The state auditor’s office has released a report requested by Rep. Gerry Pollet (D-Seattle) on financial accountability at the state’s 12 charter schools. Rep. Pollet is a well-known opponent of allowing children to attend charter schools, and is supportive of the WEA union’s efforts to close these popular public schools.
The auditors report that they found no fiscal impropriety at charter schools. Still, in a statement Rep. Pollet cited the audit in claiming charter schools lack accountability and transparency. His public criticism includes a number of false claims and inaccuracies.
First, he says he wants to “...ensure charter schools are properly serving at-risk students in their communities.”
It turns out charter schools disproportionately serve low-income and at-risk youth, and that charters are particularly popular in minority communities. But Rep. Pollet expresses no concern for at-risk students that administrators assign to one of the 252 public schools identified by the state as failing to serve their students. (See 2018 Washington School Improvement Framework, formerly known as the Washington School Achievement Index. See also our study here.)
Next, he says public charter schools do not serve sufficient percentages of low-income, minority, English Language Learners and special needs students.
This is a false standard. Charter schools are not required to meet racial and other quotas. In fact, racial and ethnic quotas are illegal under the Washington Civil Rights Act (RCW 49.60.400).
Attendance at a public charter school is entirely voluntary, which is one reason the schools are so popular. Current figures show a majority (61%) of the 3,500 students who attend a Washington state charter school are students of color, 58% are low-income students, and 16% are special needs students. All these percentages exceed state averages for serving at-risk students, and many exceed local school district averages.
Next, he claims most charter schools “have not established or published procedures for public records requests.”
As a researcher I have found charter schools to be open and prompt in responding to public records requests. Charters are more cooperative, in fact, than many traditional school districts.
Also, lawmakers need to think twice before casting aspersions about compliance with public records requests. Last session Rep. Pollet and his colleagues in the legislature tried to exempt themselves from the Public Records Act by passing SB 6617. The bill was vetoed, but only after a massive public outcry caused lawmakers to back down.
Next, Rep. Pollet says, “not a single charter school provided a statement of costs, index of records, or list of exemptions for the audit.”
This is taken-out-of-context, and sounds like a big deal, but it is trivial. Here’s what the audit actually says:
"Charter schools met some, but not all, foundational requirements of the Public Records Act. While all schools trained and appointed a public records officer, seven of 10 schools did not establish or publish procedures on how the public could request public records; none provided a statement of costs, index of records, or list of exemptions.”
The audit also reports that, during the course of the study, several charter schools made improvements to these procedures.
Finally, Rep. Pollet says, “Charter schools should have locally-elected boards that are accountable to the communities they serve.”
Charter schools are governed by volunteer local boards that report to the State Charter School Commission, an accountability arrangement approved by voters and later confirmed by a bipartisan bill passed by the legislature (Rep. Pollet voted against the bill).
The audit did not review the 252 state-identified failing schools that are run by locally-elected boards. Local school elections are often dominated by union money, as the powerful WEA seeks to get its political allies placed on the school board (see Seattle, for example).
An independent charter school board hires its own principal, hires top teachers and can fire incompetent ones – all powers that are denied to administrators at traditional public schools. For these reasons, local charter school boards are far more responsive to parents than traditional ones, which may explain why most charters have waiting lists.
Rep. Pollet is using the state audit in an effort to hurt charter schools. He shows little concern for children sent daily to failing public schools, probably because funding for these schools is defended by the union. He also appears oblivious to the popularity and success of charters, and that more charter schools open in low-income communities every year. Fortunately, charter school parents don’t need his approval to do what is best for their children.
