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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2006 > May > 27 > Entry
Cash crunch to close charter school darling
The W.E.B. DuBois Academy in Cincinnati, one of the state’s best performing charter schools, has abruptly decided to close because the state apparently overpaid the school for years and the school can’t afford to operate under the correct state aid amount.
Folks, this is a real shocker. The DuBois Academy has been a poster child for all the best things about charter schools. It’s a year-round school in a very poor neighborhood with long school days and its kids score well on standardized tests.
DuBois has close ties to one of the charter movement’s heavyweights and if it closes there could be wider implications for the charter movement in general.
In fact, when the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation decided to become an actual charter school sponsor in Ohio, DuBois was one of the first schools they jumped at the chance to sign up. Over the last year Fordham, which is probably the best known and most active charter school advocacy group in the nation, has bragged repeatedly about the school’s success.
But in Jennifer Mrozowski’s story in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Fordham Vice President Terry Ryan rips the school’s governing board for its decision to close:
“I am completely surprised and thoroughly appalled by the apparent decision by the administration and governing authority of the W.E.B. DuBois Academy to abruptly close this high-performing school.”
The money issues here are unclear. Apparently the state was paying the school extra because of it’s extended school year, but it seems DuBois was paid too much extra. The corrected aid amount, the school says, is not enough for it to operate without drastic program cuts. Plus the state may ask the school to repay about $3 million it says it overpaid the school through the years — another financial back breaker for DuBois.
Is this the school’s fault for not knowing what they should be paid? Or is the state being unfair? It’s hard to tell.
But this story is a big opening for charter critics because it’s an example of the instability of charter schools — even a great charter school apparently can be gone tomorrow. If this were a great performing public school, like Stivers School for the Arts in Dayton, you can bet the school district, with significantly more resources than a single charter school governing board by itself, would do anything to keep the school open.
One big unanswered question for me is why the DuBois board would make this move to close apparently without asking Fordham for help. Fordham has both resources and political clout. And the story of the state forcing a top performing school to close seems like one Fordham would jump up and down about whether it was one of their schools or not.
If you’re interested in the school choice movement, stay tuned to this story.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Categories: Charter Schools and School Choice
Comments
By Friend of the school
May 30, 2006 12:46 PM | Link to this
Old Prof: You should do your own research before talking about what W.E.B. DuBois Academy does and does not do. Operating with less state money per pupil than public schools and NO local tax money, W.E.B. DuBois Academy still managed to support a year-round, 10 hour a day school where they take care of transportation, special needs students, provided uniforms for students,free breakfast and lunch and a myriad of opportunities for students including step dance, martial arts, foreign language, chess and much more. While Cincinnati Public Schools get $12,000+ per pupil, DuBois gets less than $7000. Sure, the school got more funding but it was because it operated MORE hours, taking care of the child’s education 10 hours a day instead of 6.5. The reality is, W.E.B. DuBois Academy provided the “safety net” for students displaced by Cincinnati Public Schools…By Oldprof
May 30, 2006 10:44 AM | Link to this
Rather than engaging in name-calling, perhaps Rick would like to offer a logical explanation for why more money for schools correlates with higher rates of student success? And at the same time, perhaps Rick could clarify if he thinks special-interest tax cuts for selected corporations is a fair, democratic way for government to operate—or if the government in general, including the military, EMT, fire service, police, and health departments—are all failures. Hey Rick, next time your house is on fire—call the Charter Fire Department!By Rick
May 29, 2006 7:16 PM | Link to this
Careful Oldprof, your love of socialism is showing.By Oldprof
May 29, 2006 5:35 PM | Link to this
Doug, that’s a rather harsh sentiment to hold on a day when we’re supposed to commemorate one of the larger and more successful branches of our government. Of course, some corporations will be able to bail this school out with some of the taxes they don’t pay—but if they supplemented the funding for other types of school, would the returns be even greater?By Doug
May 29, 2006 3:38 PM | Link to this
If you depend on the government to help you, they will let you down every time. This is an unfortunate mistake by the state and hopefully some corporations or charitable foundations will bail W.E.B Dubois out.By Oldprof
May 29, 2006 12:16 AM | Link to this
You miss my point Mary, as usual. This charter was one of the few successful ones—and it had more money than the other charters. Now that it doesn’t have more money, it can’t even stay open. Unlike you, I wasn’t making an unfair comparison with public schools, which must burden the cost of what the charters don’t do—like special needs students, transportation for students, and providing the “safety net” for displaced students as all these charters—even the over-funded ones—die on the vine.By Mary
May 28, 2006 10:35 PM | Link to this
And (gasp) probably still much less per student than public schools even though the charter ran longer hours and days. The dollar amount per student is not mentioned. I think the state basic aid is around $6,000 per student per year, but most public schools operate on much more.By Oldprof
May 28, 2006 9:11 AM | Link to this
So let’s get this straight—one of the factors in the performance of a top charter school was (gasp) more money?