Comments on: Aviation charter school does not impress OUSD

By: Connie Spinnato

Connie Spinnato — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:05:28 +0000

Yes they did deny us, but I did expect that.They really only wanted to dwell on the last 4 years I was not here, but I understand where they are coming from. We are not done and we are not out. We do not have any monetary support from any outside agencies, although I am looking into options. We do get funding from free-reduced lunches, but we pay out enourmous amount of money to OUSD for Special Ed. and other items. We got one yes from Director Dobbins which we appreciated. I am sure you will be hearing about us again in a positve manner. They say our scores are low, which they are, they say our children are not learning to read and write, but yet our 21 out 23 of our seniors have been accepted to further higher education. Students are being accepted at UC and State colleges. Thank you to many of you for your support and we really appreciate it. If you would like to take a look at the faces of the students that will be effected by this closure go to Youtube and put in SAVE OUR SCHOOL OAHS. Thank you again.

By: Katy Murphy

Katy Murphy — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 06:22:59 +0000

The board just voted to deny the charter renewal.

By: Katy Murphy

Katy Murphy — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:58:06 +0000

This Ed Source report explains how charter schools are funded: http://www.edsource.org/iss_fin_sys_charters.html

By: Yastrzemski

Yastrzemski — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:45:35 +0000

100% agree…dump all of the underperforming schools, OUSD and Charter alike. OMI and OSA get private donations for part of their budgets, they fundraise. But, they also have a high percentage of free & reduced lunch, low – income students so they get some $$ for that too, so maybe OAHS is getting some money for their students that qualify for reduced lunches.

By: livegreen

livegreen — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:39:48 +0000

Agreed. Back to the charters, we should keep the goods ones, but the bad ones gotta go. 0 progress for higher overhead = bigger debt.

Katy mentioned OUSD isn’t directly funding OAHS. Please explain? Is it the same for other non-privately funded charters?

By: Yastrzemski

Yastrzemski — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 01:39:43 +0000

Sure, neighbors send their kids to the public elementary schools. Then, when it is time for them to graduate, and the neighborhood middle school is worse than the elementary school, without any other options, they leave. It happens all of the time. What parent wants to put their child in a sub-par, overcrowded class…that is where we’re headed. There are not many options for Middle Schools, not everyone can “option” to Montera and Brewer, especially if the neighborhood families fill them.

By: livegreen

livegreen — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 01:12:11 +0000

We don’t know that. Some would and some wouldn’t. Maybe Options would be used even more, esp in K-5. 6-8 is a different matter.

In our K-5 school more and more neighborhood kids are coming.

By: Yastrzemski

Yastrzemski — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:02:08 +0000

To some parents that have chosen an OUSD charter…it is an incorrect assumption. If “Charter A” did not exist, they would take their student and possibly their younger child (enrolled in an OUSD elementary school)out of Oakland entirely…along with their tax dollars.

It is sad that OUSD looks at Charters as “competition”. We’re all the same district and we’re all going to go down the drain together. Hopefully the “powers that be” will wake up before it is too late and try and salvage what is left.

By: Katy Murphy

Katy Murphy — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:07:06 +0000

OUSD isn’t directly funding Oakland Aviation, the way it does its other schools. Financial concerns about charters, on the part of school districts, tend to relate to district enrollment and per-student state funding. There is an assumption that if Charter School A didn’t exist, some or all of its students would attend a district school, keeping state funding for those students on the district’s balance sheet.

This is a concern common for districts that have experienced rapid enrollment decline, such as Oakland Unified did in the last decade. It’s not easy to downsize a district.

By: livegreen

livegreen — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:58:52 +0000

Does OAHS receive any outside funding? From either the airlines or other companies they’re geared to get jobs with, or the unions who graduates might become members of?

Outside funding is a third option, as it might allow the school to continue while still relieving OUSD of the higher costs of a small school. In turn it gets a few more years to see if they can turn the program around.

If not, well these are difficult times…