January 15, 2015 Budget, Charter schools, Common Core, Construction, In the classroom, Palm Beach County schools, Students, Technology, Testing.
A is for Assessments: The school board is among many that would like to see relief from testing. They’d like more time to transition to the state’s new tests – time in which schools and districts would not be penalized for poor performance. There’s also concern about the number of tests, the technology demands the state has tied to testing and the use of the test results.
B is for Buses: Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Delray and the guy who often leads the charge in Tallahassee when it comes to highway safety, had some questions about buses. Are they safe? What challenges do we have?
COO Mike Burke says they’re safe, we know this because they must be inspected monthly. But, Burke said, “We get (from the state) about a dollar each way to get students to and from school.” The fleet average age is 10 years old when it should be closer to six and breakdowns have “been a source of inconvenience.” Driver turnover is also an issue, he said.
The calendar: State law says school can’t start earlier than two weeks before Labor Day. Palm Beach County wants that to be something each district decides on its own, based on its constituency. Board member Karen Brill argued that here, many residents value having off for the Jewish holidays. And for years, students have benefitted from a semester that ends before the winter holiday break. Brill and other board members say those values collide when the district is forced into a start date that right now would be Aug. 24.
Charter schools: Can their regulation be tightened? Can a district require schools to post performance bonds?
Chairman Chuck Shaw offered this math: Of 22 charter applications the board saw this year, the board turned down six, 16 withdrew. Some 14 charters are deferring their openings. Five school closed and $420,000 “disappeared into thin air” ; 609 students lost a seat in one of those schools and had to transfer somewhere else.
Rep. Dave Kerner, D-Palm Springs also asked about security on charter campuses. The school district has a police force, but the officers don’t operate on charter campuses. Emergencies are handled by the local policing agency, Shaw said. But Shaw too said he had concerns about campus safety at charters.
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