District 742 Approves Resolution to Lobby Legislature for Charter School Study

(KNSI) — The St. Cloud Area District 742 School Board approved a resolution Wednesday night to ask the Minnesota School Board Association to lobby lawmakers to look at how much charter schools cost traditional public schools and how well they teach kids.

Following the meeting, School Board Vice Chair Al Dahlgren told KNSI News directly he believes charter schools have moved away from their original intent. “We’re 30 years into the charter school process now, and charter schools are changing. They’re becoming large corporate education institutions or replacement schools for public schools. So, you have the state funding schools to replace state funded schools, and it’s just ending up costing more and more.”

The state is funding the cost of charter schools by leasing building space from the school’s owners to the tune of $1,314 per student. By comparison, District 742 gets $212 per student in state tax money. Public schools must also cover the cost of transporting kids to class. For St. Cloud, that’s a cost of $1 million a year, according to its finance department. The district also spends $575,000 a year on transportation for private school students. That’s something the board will also ask to be covered.

Dahlgren explained to KNSI that local charter schools are “not performing at the level that the St. Cloud School District is performing. On average, in this school district, charter schools are performing at 10 points lower than St. Cloud public schools on MCA tests.”

The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment tests are given in reading, math, and science that help districts measure student progress toward the state’s academic standards and also meet the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Only one area charter school scored slightly higher in science.

The resolution will ask the MSBA to support compensatory funding to follow students who leave a charter school after the October 1st deadline and re-enroll in the public school system. As it stands now, charter schools get to keep that money.

The district is also requesting the MSBA support a set saturation level in any school district for which no more charter schools will be approved within the district boundaries.

Dahlgren concluded our interview by saying the board supports parents who choose to go elsewhere, but they want to ensure it’s not at the expense of students. “We’re not saying charter schools are bad, or we need to abolish charter schools. What we’re questioning is why are we expanding this model when it doesn’t seem to be figured out? And are we getting what we originally intended to get from charter schools? Or are we just giving another option? Are we just opening more schools?”

About 1,200 students that would otherwise attend schools within 742’s boundaries attend charter schools instead.

The resolution will be presented at the MSBA conference in December. If approved, it would be brought forth to lawmakers for legislation in 2024.

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