NC-SELF Press Release
STATEMENT READ TO MEDIA BY VARIOUS REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES OF NC
SELF ON JAN 18, 2006 AT 10 AM AT CHARTER SCHOOL LOCATIONS IN NORTH CAROLINA
(Raleigh Example)
Name of Local Representative Tom Vass
Contact Information Tom Vass, Raleigh Charter High School
Parent,
(919) 821-2671--Tvass1@nc.rr.com
Introduction by Representative: Good morning. My name is Tom Vass,
and I am a citizen volunteer representing the interests of charter
schools in North Carolina Educational District 3. My child attends
Raleigh Charter High School. I would like to thank representatives of the
media for coming to our press conference for our announcement on the
formation of a new educational advocacy group called North Carolina
Students For Equitable Lottery Funding. Our announcement today will cover
3 main topics about who we are, what mission we have, and how we intend
to accomplish our mission. My announcement here today in Raleigh is being
replicated by 8 other press conferences in North Carolina.
Who We Are: NC SELF is a volunteer citizens association organized
to correct a legislative oversight in bill drafting regarding the
proceeds from the NC educational lottery. The lottery bill overlooked a
population of almost 30,000 public school children who attend North
Carolina’s 98 charter schools. On a comparison basis, the number of
children who attend public charter schools, if added together, would
constitute the 10th largest school district in the State, out
of a total of 116 districts. The public school children who attend public
charter schools were left out of the revenue formula on the proceeds from
the lottery, and the mission of NC SELF is to amend the law so that
charter schools are authorized by law as legitimate lottery fund
recipients.
Our Mission: We want to amend this oversight as soon as possible
in order to avoid further fiscal disadvantage that children attending
charter schools have endured in North Carolina since 1996, when charter
schools were first authorized. North Carolina law mandates that the North
Carolina General Assembly provide state funding for the yearly
instructional services of public schools. Under current law, local
governments fund their school capital construction and school building
requirements.
State education dollars are the primary funding source for charter
schools in North Carolina. However, unlike other public schools, which
receive state funding through 3 different allocation formulas, (position
allotments, dollar allotments, and categorical allotments), charter
schools are funded solely and exclusively on the basis of per-pupil
allotments. As a result of this funding inequity, the Thomas B. Fordham
Institute research report, entitled CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDING:
Inequity’s Next Frontier (August 2005) found that:
*North Carolina charter schools received 5.5 percent less funding
than district schools: $7,051 vs. $7,465 per pupil, a gap of $414.
Year 2002 –2003.
*Wake County charters received 29.5 percent less funding than
district schools: $6,510 vs. $9,237 per pupil, a gap of $2,727.
In addition to the funding inequity on per pupil allotments contained
in the original legislation, another problem exists for children who
attend charter schools which is directly related to the oversight in the
lottery legislation. County governments issue and repay bonds for
district school construction and renovation, but county governments are
prohibited by law from doing so for charter schools. In 2002-03, county
governments spent an average of $753 per student on capital expenses
(capital outlay and debt service). Charter schools by law are obliged to
fund their own construction.
Since the original 1996 legislation for charter schools left them out
of the state-level funding formula for school construction, they were
subsequently left out of the lottery funding formula for construction. Of
the lottery proceeds that will go toward education, 40 percent is
designated for capital outlay or school construction, 10 percent will go
toward college scholarships for low-income students, and 50 percent will
go toward lowering class sizes in elementary classrooms to fewer than 18
students.
Our mission is to correct that oversight so that students who attend
charter schools will get a fair and rightful share of the lottery money
designated for reducing class size and school construction.
Our Method for Correcting the Legislative Oversight: We have
organized into both a central state executive council and eight regional
councils in order to explain the lottery funding issue to the public and
to elected representatives at all levels of government. We will be
conducting public education seminars in each region, and preparing
documents related to the lottery funding issue for review by members of
the NC General Assembly during their upcoming short session. We hope that
our actions will lead the members of the General Assembly to correct the
bill drafting error and designate charter schools as legitimate
recipients of lottery revenues.
In the next several months, in each region we hope to conduct the
following activities:
· Invite all local elected representatives to attend a 1
hour social event and seminar, to be held at a various regional
charter schools. We expect that part of the seminar will be conducted
by charter school students to help elected leaders understand more
about how charter schools operate.
· Begin a speaker’s bureau tour, with power point
presentations for all civic and social organizations to help educate
their members about the lottery funding issue.
· Undertake a proactive public relations media campaign,
including appearances on talk radio, and community event programs on
local television stations.
· At the state level, in Raleigh, HAVE our State Executive
Council members meet with legislators to explain the public purpose
served by having charter schools receive EQUITABLE funds from the
educational lottery.
###
Our contact information: Our state and regional contacts are:
Raleigh Contact
Tom Vass, Raleigh Charter High School Parent,
(919)
821-2671
Tvass1@nc.rr.com
State Contact
Roger Gerber, League Communications Director,
(919) 967-1029 office (919) 619-8915 cell
roger@charterleague.org
Our web site is
www.charterleague.org
Thank you again for being here today. I would be happy to
entertain your questions.
NC Charter
School by some Numbers
Location of Other Press Conferences
Fordham Foundation Charter Funding Study
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