Charter School Contracts Broken

As reported today in the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore City charter schools are facing yet another obstacle put in their path--this time the utility bills.

The Baltimore school system has violated the terms of a contract with a charter school guaranteeing free utilities and maintenance through June 2008, documents show, a move that could leave the school unable to pay all its staff.

The system has decided to make eight charter schools that use its buildings pay for such services, a move that's left leaders at some of the schools scrambling to find the money. One of the hardest hit is Southwest Baltimore Charter School.

Last year, the system signed a three-year agreement with the new school allowing it to operate in extra classrooms at James McHenry Elementary for $1 annually, with utilities and maintenance included. Charter schools are public schools that operate independently.

But last month, the school was notified that the system would charge it $420 per pupil for utilities and maintenance plus an "optional" $200 per pupil for custodial services, which the school previously covered mostly with volunteers. It then began deducing for all three services from its payments to the school.

The fees total $74,400, or 11 percent of the budget of Southwest Baltimore Charter, which serves 120 pupils in kindergarten through second grade. The school had finalized its budget months before it learned of the extra fees, three weeks before the new academic year began.

Charter schools have generally had a rough road in Maryland, a state with a veto-proof supermajority in the legislature, a fairly politically potent teachers' union and a number of school systems reluctant to embrace charters. In addition to less than full funding (required by law and now to be enforced by court order), school systems appear not to be operating in good faith.

This latest move by the Baltimore City school board (which oversees arguably the worst school system in the state), puts the charter schools on the defensive once again. With a contract violation, they should have a practically slam dunk case in court, but going to court costs money and even if they get representation pro bono, the school system has time on its side.

Maryland's charter school law is barely four years old and there are 24 charter schools in teh state, with 17 schools in Baltimore alone. Like most charter schools, finding space is one of the biggest challenges facing the Baltimore charters. However, half of the charters are housed in unused public school facilities. Since Baltimore City schools have more space than students, the arrangement seemed like a match made in heaven. But Charter schools, which tend to run on a shoestring budget to begin with, argue that they should be paying only for the services used, not on a per pupil basis.

Charter schools in Maryland not only provide an alternative education environment, they must also operate in a much more fiscally sound manner. Between lower per pupil payments to start and massive overhead fees being charged to cover "central administrative" costs, most charters are left with a much smaller per pupil budget than the public school system. Yet, they tend to make due, with volunteer help and soliciting private donations.

Maryland, and particularly Baltimore, school systems are walking a fine line. On the one hand, teh school systems that struggle, like Baltimore City, Prince Georges' and some parts of Montgomery counties, face increasing pressures from parents and communities to provide either a better education or educational opportunities like charter schools. On the other hand, school boards and teachers unions are not enamored with charters for many of the common reasons.

Education is likely to play a key role in this year's gubernatorial and state legislative races. With the pressure on, a parental revolt is likely and if the politicans don't heed the call, you can bet that a bunch of them will be out the door in November and in four years.