Action Items

2011-12 Calendar at a Glance

Forwarded to full Board with recommendation to approve

Next Meeting

As noted below, there will be a special joint meeting of the Legal and Accountability Committees after April 24th to discuss further the items related to charter agreements, leases, and extensions; the intent is to have OPSB approve related action items at the May Board meeting

Discussion Items

NORD Summer Programs

Heard Gail Audrict report that OPSB staff and NORD officials are meeting to work out details on NORD using selected OPSB facilities for NORD programs this summer; provisions will be made for security, damages, food service, and joint occupancy of NORD with school programs

OPSB Summer Power Programs

Received a report from Gail Audrict on the 2011 Summer School programs

Charter School Extension Requests

Deferred making any decision until after the forthcoming joint meeting between Legal and Accountability Committees

Received a report from Superintendent Darryl Kilbert on the Administration's recommendations regarding the requests from four charters for extensions longer than those previously recommended by the Administration. Those schools were Einstein Elementary Charter, Ben Franklin High School, Lake Forest Charter Elementary, and Lusher Charter School.

Superintendent Kilbert explained the priority criteria upon which the Administration based its recommendations: academic performance, organizational structure, and financial condition. A major concern for a given charter was whether or not the extra time was actually necessary to promote the achievement of goals and if the charter had a well-defined plan. An additional issue was whether or not the requesting charter was involved in an unresolved legal dispute with the OPSB.

Superintendent Kilbert reported that, based upon the criteria, he was recommending that Einstein be extended for only the 5 years previously granted. Also, he recommended that the previously approved 5-year terms for Franklin, Lake Forest and Lusher be extended to 7 years each. He acknowledged that those three schools were eligible for up to a ten-year term, but he believed that they had failed to demonstrate sufficiently how the extra time was needed to achieve their long-term plans.

Because this was a discussion item without a specific agenda action item yet written, Board members did not vote but rather discussed what they saw as the various arguments in support of either the Administration's recommendations or the charters' requests. After Board members and the representative of NACSA spoke, each school was given an opportunity to make a statement.

Board member comments addressed a wide range of areas, including the adherence to the criteria adopted beforehand, the role of charter extensions in rewarding schools for high performance and success in serving at-risk students, various issues over schools with selective admissions, and the need to resolve a dispute over ownership of privately-funded improvements.

William Haft of NACSA reported on his experience with charter terms across the country. He reported that Louisiana law calls for terms of 3 to 10 years without much guidance on determining the length. Generally charter authorizers need to use some judgment and discretion and not be too rigid. Most states go with 5 years. Some states use 15 years, but terms that are too long hinder accountability.

However, other comments were made by attendees that longer terms minimize the influence of politics and allow schools more time to develop programs, build credibility with their communities and private funders, and finance capital improvements.

Representatives of schools emphasized their recognized growth in academics, financial condition, and community support. They explained their schools' arguments in favor of maximum terms, including what their long-term plans were and how the extra time would help achieve goals. 

Additionally, several speakers agreed that the written criteria should be applied objectively, but further argued that their schools' requests did actually meet the stated policy standards.

Charter School Review on Operator Agreements and Facility Leases

Deferred to the planned joint meeting between the Legal and Accountability Committees to be held after April 24th