, executive director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association, said his organization provided advice to the bill's author, and charter schools provide another option for parents.

Thaman said under the bill, the public money would go with the child, and if a school district is performing well, it shouldn't worry about students leaving for charter schools.

"Nobody forces a family to place a child in a charter school," Thaman said.

Sarah Potter, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said Missouri law requires charter schools to accept all students in the district in which it operates, with no limits based on race, income level, disability or other measures, but they may limit admission to students within a given age group or grade level.

"Charter schools are allowed to establish the capacity of their schools and create waiting lists ... but they are not allowed to limit admission based on other factors," Potter said in an email.

Columbia Board of Education member Jan Mees said she opposes the bill, primarily because charter schools aren't held to the same level of accountability as public schools. The bill would require charter schools to meet state academic performance standards and allows the schools to employ teachers who don't have a teaching certificate.

State Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, said he opposes the bill, adding many charter schools don't perform well in Kansas City and St. Louis.

"We're under-funding education tremendously in the state," Kendrick said. "We can't fund K-12 schools adequately. They're relying more and more on local funds. To expand charter schools just seems unacceptable."

State Rep. Martha Stevens, D-Columbia, also opposes the bill and said it's important to make sure public funds are invested in public schools.

Both Stevens and Kendrick said though Democrats are outnumbered by Republicans, many rural Republicans also might reject charter school expansion because of the large economic impact of schools in their districts.

State Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, said he hadn't read the bill or the letter from the CPS officials, and has not decided how he will vote.