HOW MUCH IS THE CHARTER SCHOOL REALLY GOING TO COST THE LVJUSD DISTRICT?

By Richard D. "Rick" Swiers

It has been stated the charter school will impact the district to the tune of $800-900K. However, the full facts show the impact is substancially less.

I believe it is crucial that board members reveal the full set of facts at their disposal so the community can make informed decisions. This is not about the charter school but rather about how the community is not getting a full picture in order to attempt to divide the community.

The pending approval of the charter school is being portrayed by some as costing the LVJUSD $800,000 to $900,000. That didn't seem accurate to me, so I did some research. Here are the results.

First, I wanted to verify the actual gross loss to the district. I found that information in a Question and Answer document on the district's web site. It is located at: http://www.livermoreschools.com/budget/school%20consolidation%20committee/QnA.pdf. The question was "how much revenue is lost when a parent decides to home school their children?" It indicated that based upon a funding level of $4633.91 and assuming a class of 20 children, after the elimination of teacher's salary and benefits as well as supplies, the district would have a net loss of $25,644 for that class of 20. The loss of a student to home schooling seems the same as the loss of a student to a charter school, so that seems to be a viable amount for loss. However, since the amount above was based on $4633.91 of funding and for 2004-2005, the district is budgeting $4815.19 or a 3.9% increase, it seemed logical to increase the above formula to include that increase. So the net loss per 20 students is $26,655.47 or a total of $749,018.70 if 562 students leave the district for the charter school.

LVCS made a proposal to the district on September 7, 2004 to pay an "encroachment" fee to the district of $422 per ADA or $228,863.00 for 562 students attending school at an attendance rate of 96.5%. LVCS also made an offer to pay the district its' entire per pupil special education funding which was reported to me as $557 per student or $313,034 for 562 students.

Then I researched the California Education Code concerning charter schools and found that if LVJUSD provides a facility to the charter school under Proposition 39, it will receive 2% of the school's state provided revenue. Assuming it will receive the same level of funding as the district of $4815.19, the district would receive $54,122.73 in rent. The district also says it is incurring about $60,000 a year to mothball the closed schools. Therefore, with the charter school responsible for the upkeep of one of the district's facilities, the district could save that $60,000.

Lastly, if the district accepts the role of supervising the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the state and LVCS, they would be entitled to 1% of the charter schools state revenue or $27,061.37.

Putting that in column form, here's how the charter school impact adds up:

Gross Loss of Revenue $749,018.70

Minus

Encroachment Fee -$228,863.00

Special Education Funding -$313,034.00

Rent for Facility -$ 54,122.73

Reduction upkeep expense for rented facility -$ 60,000.00

Oversight fee -$ 27,061.37

Total Impact $ 65,937.60

The district could also offer to the charter school as profit-making services things such as food service, attendance monitoring, report cards, etc. to further reduce the impact or even create a positive cash flow. I will also point out that the above is based upon a "perfect world". The reality is that the impact will probably be more than $65,000 but much, much less than $800-900K.

That's a big difference from $800-$900K. However, when important details such as the offers made by the charter school are omitted, it is easy to have the figures misrepresented. These omissions serve to continue to divide the community and take our focus away from the true issues facing our district.

Here are a few potential variations. Currently, the district is under funded 36% by the state for the actual special education expenses. Even if that amount is included, the charter school impact is still less than $200,000. Some will also say that a single special education student's needs could create an excessive expense. This could be easily handled by negotiating into the contract with the Charter School a clause to handle such a case.

However, there is a way to achieve the full loss of $749,018.70. Some seem intent on pursuing lawsuits, creating difficulty for the charter school in obtaining a district facility and creating a difficult negotiation for special education services. It is important to remember that charter schools are not obligated to purchase their special education services, rent their facilities or have oversight by their local district. They are free to work with neighboring districts or with the private sector for those services. Nor is the charter school required to pay an encroachment fee. This is a voluntary offer on the part of LVCS to minimize its impact on the district. So if some continue their belligerent manner toward the charter school, the charter school could decide to take their money elsewhere.

Whenever the question of the charter school comes up, a candidate is asked his or her position on the charter school. My belief is that the board members are first and foremost accountable to follow the law. Parents have a number of lawful options for the choice of their children's school; private schools, inter-district transfers to districts such as Sunol and Pleasanton, home schooling as well as charter schools. I believe that you cannot successfully legislate or manipulate what school options parents will choose. How a district must deal with charter schools is extremely clearly outlined in great detail in the California Education Code. There are 16 factual areas for the charter school's petition that can be considered. The law specifically states that the financial impact to the district can not be considered. This is not optional for the board members. It sends the wrong message to our children if the school board starts being selective in the laws they obey and enforce or try to interpret the law. So my position for dealing with the charter school is that I will follow the law as written without being selective or without attempting to interpret the law. No more/no less regardless if it is good or bad for the charter school. All of us including, the district and the charter school, must fully comply with the law or bear the consequences of not following the law.

Let's have full disclosure to the public of all the facts. Let's create win-win solutions.

Some notes: While I support choice in education, I do not speak for or have any affiliation with LVCS. Nor has LVCS given me any indication of their intended future actions. Therefore, any actions that I may have speculated about above are what I would consider likely outcomes.