Dive Brief:
- According to the California Charter School Association, less than 50% of new charters were approved to open last fall, compared to 77% last year and 89% the year prior.
- Some 21 pro-charter organizations sent a letter to the Los Angeles Board of Education on Monday, accusing the district of "obstructing efforts to improve public education," the Los Angeles Times reports.
- For its part, the Board of Education denies any wrongdoing, saying that it continues to focus on quality education for the students it serves.
Dive Insight:
In the Los Angeles Unified School District, charter school growth has exploded rapidly. Right now, over 100,000 students in Los Angeles attend charters. That means that enrollment in traditional schools has dropped, severely impacting funding formulas.
And the fiscal pressure comes at a very difficult time for the district. This fall, a private report commissioned by former superintendent Ramon Cortines noted that LAUSD was “facing a looming, long-term deficit that could force the system into bankruptcy."
And that's not all. The district is also currently juggling a federal investigation into a failed 1:1 iPad rollout that has been described as "surrounded by secrecy." LAUSD is also facing a number of lawsuits.
Just last month, the California Charter School Association filed suit against LAUSD, alleging that $450 million in funding allocated by a 2008 bond measure for construction projects on charters hadn't been distributed as promised.