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THAT’S why not
Unused district school buildings must, by Ohio law, be offered for sale to charter, private, and STEM school operators on the open market. Abhorring the idea of selling to the “competition”, districts have found several loopholes to circumvent this law, including property swaps with other “taxing entities” such as cities or port authorities. Here’s one example currently ramping up in Mahoning County, where one county commissioner is ready to “swap” Youngstown City Schools’ Kirkmere Elementary (surely underutilized but not yet closed) with an unspecified county property. If the building is sold to a charter school operator, as the law intends, that deal would relieve the cash-strapped district of an expensive financial obligation while simultaneously bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars in needed revenue. Instead, County Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti tells WFMJ-TV that, “It’s a good location, and if it is, in fact, going to be open and vacant, why not go government-to-government?” If allowed to go through, her plan would result in the county receiving a building for free, Youngstown City Schools getting whatever white elephant property she wants to offload, Youngstown having to take on all financial obligation for maintenance and/or development of that property, and district taxpayers realizing zero financial benefit from the deal. Even if such a deal is legal, the reason why not to do it is abundantly clear.
New research findings
The 74 this week covered the release of a new report digging into the impact of switching schools on students with special needs in Michigan. The study finds that math and reading test scores improved for both special education and general education students for at least two years after they switched from a traditional district to a charter school. Absenteeism also decreased. “Charter schools can be a useful educational tool for parents with students with disabilities,” said report co-author Scott Imberman. “They shouldn’t be quick to rule it out, because it does seem that, for at least a substantial segment of disabled students, charter schools are helpful for them.” You can read the full report here.
Different hope
Florida governor Ron DeSantis this week suggested that some legislative changes may be made to his signature Schools of Hope program, whose latest iteration—allowing charter schools to request co-location in underutilized district buildings—has faced strong initial pushback. “It’ll be done, I think, rationally,” he said in a press conference. Among the most likely changes would be requiring charter schools to shoulder some of the costs of operation in the shared buildings, all of which are borne by districts in the current version of the plan.
Legislative watch – Hoosier edition
Indiana House Bill 1423—which would enact and operationalize the recommendations of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance—was recently referred to the House Education Committee. Among its many groundbreaking provisions, the law would create a new Public Education Corporation and governing board in Indianapolis designed to unite operations, governance, and sharing of buildings and tax funding for district, charter, and private schools in the capital city. Hearings on the bill should begin soon.
Legislative watch – Magnolia edition
Mississippi House Bill 2—a wide-ranging education law that would impact all school types—recently passed the House by a vote of 61-59. Among other things, HB 2 would expand the areas where charter schools could locate in the state by allowing them in districts that have at least one D or F-rated school building, rather than needing a D or F rating for the entire district as is currently permitted. The bill moves to the Senate for debate in the coming weeks.
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