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The ABCs of Charter Schools

By Deanna Broxton

Charter schools are springing up all over the Sacramento region as more and more parents seek innovative alternatives to traditional public learning institutions.
     The Sacramento region boasts 26 charter schools with educational programs that range from nontraditional vocational/technical training, global instruction, performing arts, health and science, construction and more. In addition, 13 up-and-coming schools are located in Sacramento, El Dorado, Yolo and Placer counties.
     Marcie Launey, president of the Sacramento City Teachers Association, believes more attention has been given to local charter schools in recent years, in part because of the controversy surrounding the reopening of Sacramento High School as a charter in 2003. Launey says the number of charters in the district has mushroomed.
     And while the association supports charters, it is concerned with the financial drain they place on declining-enrollment districts, such as Sacramento City Unified School District, and the risky position they place teachers in as at-will employees.
     “We are underfunded in all educational programs across the state, and independent charters take away from the larger organization. At the high-school level, when a school becomes a charter, the district is obligated to give them not only ADA (average daily attendance funding) but also pay them close to $800 per student on top of that. That is a very serious cut into this district’s budget,” Launey adds.

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