Corbett's Charter Magic: Charter Trickery in Oregon

The front-page story in yesterday's Oregonian was a prime example of why charter schools are not a viable route to creating a high quality, equitable school system. The Corbett School District, set in a small town just outside of Portland, Oregon, recently opened a new charter school - within their already-existing public school - in order to circumvent the interdistrict transfer policy, pulling students from neighboring schools (Gresham-Barlow SD and Reynolds SD, both with 11,000 and 12,000 students, respectively; Corbett has 800). The student transfers, of course, drain funding from Gresham-Barlow and Reynolds, shoring up the funding for the already relatively affluent Corbett SD. The Oregonian's story, not surprisingly, did not offer any serious critique of the charter school policies; instead, the article ignored the demographics of the various communities, which I have provided below (information from SchoolMatters, a pro-market education "service" funded by various philanthrocapitalists and S&P):

My jaw nearly dropped when I saw the entire lack of ELL students in the Corbett district. The drastically fewer students with disabilities and relatively low number of students that are "economically disadvantaged" (code word for living in poverty) seriously impacts the finances of each district. Does the public school system - itself a middle-class, white institution - have an easier time educating Corbett students? Without a doubt. Does Reynolds and Gresham-Barlow have more diverse needs among their student population? Without a doubt. But siphoning off students from Reynolds/Gresham-Barlow is part of the fast-track to a more segregated educational system. Of the Reynolds/Gresham-Barlow students, which ones have the financial and parental resources to drive to and from the Corbett school district? It's not a leap to assume the students Corbett attracts through their charter school trickery are more affluent and have more parental involvement.

Below are a few key snippets from the Oregonian article; and here are some additional statistics about Corbett, Reynolds, and Gresham-Barlow. Warning: deregulation, pro-segregation policies, and pro-charter rhetoric ahead:

Corbett adds charter school, irks neighbors

By Kimberly Melton, The Oregonian

August 30, 2009

Corbett is known for its Columbia River Gorge scenery and its nationally recognized public schools.

Families from all over the Portland area drive up to 30 miles a day so their kids can take advantage of blended classrooms, self-paced instruction and more advanced placement classes than high schools quadruple Corbett's size.

The small rural district has relied on student transfers from other cities to shore up its ranks and finances. But the transfers started drying up this year as surrounding districts tried to hold tight to their own students after a disastrous budget season.

Corbett is now fighting fire with fire: It's opening a public charter school that by state law bypasses any transfer ban.

...

Dunton's move has driven a wedge between Corbett and its neighbors, especially the beleaguered Reynolds School District. Reynolds cut nine days of school this past year and has canceled field trips and many electives in the coming year to save money.

Reynolds Superintendent Robert Fisher said he was floored when he learned of Dunton's plan. "This new charter school definitely impacts our district finances negatively," he said. "And it blatantly circumvents the interdistrict transfer process."

It's not the first time a school district in Oregon has used the state's 10-year-old charter school law to help resolve battles over students and district stability. But state officials say they've never heard of school district staff starting a charter school inside their regular public school.

Then again, Corbett is in a tight spot.

The district gets nearly a fourth of its students from outside its boundaries. And each of those students comes with state money -- an average of about $5,600 a head.

...

The Corbett Charter Academy will begin classes today in the same building as the district's K-12 classrooms. Dunton will run the K-12 charter school, and it will offer basically the same programs as the traditional school.

The academy circumvents state rules that allow school districts to limit transfers to other public schools.

...

Though charter schools are part of the state's public school system, they operate under different regulations that typically support more flexible ways of learning and programs that the regular system doesn't provide.

...

Corbett may offer smaller classes, but other than that, neither the traditional school nor the charter academy offers much of a different approach to education than his district, he said.

"We can't cannibalize one another under the guise of curriculum," Miner said. "There is a fundamental flaw in the charter school law that the Legislature must address."

...

About 40 percent of the students coming to the charter are from private schools, home schools or other charters.

No other single-school district in the state has chosen to maintain its neighborhood public school and open a parallel charter school. Dunton said he chose that route so he could maintain the small, community focus of the traditional neighborhood school while opening the doors to a new program that would draw more students and create a space to pilot new education ideas.

State law allows a district with only one school to convert the school into a charter -- and eight have done that as their enrollment has declined and money has dwindled.

...

Kaaren Heikes, executive director of the Northwest Center for Education Options, the state's only charter school association, said charter conversions and district-initiated charter schools are becoming more common, especially as the economy limits school budgets.

"The real issue is we need a new funding system," Heikes said. "Districts should not have to compete for kids in order to survive." [Ken's note: until recently, Heikes worked for theCharter School Development Center - headquartered in California - and made over $100,000/year. The charter school movement: once a local idea that now operates as a multi-state corporation, massive salaries included.]