This is part 3 of a 3 part series on the proposed new Quest Academy charter school in Montclair. For more information, please read the two previous articles. See the SCHOOLS SECTION for each part of this series.
At the public meeting sponsored by the League of Women Voters in Montclair and surrounding areas, there were two speakers who discussed the notion of charter schools, and how they may impact the school district in Montclair.
Both Dr. Katrina Bulkley and Montclair Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Alvarez presented their ideas and some basic information on charter schools.
Founders of the proposed Quest Academy chose not to speak, and promised to offer public meetings if their application to the state is approved.
As part of this discussion, the pros and cons of having a charter school in Montclair were discussed as well.
Here is a listing of both sides of the coin – with a few new ideas thrown in as well.
Why would a charter school benefit Montclair?
-- The charter school would be much smaller than the high school - only 160 students to start.
--Since parents sign a contract with the charter school, there tends to be a very high rate of parent participation.
--Charter schools are autonomous and do not follow the rules and regulation of the local school district and board of education.
--Charter schools must use certified teachers; however, they do not have to be in a union, so the schools may attract newer, younger teachers.
--Many people believe that since charter schools will not be overburdened with beurocracy, they will be more innovative.
--Parent satisfaction was rated high on national surveys for charter schools (according to Bulkley).
--Class size: class size at Montclair High School is larger than what the charter school would offer. Many families in Montclair want smaller classes and more personalized attention for their children.
Why would a charter school in Montclair negatively impact the township?
--Funding: every student that leaves the public schools to attend the charter school is paid for at a rate of 90% per student, or in excess of $12,000, by the district. This means that the taxpayer will have a bigger board of ed budget to cover, and taxes most likely would go up. For 160 students, that would mean about $2.1 million in extra costs to cover.
--Oversight: since the charter school would be totally autonomous from the public schools, oversight would need to be done by the state, which has an authorizer for this very scenario. However, since the state only has one official authorizer, with clerical and other staff under that person, oversight may be light at best.
--Lottery: since students are chosen by a lottery system, and Montclair is a unique community filled with many diverse cultures, races and economic levels, there is a high probability that the charter school will not be able to maintain a true diversity.
However, if the charter school can design a method to ensure diversity and get it approved by the state, it could work. Right now there is no official diversity method included in their application, and the notion of a ‘weighted lottery’ is not accepted in N.J. (as per the Department of Education, N.J.).
--Special Education: Due to the small sizes of classes, though special needs’ children could get funding towards their special education needs, there would not be a plethora of programs for them in a new charter school.
However, this could change as the school grows.
--Athletic: Same problems as special education, but there is no extra funding for athletics. Students would probably have a much smaller number of sports they can play.
--The state can shut down a charter school, and will decide in 5 years if the school is doing an acceptable job. This can be extremely disruptive to kids.
What’s a wash:
Reports sometimes show kids do better in public schools, and sometimes do better in charter schools. It all depends upon the particular school system. Since Montclair is such a unique community, you really can’t predict the test scores for a new charter school until one if up and running.
If the state approves this application, the township and entire state will certainly get to see.
As the old saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. Stay tuned!
