Thanks to all of you who took the opportunity to provide continuing input regarding proposals for election of charter board members.

 

Based on your input, and MACSB experiences, we have developed the following position statement on this issue.

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Regardless of specifics, the MACSB does not support any proposal that in any way dictates the membership makeup of charter boards.

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Rationale/comment: One of the principles underlying the charter/school choice movement was "less restriction/regulation of school operations". With limited exception, this principle has not held much sway in Michigan. Nonetheless, charter schools have already demonstrated that parental choice is a positive and clearly appreciated force in public education, and deserves a permanent and expanding future.

 

As we move forward, there will be predictable attempts (some even well-intended, though misguided) to "control" charter schools in a variety of ways. Proposals to mandate governing board membership fit that mold. And even if some of us agree with the "ideas" behind such proposals that does not necessarily justify translation into law - particularly when it limits legitimate flexibility on the part of duly appointed public officials and the authorizers that have responsibility to appoint them.

 

Predictably, but rightly, MACSB believes effective charter boards are the key to charter success in Michigan. It all starts with good governance, and ends with successful students and satisfied parents. So let charter boards govern with as much latitude as possible, including the right to make mistakes on occasion and learn from them.

 

Back to the "idea" behind these proposals...arguing against mandates for parent membership sounds educationally "incorrect". MACSB is not at all against parent membership, but here are some thoughts on the matter:

 

Parent board members should NOT be seen as parent "representatives", somehow expected to limit their input to the "parent" view of things. That puts such persons in a narrow box that seemingly requires they speak for all the school parents. School parents, as everyone knows, are hardly a homogeneous group, and thus not subject to effective representation by a select but small number of co-parents.

 

Boards should always look to selection of individuals, including parents, who bring dedication and good judgment to the table. Those are the truly appropriate criteria. Some folks, however, believe that mandating parent members might force membership of people who were not otherwise "qualified" by virtue of credentials (e.g. lacking skill sets in finance, education, etc.). MACSB agrees a mandate is not the way to go, but not with the "qualifications" argument. Boards should not seek or require candidates with certain occupational skills - that is why we hire administrators, lawyers, teachers, accountants, etc. to run the program. Governance is not there to second guess those folks because board members share similar skills. It is there to set expectations for effective and ethical performance and hold the experts accountable.

 

In the final analysis, having parents as board members can be a big plus if:

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Please feel free to share your thoughts with us and disagreement is quite okay!

Board Members: Some time back we provided you with preliminary information regarding the federal "E-Rate" program that offers considerable cost savings to public schools (including charter schools) for ongoing communications (identified as Priority One: phone bills, etc.) and for creating/improving your network infrastructure and for expanding learning opportunities such as distance education, etc. (considered Priority Two).

 

A review of current participation reveals that the great majority of Michigan charter schools have not taken advantage of this federal resource. We have since had considerable follow-up with Remy Bibaud from Intelagent Resources (IR), out of Pennsylvania, which has successfully provided E-Rate assistance to charter schools in Pennsylvania for the last 3 years and is expanding in to other states. IR's consulting team has been successfully leveraging the E-Rate program for millions of dollars worth of funding for traditional schools and charter schools for as long as it has been around; it is going into its eleventh year.

 

Based on our discussions and meetings with IR, we confidently recommend that charter schools consider securing IR's assistance in pursuit of these federal resources for the benefit of their schools/students. (Attached for your information is a presentation that IR produced which will provide an overview of the program, who is eligible, how much is available and examples of charter school funding scenarios.) Remy has agreed to make herself available to you to provide further information and discovery.

 

To get things going, we request the following:

Bob Glees, Executive Director Michigan Association of Charter School Boards

 

Intelagent Resources Contact Information:

Remy Bibaud President and Founder

Intelagent Resources LLC

2878 Jameson Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15226

Phone: 412-563-8043

Mobile: 412-334-1888

Fax: 1- 866-643-0136

remy@intelagentresources.com

www.intelagentresources.com

 

ATTACHMENTS

PlanningE-rate.pdf Intelagent_Brochure.pdf

ERateServicesTemplate.pdf ErateNewsLetterFebruary2007.pdf MIEratePres.ppt