PROPOSED CHANGES TO CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDING FORMULA

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COUNCILMAN HENRY’s RESOLUTION:

I have signed on to co-sponsor the Resolution which Councilman Bill Henry is introducing on Monday, September 21. The resolution, Equitable Funding for City Public Charter Schools, and it calls for the City Council to urge Baltimore City Public Schools to reconsider its inequitable proposed public charter school funding formula to ensure that adequate funds are allocated to all Baltimore students in accordance with State law. The Resolution will be formally introduced at the Monday, September 21, Council Meeting, which starts at 5pm. Presumably, the Council President will refer this Resolution to the Council’s Education and Youth Committee, and then the Committee’s Chair, Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke will call for a Committee hearing for around early-October 2015. This hearing will be open to public testimony. Once announced, the specific date / time, will be listed on the City Council’s online schedule: https://baltimore.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

UPCOMING PUBLIC FORUM:

The School Board is hosting a forum to hear feedback on the proposed approach on Saturday, September 26, 2015 from 9am – 12pm, at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School (Mervo), located at 3500 Hillen Road.

NEXT STEPS:

According to the documentation below, the district anticipates presenting a final recommendation for a FY17 charter funding formula to the Board of Commissioners at its regularly scheduled public meeting on November 10. I suspect this is subject to change, but cannot say for certain.

WHERE TO VOICE YOUR CONCERNS:

You can reach out to the Board of School Commissioners directly, contact information is available on their website: http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/Page/25648

CITY COUNCIL’s ROLE:

The Baltimore City Council does not establish this formula, nor do we vote upon it.  It does not come before us and we do not approve or reject it.  This is done by the Baltimore City School Board.

Regarding the annual Schools budget, the only authority the City Council has, which is derived from the Baltimore City Charter, is to either vote for or against the proposed City contribution to the BCPS budget. This really a formality since we cannot cut it; add to it; or move any money around in it. The total school budget for fiscal year 2016 was approximately $1.2 Billion, of which the City contributed approximately $258 Million.

BACKGROUND ON PROPOSED CHANGES TO CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDING FORMULA:

As many of you are aware, the Baltimore School Board discussed the Charter School Funding Formula at the September 8, 2015 Board Meeting. More information on what was discussed and presented is in the bullets below: