Charter schools get $75 million gold star
By Erika Chavez -- SacBee Staff Writer, Wednesday, June 30, 2004

California charter schools got a $75 million boost Tuesday when U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced a three-year federal grant that aims to help create 250 charters by 2007.
Paige praised California for being at the forefront of the charter-school movement. "With this grant we recognize California's pioneering spirit," he said. "California was one of the first states to allow the creation of charter schools, and you're also one of the most welcoming states even now."

Since charter schools were authorized in California in 1992, 471 campuses have been created, and one out of three serves low-income communities, according to a state-commissioned report by the RAND Corp. Charters serve 170,000 students statewide.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell and state Secretary for Education Richard Riordan joined Paige for the announcement against a backdrop of students at Sacramento High School. The Oak Park campus just wrapped up its first year as a revamped charter school run by the nonprofit St. HOPE Public Schools.
Schwarzenegger, a charter advocate, said campuses such as Sacramento High are a critical part of addressing the many problems facing many public schools, including lack of resources and sagging test scores. "We have to do everything we can to make this again the Golden State, or what I call the Golden Dream by the Sea," the governor said.

Paige presented the state with a $24.7 million check. Two checks will follow in the next two years for a total of $75 million. California was one of 10 states awarded the grant through a rigorous application process, and was awarded the largest amount.

The state Department of Education will distribute applications to groups seeking to start charter schools next year. The money will be awarded in time for the 2005-06 school year, officials said.

Ten percent of the money is earmarked to help existing public schools replicate successful programs or innovations from charters, O'Connell said.

Charter campuses are funded publicly, do not charge tuition and are run by independent governing boards usually made up of teachers, parents and community members. Exempt from many state education laws, charters can be more efficient and innovative, proponents contend.

They are a key component of the federal No Child Left Behind act, which seeks to improve public schools through accountability. A main provision of NCLB is that students in struggling schools have a right to school choice.Some critics charge that existing public schools could use a $75 million boost, but charters provide a quicker solution, said Kathy Christie, a vice president for the Education Commission of the States, a Colorado-based nonprofit that tracks education policy.

"It takes years, or a pattern of underachievement, before schools are forced to make changes under NCLB," Christie said. "Charters are a very reasonable option for districts to consider when deciding what to do with kids who need to get out of low-performing schools."

Although President Bush has been a strong advocate of charters, the movement preceded the 2000 election and likely will outlast his administration, Christie said.

Forty states offer charter schools as an option for public school students. Their track record has been mixed, with some schools floundering and others showing strong results.

"Just opening a charter does not guarantee success," Christie said. "But it does guarantee an option, and the hope of success."


The Bee's Erika Chavez can be reached at (916) 321-1083 or echavez@sacbee.com. Bee staff writer Margaret Talev contributed to this report.