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Court halts demolition of Roosevelt School

Sixth Circuit Court issues temporary restraining order to stop district from tearing down historic school building

… over a convoluted debate on restrictive covenants in property deeds that seek to prevent retired school properties from being used by private or charter schools after public school districts sell them. Although Michigan law prohibits school districts from including such language in property deeds, …

In Michigan, there are no missing homeschool students

Without evidence, state superintendent has used bully pulpit to target homeschool families

… school. “For the safety of ALL students,” Rice wrote, “it is important to enroll students in the following four ‘buckets:’ public schools (including charter schools), private schools, parochial schools, home schools.” Something changed during the pandemic, Rice said. “The need to count homeschooled students …

‘No reason to fear a charter school,’ West Bloomfield treasurer told school board

But board voted anyway to tear down Roosevelt Elementary, build new school with millage money

… keep it out of the hands of charter schools. But when Finkelstein … “I see no reason to fear a charter school,” Finkelstein said … Bloomfield had reason to believe a charter school would move in. Finkelstein … Academies, advising that charter schools do not go where they … developers from selling to charter school operators. Rep. Noah …

Fox2 Detroit misstates impact of declining school enrollment

Some Michigan schools have larger payrolls than current conditions allow

… Van Beek agrees with Wotbruba that enrollment has a big effect on school finances. Districts lose out on potential revenue when parents opt for charter schools, schools of choice, private schools and homeschooling, he said, adding that more parents are opting out of the services conventional school …

Why do West Bloomfield schools fear competition?

Oakland County school district has drifted from its A+ ways

… Elementary School in Keego Harbor, the building at issue. Despite winning many a school-choice battle with rival districts, West Bloomfield fears charter school competition so much it would demolish literal beauty and history to prevent it. My journey with West Bloomfield School District began when …

Remaining prohibited bargaining subjects

… year. The make-up of certain school improvement committees. Whether to participate in Schools of Choice and to what extent. Whether to authorize a charter school. The use of volunteers in schools. Decisions concerning the use and staffing of pilot programs. Decisions about the use of technology for instructional …

Bill would give Michigan public schools veto power over competitors

Some school districts tear down buildings rather than sell to would-be competition

Charter schools and other alternative educators could have a … restriction in an attempt to keep a charter school, Detroit Achievement … wanted to sell it to Smitley’s charter school, but a deed restriction … legislators with information about charter schools and the effect of … tearing down buildings so that charter or parochial schools can’t …

House Bill 5025 does not fix any problems, creates new ones

Measure would let school districts block charter schools and others, from using discarded school buildings

… in Detroit who tried to prevent a charter school from using one of their vacated … Prep was a successful and growing charter school in 2017that needed more space. … types of schools, especially public charter schools, to serve children in Detroit. … vacant buildings solely to prevent a charter school from ever using it. A member …

In Detroit schools, nothing succeeds like failure

Conventional schools get more money to do worse, while charter schools do better with less

Charter schools outperform conventional public schools in Detroit … middle schools in Detroit are charter schools, according to U.S. … list are: Detroit Merit Charter Academy Warrendale Charter Academy Detroit Edison Public … schools in Detroit are also charter schools. They even ranked …

Detroit Achievement Academy wins $500K Yass Prize as finalist

Competition rewards transformational changes in education

A Detroit charter school won $500,000 in a national competition designed to reward transformational changes in education. The Detroit Achievement Academy was one of 33 semifinalists for the Yass Prize, as previously reported by CapCon. Organizers of the prize announced Dec. 14 that the academy was …

State superintendent asks Michigan lawmakers for home school registry

Homeschool registry presented as safety issue, though officials cite no data

… letter to lawmakers requesting the state registration. Rice noted there are four buckets of educational programs in the state: Public (including charter schools), private, parochial and homeschools. He says the state should have a record of all children enrolled in all educational programs, for reasons …

Michigan Needs More Education Options

… education centers, hybrid private schools and charter schools. Kyle Smitley, founder of Detroit Achievement Academy and Detroit Prep charter schools, shared her success story. She also discussed … pushing for policies that allowed her to expand her charter school model, which serves hundreds of students. …

The Overton Window Turns 20

… Schools opened themselves up to anyone who wanted to attend, even if that meant crossing assigned boundaries. Innovation-minded educators opened charter schools and then expanded them. What was once impossible became possible and then policy. This window of political possibilities is a useful concept. …

Prior to recall, Green Township board violated campaign finance law

Signs that attacked critics failed to name the source of their funding, as required by law

The board of trustees of Mecosta County’s Green Charter Township is a completely different group from the one that started the year. Before the old board was swept out in a flurry of resignations and recalls, the Michigan Secretary of State found that trustees violated campaign finance law. The penalty …

In Michigan, central planning is not the path to freedom

If you disagree with elected officials, there is a process for that. Not so much for bureaucrats.

… reason alone a farm owner has to turn away opportunity to make hundreds of thousands of dollars.” What about the farmer?  When the people of Green Charter Township disagreed with their board’s support for the Gotion project, they launched a recall effort. Five officials were recalled and two others resigned …

Detroit charter network up for $1 million award

Charter schools overcame resistance from Detroit’s school district

A Southeast Michigan charter school organization is in the running for a $1 million prize for educational … Detroit Achievement Academy and Detroit Prep, two charter schools with a shared board of directors, are … the state average of 37%. The schools, whose charter authorizer is Grand Valley State University, have turned …

Project-based learning, cooperation with school district, sets Isabella County charter school apart

FlexTech High believes that projects and problem-solving will translate to career success

Charter schools are often viewed as competitors to conventional … but as an Isabella County charter school shows, the two can … students. Michigan has 285 charter schools, according to the … unique co-existence between a charter school and a traditional public … foundation opened a different charter school in 1997, but the board …

Southfield ballot question pits democracy against technocracy

Proposals to amend city charter stem from a belief that democracy is too messy. It isn’t.

… over unelected ones,” Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman told CapCon. “At any level of government.” “Of the 276 other Michigan cities with charters,” explains the city’s fact sheet on the ballot proposals, “only 42 elect these positions with the remaining 234 being appointed.” Bringing Southfield …

Michigan creates second education department, but the first has failed

MiLEAP and the school aid budget reflect a trend that lowers the quality of education available to Michigan’s neediest students

… it most. At-risk students who attend online charter schools will receive less funding than those enrolled … awarded to all public districts except online charter schools. Many students enroll in online schools … disadvantage because of this policy change. And charter schools, unlike conventional districts, cannot …

Record-breaking school aid budget ignores proven ways of improving student achievement

Teachers are key, but lawmakers favor seniority rules over teacher quality

… allowance for one type of public school: online charter schools. They did this though online charter schools, unlike conventional districts, cannot … property taxes. Lawmakers’ move to deprive online charter schools of the funding boost disadvantages students …

Record-breaking school aid budget ignores proven ways of improving student achievement

Teachers are key, but lawmakers favor seniority rules over teacher quality

… allowance for one type of public school: online charter schools. They did this though online charter schools, unlike conventional districts, cannot … property taxes. Lawmakers’ move to deprive online charter schools of the funding boost disadvantages students …

U.S. Treasury Department passes on reviewing Gotion land deal

The federal government won’t review CCP-linked Gotion for national security concerns

… opted for the quicker review, which could be completed in 30 days. It did this by filing a document known as a voluntary declaration. The Big Rapids Charter Township Board emailed Michael H. Johnson, a lawyer representing Gotion, telling him the township was starting the more-involved notice process with …

Traverse City fiber network spiking in costs, lacking in customers

City-owned utility seeks to borrow more money

… City already. TCLPFiber currently offers internet packages from $60 to $90 per month, depending on speed (more if you bundle with phone services). Charter Spectrum currently offers high-speed internet for $50 to $90 per month. The TCLP originally projected in 2019 that by year two of the project, the …

In Traverse City, less interest than expected in public broadband

Costs skyrocket as the public displays little interest in the broadband utility in northern Michigan

… could offer the same service as private competitors for little cost. The utility owned fiber offers customers packages from $60 to $90 per month. Charter Spectrum also offers high-speed internet for $50 to $90 per month. “The original business plan,” said local resident Gerald DeGrazia, was “flawed …

MSU professor peddles ‘catastrophic’ myth against school vouchers

How a criticism of voucher programs actually provides a strong defense

… studied included vouchers in Milwaukee, charter schools in Michigan and charter schools in Arizona. Each of the … the COVID-19 pandemic. States with charter school laws and voucher programs … accounts, tax-credit scholarships and charter schools — give more parents, not …

National School Choice Week

Schools, Students, Mackinac Center Partners Celebrate National School Choice Week at Michigan Capitol

… including private schools (religious and otherwise), charter schools, online schools and magnet schools. Students … Light of the World Academy, a K-8 Montessori charter school. Vlad, an eleventh grader from Ukraine, … engineering and aviation curriculum at their charter school, where students can graduate with a pilot’s …

Only 5% of Detroit 8th graders read at proficient level

A review of NAEP scores for Michigan’s largest district confirms the need for education reform

… money per student compared to the state and national average since 1994. The district’s revenue in 2021-2022 totaled just under $1 billion. Detroit charter schools consistently receive less funding per student than schools in the Detroit district, and they perform better. More funding does not appear …

Whitmer targets online charter schools that serve needy kids

Targeted cut creates barrier for at-risk students seeking quality education

… students enrolled in online charter schools. And it creates an … education opportunities. Online charter schools offer critical services … after the pandemic, online charter schools provide a lifeline … critical services. Online charter schools allow thousands of … individualized support. Online charter schools give students from …

Whitmer budget would slash funding for online charter schools

Whitmer’s 2024 budget proposes a 20% funding cut for Michigan’s online charter schools

… with one exception – online charter schools. Whitmer proposes … time Whitmer has singled out charter schools. Whitmer’s 2023 budget … districts, excluded most charter schools. Charter school teachers are often … exception of students in online charter schools. “Gov. Whitmer’s …

School accountability bill gets failing grade

House Bill 4166 would eliminate A-to-F scoring system for Michigan schools

… just reduce district transparency. It would also hinder efforts to hold charter schools accountable. Current state law requires a charter school to close if it is among the lowest achieving in the state for three …

Grand Rapids charter school makes engineers and pilots

School’s freedom to innovate and contract with a for-profit management organization make this possible

… though it, like some other charter schools, contracts with a … mediocre performance among charter schools supported by for-profit … higher test scores among charter schools are due to selection … As a state-funded, public charter school with its own board … has its own administrators. Charter schools, by nature, are not …

The notion of Gotion

Corporate handouts are expensive, ineffective

Note: The author will be discussing economic development incentives Monday, February 13 at a special meeting of the Big Rapids Charter Board at 7:00 p.m. The Michigan Strategic Fund approved a deal in October to grant massive subsidies to a for-profit corporation known as Gotion, Inc. It includes state …

The 2023 Agenda

Renewing commitments to past victories and seizing the moment for new opportunities

… in this new session, though study after study shows it to be ineffective, expensive and unfair. We are also keeping an eye on education policy. Charter schools may be threatened by targeted spending cuts and inappropriate restrictions. There may also be other efforts to restrict parents’ ability to …

Meet the New Boss: Michigan is a Blue State Now

… now are the same: school choice for families and choice for workers — the right to work without paying into a union. Both will come under attack. Charter schools and even homeschools are a threat to the education establishment. Freedom and choice don’t jibe well with union finances – upward of 140,000 …

‘It’s the message that hopefully I can carry on behalf of Michigan families’

Beth DeShone on issue lobbying

… independent of a campaign setting.” She mentions two accomplishments that bring her the most pride. She helped eliminate the cap on the number of charter schools, which happened in 2011. “The opportunity to grow the school choice sector in the state was something that I’d extremely proud of being a …

‘It’s not like the auto industry ever wanted something from the state government and didn’t get it’

Dawson Bell on changes to Michigan’s political landscape

… agenda item for Republicans, and education reform: You know we had the big charter school proposal and Proposal A property tax and education initiatives,” … of the changes seemed like they would be more meaningful at the time. “Charter schools was sort of a revolutionary idea in that period, and we thought …

Law, Labor & Love

Steve Delie was born and raised in Michigan, attended a charter school as an elementary student, benefited from private school choice in high school, … engineers, he grew up in Jackson and attended a National Heritage Academies charter school. After graduating from Hillsdale, Steve went to Michigan State University …

Six Trends That Influence the Public Policy Environment

… Democratic politicians resist school choice, despite the revealed preferences of their constituents. (About half of Detroit schoolchildren attend a charter school.) Free speech was once the undisputed domain of the Left, but this is changing. Meanwhile, some Republicans have embraced forms of protectionism …

Michigan will be less free and more regulated in 2023

Expect water rights to be challenged and homeschools to be regulated

… for them. In 2014, Democratic legislators tried to limit the number of charter schools, but were foiled by opposition by charter school parents and allies. The idea could resurface next year, however. …

Red state, blue state, whatever

Policy choices, not party registrations, determine whether states succeed

… desire transcends partisan tendencies. What voters think matters a lot. Charter schools are historically beloved by Republicans and disdained by Democrats. That remains true to some extent. But Democrats are not shutting down charters when their voters like them. Voter intensity also matters in determining …

‘We’re going to give every kid the option to pursue the best education possible’

Matt Beienburg on scholarship accounts for all students and the future of education in Arizona

… mandates that disrupted the educational environment. “Families in Arizona and elsewhere were desperate for opportunities, a lot of them flocked to charter schools,” Beienburg says. It increased public interest in alternatives. As a researcher and advocate, Beienburg was there to promote expanded eligibility …

Detroit teachers have an attendance problem

40% of Detroit teachers were frequently or chronically absent last school year, according to the Detroit Public Schools Community District

… schools nationally had almost three times the chronic absence rate as their charter school counterparts, according to a 2017 report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Public schools had a rate of 28.3%, compared to charter schools at 10.3%.

Michigan bill would ban cellphones on school buses, in class

House Bill 6171 would require every Michigan school district to ban cellphones. Why?

… classroom, elsewhere on school property, or on a school bus or other school-related vehicle. Under the bill as Eisen wrote it, Michigan school boards and charter schools would be given a state-mandated homework assignment: Craft a policy to ban cellphones. Regardless whether anyone wants it, or thinks the district …

‘I know this from the colorful mail I receive from readers’

Ingrid Jacques on winning people over through columns and editorials

… issues that other journalists weren’t covering. She mentions writing about a Michigan Board of Education decision to withhold some grant money from charter schools. “That had not been in the press until I wrote about it. And pretty quickly thereafter they changed course and did decide to release the …

Michigan charter schools allege sneak attack, sue feds over grants

Lawsuit claims U.S. Education Department is trying to lessen charter schools’ access to grant monies, not facilitate it

… Public School Academies, a charter school association, sued the … guidelines are a sneak attack on charter schools, and are being used to lessen charter schools’ access to grants … 6, has worked to cut off charter schools’ access to grant funds … are designed to decrease charter school programs, and ensure …

What we know about the Michigan Parents' Council

New nine-member body may or may not gather input from parents

… Education Plan, speaking English as a second language, and being in foster care. No mention is made, however, of representing students who attend charter schools or otherwise do not participate in traditional public schooling. The establishment of the Parents’ Council appears to be a significant shift …

Hybrid Homeschooling Gives Families More Flexibility

‘It’s fabulous that families are being given more options’

… Most parents continue to enroll their children full-time in a district, charter or private school, making their own choices for a host of personal reasons. … Tuesday and Thursday. She left behind an instructional position at a public charter school for the freedom and flexibility of a hybrid program. Lesson plans …

Hybrid Homeschooling Gives Families Across Metro-Detroit More Flexibility

‘It's fabulous that families are being given more options’

… Most parents continue to enroll their children full-time in a district, charter or private school, making their own choices for a host of personal reasons. … Tuesday and Thursday. She left behind an instructional position at a public charter school for the freedom and flexibility of a hybrid program. Lesson plans …

Tide of School Choice Support Keeps Rising

Delay should not dishearten Michigan students, families

… setback, but they should press on, taking heart from their past and some recent developments elsewhere. Robust state laws afford broad access to public charter schools and district schools outside their assigned area. Families also have wide berth to provide education at home. Together, these advantages have …

Intermediate School Districts Get Bigger and Richer While Students Languish

Regional K-12 agencies deserve more intense scrutiny

… doesn’t reach the classroom. In 2021, for the first time in 15 years, the growth of ISD budgets did not outpace that of conventional districts and charter schools. Like typical districts, ISDs spend about 80% of their budgets on personnel. Staffing continues to surge upward, even as there are fewer …

What’s Really Unfair About School Funding?

Ed Trust-Midwest analysis based on incomplete picture

… other hand, excluding public charter schools from the analysis … low-income pupils. That’s because charters serve greater shares of these … approach, we sorted districts and charter schools by the share of low-income … includes nearly two-thirds of charter schools but less than 20% … funding reforms would apply to charter schools and their students …

The History Buff Who Wants to Let Kids Learn

… lawmakers from giving the public school district in Detroit more control over charter schools. Charter school advocates prevailed. Ben has compiled reports that rank every public …

What’s Really Unfair About School Funding?

Ed Trust-Midwest analysis based on incomplete picture

… other hand, excluding public charter schools from the analysis … low-income pupils. That’s because charters serve greater shares of these … approach, we sorted districts and charter schools by the share of low-income … includes nearly two-thirds of charter schools but less than 20% … funding reforms would apply to charter schools and their students …

Potential Fiscal Effects of a New Educational Choice Program in Michigan

… whether for a new ESA program, a public charter school or to enroll in a neighboring … the 830 public school district and charter schools in Michigan is greater than … aid for those districts and public charter schools will exceed $8,700. “2021-2022 … 2021, Michigan school districts and charter schools reported $588,344,559 spent …

Tax Credits and ESAs: Best of Both Worlds

… Accounts in Missouri,” Testimony Before the Senate Education Committee (Show-Me Institute March 23, 2021), https://perma.cc/9KRE-R3E4. Missouri’s four charter counties are Jackson, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis. See “County Classifications in the State of Missouri” (Missouri Association of Counties, …

Introduction

… relatively high degree of homeschooling freedom and access to quality charter school options.[2] The state also finished above the national median for … Michigan public school students, or one in four, attend either public charter schools or exercise inter-district choice.[4] While these options benefit …

Help Families Pay for Their Own Tutors

Massive COVID funds leaving many students behind

… nearly $1.4 billion. Further breakdowns show that charter schools aim to spend a greater share on academic … highlights two school systems – one district and one charter – that are providing students with tutoring. Ecorse Public Schools and Ypsilanti’s East Arbor Charter Academy report positive results for students, …

Greater transparency is needed between parents, Michigan schools

Local districts stonewall parents over course materials and other information

… to results for students. A great place to test this would be on the $6 billion in extra federal COVID relief rolling into the state’s district and charter schools. Though approved by Congress in 2020 and 2021, most of those dollars have not yet been spent. It would be a great benefit to know which specific …

'These past two years in general really show you that when parents band together they can really push for change'

Corey DeAngelis on the rush the fund students and tweeting for school choice

… momentum into this century. Last year, 19 states passed reforms to allow more charter schools, to fund students rather than institutions, and to help give parents … of public school that works for them, whether that's a traditional or a charter public school,” he says. “And to be to be frank, it shouldn't matter whether …

Michigan Per-Pupil Revenues Soar Again

Budget cut fears gave way to 8% increase in 2020-21

… spending for the first time in 15 years. Even so, these largely bureaucratic agencies spend one dollar for every nine used by local districts and charter schools. The state’s record public school funding occurred during a year in which many districts closed classrooms for extended periods of time. …

Michigan Needs to Modernize K-12 Funding

Student outcomes should be prioritized

… create additional disparities between conventional public schools and charter schools. Conventional districts, on average, took in $13,365 in revenue for each student enrolled in 2020, compared with $10,242 for charter schools. Although public school funding in Michigan has reached record …

Student Opportunity Scholarships: FAQs

… a leader in providing access to public school options outside the district where a student lives. That includes both brick-and-mortar and online charter schools. While these education options benefit some students, they are not uniformly available across the state. Further, the COVID experience with …

Governor’s Budget Downgrades Charter Schools

Whitmer’s school aid proposal picks winners and losers

… their districts. Most public charter school teachers are paid as … financial aid. That excludes many charter schools, which unlike conventional … students who select an online charter school from the promised primary … students enrolled in online charter schools. This gratuitous decision … affected students in all charter schools, or about 10% of the …

Flush with Cash, Flint Classrooms Finally Reopen

District takes in far more COVID relief than charters, neighbors

… But they haven’t. The opposite has tended to be true. Fifteen public charter schools in and around the city of Flint serve students very similar to those served by the district. Five out of every six students from these charter schools live within district boundaries. More than 90% of the students …

School Choice Week Returns as Demand for Options Soars

It’s time to put trust in Michigan parents

… a regular public school – whether by private, charter or home school. For years, many Michigan students … Michigan public school students attends either a charter or a district outside his or her home boundaries. … academic performance, while parents of public charter school students give high marks to those schools. …

Michigan Families Demand School Choice

… traditional public schools, charter schools, private schools and … Leadership Academy, a Detroit K-8 charter school that participated in … from the Livingston County charter school Light of the World … Kensington Woods Schools, another charter school, gives them to explore … goals.” A teacher at an online charter school expressed her support …

PACE and Mackinac: A Partnership to Empower Parents

… Parent Advocates for Choice in Education, emerged in late 2019, responding to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s veto that selectively denied extra funding to charter school students. We built relationships with school leaders and parents in Flint — where school choice has made a difference for some — to share stories …

School Choice Week Returns as Demand for Options Soars

It’s time to put trust in Michigan parents

… a regular public school – whether by private, charter or home school. For years, many Michigan students … Michigan public school students attends either a charter or a district outside his or her home boundaries. … academic performance, while parents of public charter school students give high marks to those schools. …

Massive COVID Funding Cries Out for Creative Uses

School districts should bring parents to the table

… learning platforms. Sporadic accounts from our own state suggest new summer school and professional development programs may be priorities. A Flint charter school hired an employee to coordinate COVID testing and related responses, while the city’s district office spent a tiny share of its relief to give …

Detroit’s Students Bear the Brunt of Democrats’ Attack on Charters

Fixation with contracts and structures overlooks what schools are doing to help students

… all federal funding to any charter school that “contracts with … Center Square have noted that charter school students in New Orleans … relatively high number of Detroit charters that contract with for-profit … report host at least some EMO charter schools. But none of them … Detroit, where 42 percent of charters contract with for-profit …

Who Owns Public School Students?

School district’s legal case says it does

… East Grand Rapids, which each charge five-figure tuition rates for students who apply from outside their boundaries. On the other hand, Michigan charter schools may be the most genuinely public, as they “must serve anyone who applies to attend.” In a time when frustrated families are flexing their …

Can Yellow Buses Still Do It Alone?

… transportation to general education students, though about one-third of charter schools and nearly all conventional districts do. Nearly 4% of public school … financial aid to help move their children to and from another district, charter or private school. Instead of depending on the standard bus service that …

Charter School Association: Sports Reporter Shouldn’t Have Taken Unfair Swipe At Charter Schools

… news that for the first time a charter school — Michigan Collegiate … game. But McCabe implied that charter schools routinely cheat when … cross-eyed when you mention charter schools and athletics. Many charter schools have checkered reputations … It is believed that some charter schools view Michigan High …

Can Yellow Buses Still Do It Alone?

Time to explore creative alternatives for student transportation

… transportation to general education students, though about one-third of charter schools and nearly all conventional districts do. Nearly 4% of public school … financial aid to help move their children to and from another district, charter or private school. Instead of depending on the standard bus service that …

Don’t Look Back, Ohio

… circuitous path of bypassing Whitmer’s veto. Her actions weren’t necessarily unexpected. She earlier tried to deprive funds to students in public charter schools and blocked sharing even a small amount of federal COVID aid with parents of struggling readers. Even without the governor’s opposition, …

Virginia Election Result Highlights Opportunity for Michigan Parent Power

Curriculum transparency, scholarship accounts offer key solutions

… option. But there is another policy change that lawmakers could make to show their confidence in parents and their important role. Districts and charter schools should post their curriculum materials online. Enhancing transparency in this way would help parents make informed decisions and promote greater …

Don’t Look Back, Ohio

New Michigan legislation could close education opportunity gap

… But adopting the policy requires overcoming Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s likely opposition. She has already tried to deprive funds to students in public charter schools and blocked sharing even a small amount of federal COVID aid with parents of struggling readers. It’s not a stretch to imagine she would also …

Invest in Children or the K-12 System?

Voters should know how much schools already spend

… most adequately funded districts, according to the report’s own terms. And that is before adding in their enormous shares of COVID relief. Public charter schools in these cities fall well short of the recommended funding levels. But they get a far better bang for the dollar. Michigan school systems …

Let Kids Learn

… but not at private schools, it creates an unfair barrier for parents based on religion. Third, private secular schools are able to reorganize as charter schools and receive public funds, but private religious schools cannot do the same without sacrificing their core values, beliefs and practices. …

How Many Students Will Return to District Schools?

Many K-12 dollars tied to October count day

… enrollment loss of 3.8% among K-12 students, even as charter public schools grew by 1.5%. Counting preschool … the blow for the 86% of districts and 59% of charters that lost students. They guaranteed 75% of the … of in-person enrollment is over. Districts and charter schools once again closely link their fortunes …

Stop Scapegoating Online Charter Schools

Complaints about COVID-19 relief distribution misguided

… cyber schools.” Cyber schools are charter public schools that provide most … billion total share. Last year, online charter schools educated over 19,000 pupils, … Virtual Academy and Michigan Virtual Charter Academy, do in fact enroll many more … switched to lower-funded online charters. In response, state lawmakers agreed …

Conventional School Interests Warned Lifting Cap On Charters Meant A 'Wild West' Expansion

There are 38 more now than the 256 Michigan charters of 10 years ago

Interests opposed to charter schools warned when the 2011 Michigan … 2011-12 school year, there 256 charter schools in Michigan. By the … decrease in the number of charter schools. At the start of … year, there are 294 total charter schools, one more than last … a total of 38 additional charter schools have been added.

Whitmer Veto Undercuts Struggling Young Readers

Families left to hope governor reconsiders scholarship program

… first time this governor got a second chance to undo a school aid budget misstep. In late 2019 she reversed a line-item budget veto that singled out charter schools, restoring a formula funding increase to the mostly disadvantaged students that she earlier approved for other public schools. Gov. Whitmer …

Michigan’s School Aid Budget Soars Again

Eyes now on districts charged with spending record sums

… 4% increase. Recently, lawmakers won acclaim for eliminating the foundation allowance gap, and rightly so. It’s a positive step to guarantee all charter schools and nearly all districts will receive the same minimum per-student funding guarantee of $8,700. (A few dozen hold-harmless districts will …

Clearing Up the Record on Michigan Charter Schools

A Response to Misguided Claims in The New Yorker

… was stated that “Michigan’s charters have consistently performed … the achievement of public charter schools with conventional … accounting for demographics, charters as a whole outperform other … parents continue to choose charters.” When asked, parents who … overwhelmingly recommend charters to their peers. The story …

These Parents And Children Looking For Alternatives After Virtual Instruction Failed Them

Schools’ poor pandemic performance has changed their relationship with parents and the public

… families to look past the usual debates over charter schools and vouchers. They focused instead on … limited the appeal of alternatives, including charter schools. By late summer, she found a K-8 parochial … schools of choice slots. Bailey said the nearest charter school is a half hour’s drive away, meaning she’d …

Michigan Families Flock to Charter Schools During COVID

Nation’s 30th anniversary of first charter law finds bright future

… adopting the nation’s first charter school law. Today more than … options in many states, public charter schools retain a prominent … true in our state, where charters are a well-established part … the oldest and strongest charter school laws in the nation. … one of the highest rates of charter enrollment, thanks in part …

“It was an idea whose time had come in West Virginia”

Garrett Ballengee of the Cardinal Institute on the Nation’s Largest School Choice Program

… millions of students attend charter schools, and many states even … there were no alternative or charter schools. This was, in part, … lawmakers were considering charter schools and other educational … able to get a very limited charter school program established, … that 46 other states have charter schools, for example,” he …

Parents Want Better Than Business-as-Usual in Education

Return to in-person instruction should come with more flexibility

… Each of these would have to be offered or sponsored by a school district, charter school, community college or public university. The school aid budget … most of them in the national survey. These include creating more public charter schools or learning pods, making more high-quality tutoring programs available, …

Detroit District Buries Charters in Federal COVID Relief

Extra millions don’t provide students with in-person learning

… windfall. Conventional districts and charter schools are absorbing an unprecedented … distributed unevenly. District and charter public schools in Detroit combine … low-income student than the average charter school. The district’s total $1.28 … support between DPSCD and the city’s charters, where low-income learners make up …

Overall Funding Impact

… district and over 100 times more than two dozen other districts. Table 2 and Table 3 list the top 15 and bottom 15 Michigan districts, including charter schools, in terms of the total combined per-pupil impact of federal COVID relief and the one-year formula adjustment. Smaller outlying districts, …

The Switch to 75-25: A Benefit to School District Budgets, Not Students

… allowance, which provides conventional districts and charter schools a minimum amount of per-student funding. … remote instruction. Factoring out cyber schools, charter schools received only half as much benefit from … districts: $120 per pupil vs. $251 per pupil. Even so, charters were overrepresented among those most heavily …

Additional Congressional COVID Relief

… the combined revenues produced by its two predecessors. Nine out of 10 dollars in the allocation are guaranteed to fund conventional districts and charter schools, with most of the remaining funds available to fund summer school programs, after school programs and other education priorities at the Legislature’s …

Breaking Down the CARES Act

… as follows: Districts and charter schools across the state received … grants to 328 districts and charter schools.[6] Priority was given … million to local districts and charter schools that have more than … million to all districts and charter schools on an equal per-pupil … Livingston Classical Academy charter schools to $3,180 per student …

Andrew B. Gillman: Translator, entrepreneur and free-market supporter

… outmoded and anti-competitive manner in which education is provided. These populations overwhelmingly want greater school choice, in the form of charter public schools or vouchers for private schools, so that they, too, can build a strong academic foundation. The COVID situation has only shown how …

Pandemic Shutdown? Pay Up Anyway, Says Utility

Michigan consumers need more choice

… its shareholders. Granted a monopoly by state law, its profits are guaranteed, and yet, it seeks to squeeze as much as it can out of this public charter school. It's unlikely the utility would try to pull this off if it faced genuine competition from other energy providers. But as it stands, the Morey …

Get Creative with Federal Education Dollars

Small share of massive sum can support families directly

… received. Off the top, 90% of the $3.7 billion will go to districts and charter schools according to a formula that produces some wildly unequal results. … too. The Legislature should direct some of this money to districts and charters that are shortchanged by the formula used to pay out the 90%. State lawmakers …

Pandemic Doesn’t Slow Down School Funding Gains

Record dollars continue misplaced priorities

… 2019-20. That number reflects every dollar collected by conventional, charter and intermediate districts, divided by the number of students included … obscure more interesting trends. While per-pupil revenues for the state’s charter schools grew in line with inflation, revenues for conventional districts …

Michigan Per-Pupil Revenues Reach All-Time High

Mackinac Center database reveals details of K-12 funding

… public school agencies, including districts, charter schools and ISDs. Despite fears that the COVID-19 … nearly twice as much as per-pupil revenues for charter schools, for instance. Charter schools were already put at a funding disadvantage, …