Perspectives on Charter Schools and Privatization in ... · Perspectives on Privatization • The...
Transcript of Perspectives on Charter Schools and Privatization in ... · Perspectives on Privatization • The...
Perspectives on Charter Schools and
Privatization in Public Schools of
Texas
Presented by
Gwen Santiago, Executive Director
Texas Association of School Business Officials
Texas Association of School Business
Officials - Austin, Texas 1
Operating Costs for School Districts
and Charter Schools
• The following slides present representative
perspectives on operating costs for ISDs and
charter schools.
• The slides present the data in pie charts that
show the percentage of operating resources
that fund the respective function code areas.
Texas Association of School Business
Officials - Austin, Texas 2
Percent Operating Expenditures Charter Schools
Texas Association of School Business
Officials - Austin, Texas 3
Percent Operating Expenditures School Districts
Texas Association of School Business
Officials - Austin, Texas 4
Percent Operating Expenditures Per Student Enrollment Less than 1,000
Selected Charter School Superintendent Base Pay
and Student EnrollmentsSource – eFACTS+ (using data from TEA)
Base Pay Student Enrollment
$ 214,167 242
$ 140,962 260
$150,000 979
$ 236,000 2,759
$ 142,500 4,078
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Officials - Austin, Texas 6
Selected School Superintendent Base Pay and Student
Enrollments (Non-Charters)
Salaries for Superintendents in Districts of Comparable Size to Charter
Districts (previous slide) according to TASB Salary Survey
Texas Association of School Business
Officials - Austin, Texas7
Average Salary Enrollment
$ 85,326 1 to 499
$ 98,175 500 to 999
$ 120,764 1,600 to 2,999
$ 141,529 2,000 to 4,999
Student Performance
• How does student performance in Charter
Schools compare to student performance in
regular school districts?
• Keep in mind that a number of Charter
Schools serve student populations considered
to be disadvantaged
• Critics argue that some Charter Schools are
selective
Texas Association of School Business
Officials - Austin, Texas 8
Are Charter Schools the Answer?• Numerous Research Studies have attempted to
answer this question
– A Rand Corporation Study reports that charter-school achievement results are mixed. In Arizona, charter schools seem to be outperforming conventional public schools in reading and possibly in math. In Texas, charter schools that focus specifically on students at risk for poor academic performance show an achievement advantage over conventional public schools, but other charter schools perform slightly worse than conventional public schools.
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Officials - Austin, Texas 11
Are Charter Schools the Answer?
– This Rand study also states that an examination of
newly opened charter schools in Michigan
indicates no difference from conventional public
schools in terms of achievement effects in one
test grade (grade 7), while conventional public
school outperform charters in the other tested
grade (grade 4). Meanwhile, the studies in both
Arizona and Texas suggest that achievement
effects in charter schools improve after the first
year of operation.
Texas Association of School Business
Officials - Austin, Texas 12
Are Charter Schools the Answer?
– Another Rand Corporation study on charter schools in Arizona, Boston, California, Chicago, Denver, Florida, Michigan, Milwaukee, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Texas shows that these schools do not skim the majority white students or the highest-achieving students from traditional public schools, as feared. Conversely, charter schools do not appear to produce positive competitive effects on achievement in traditional public schools, as hoped.
Texas Association of School Business
Officials - Austin, Texas 13
Are Charter Schools the Answer?
• The National Center for the Study of Privatization in
Education “debunks” the common perception that
traditional public schools suffer from “administrative
bloat” and that charter schools have a “leaner
administrative model, allowing for more resources to
go directly to classrooms.” The study “found that
charter schools actually spent more per-student on
administration and less on instruction than non-
charter public schools” in Michigan.
Texas Association of School Business
Officials - Austin, Texas 14
Perspectives on Privatization
• The following slides present representative
perspectives on privatization for ISDs of
various enrollment ranges.
• The slides present the data in scatter graphs.
• The ISDs on the left side of the red bar have
privatized the operational area and the ones
on the right side manage the operational area
in-house.
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Officials - Austin, Texas 15
Perspectives on Privatization
• What services are typically considered for
outsourcing by school districts?
– Transportation
– School Nutrition Program
– Grounds Maintenance
– Building Maintenance
• Outsourcing of instructional services is not
common; however, shared service arrangements
with other districts are used throughout Texas
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Officials - Austin, Texas 16
Do Local Districts Privatize?
• Austin ISD – Not at this time
• Round Rock ISD – School Nutrition Program –Grounds Maintenance except athletic fields –air filter installation – RRISD handled construction in Dripping Springs ISD and at Williamson Co Appraisal Districts – Also managed transportation for a couple of other districts in the past
• Leander ISD – School Nutrition Program
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Officials - Austin, Texas 17
Do Local Districts Privatize?
• Hays County ISD – School Nutrition Program
• Hutto ISD – School Nutrition Program –Considering outsourcing grounds maintenance – Discontinued transportation outsourcing
• Pflugerville ISD – School Nutrition Program –Transportation Program – Explored contracting custodial and grounds, but analysis indicated that would not be cost effective
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Officials - Austin, Texas 18
Perspectives on Privatization Child Nutrition Program
ISDs Enrollment 3,000 – 5,000
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Officials - Austin, Texas 19
Perspectives on Privatization Plant Maintenance and Operations
ISDs Enrollment 5,000 – 10,000
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Officials - Austin, Texas 20
Perspectives on Privatization Plant Child Nutrition Program
ISDs Enrollment 20,000 – 40,000
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Officials - Austin, Texas 21
Does Privatization Save Money?
• Conclusions cannot be drawn based on the data readily available
• Districts that allow hiring of too many staff members may benefit from outsourcing to a management company
• If a community does not have competent employees or applicants available to manage operational areas, outsourcing may be a good option
• If competent staff members are available to manage a program, school districts may save money by keeping the function in-house
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Officials - Austin, Texas 22
Sources of Information Included in
This Presentation• PEIMS (Public Education Information
Management System), Texas Education Agency, 1701
North Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701
• Division of State Funding, Texas Education Agency, 1701
North Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701
• eFACTS+ (Data Analysis Tool), Texas Association of
School Business Officials, 2538 South Congress Ave., Austin, TX
78704
• Business Office Staff of School Districts Listed (or
personal knowledge of district operations)Texas Association of School Business
Officials - Austin, Texas 23