Federal and state laws support innovative efforts to improve education. Characteristics of School Districts Selecting Private Management

In school year 1994-95, four school districts—Baltimore City Public School District, Baltimore, Maryland; Dade County Public Schools, Dade County, Florida; Hartford School District, Hartford, Connecticut; and Minneapolis School District, Minneapolis, Minnesota—had contracts with private companies for school management. Under the contract, EAI was to (1) implement its Tesseract instructional approach, which included supplying computers for use as instructional tools and college-educated teaching assistants; (2) provide building maintenance and other noninstructional services; (3) manage the nine schools’ budgets; and (4) determine school staffing levels for the nine schools with the approval of the school district superintendent. With the money, which totaled $26.7 million in the first contract year, EAI was to pay the costs of operating the nine schools, including employees’ salaries and benefits, utilities, leasing costs for computers and other equipment, and repairs and maintenance. EAI was also to help the district hire the school’s principal and its teachers. The teachers union, however, opposed EAI’s requirement that teaching assistants have at least 90 college credits. It was not paid, however, when student test scores did not improve or when it did not negotiate the teachers’ contract to the district’s satisfaction. For example, students received individualized instruction and had greater access to computers and cleaner school buildings. Attendance and Suspension Rates Improved in Some Districts

In Dade County and Minneapolis, attendance rates improved; in Minneapolis, suspension rates declined. EAI installed computer labs in 5 of Hartford’s 32 schools. In Baltimore, officials told us that the nine schools were cleaner as well as better maintained. Impact of Private Management on Students’ Standardized Test Scores

In the Baltimore and Dade County privately managed schools—scores on standardized achievement tests, a traditional measure of student learning, showed no improvement when the scores were compared with those in other comparable schools. For example, EAI was to focus its instructional approach in only one school in Dade County but was to manage the entire Hartford School District. In the end, three of the four contracts had either expired, been terminated, or were in the process of being terminated.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the experiences of four school districts that contracted for public school management, focusing on the effects of private management contract arrangements on students.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) in Baltimore, Maryland, one contractor used its average per pupil allocation to manage 9 of the district's 183 schools, implement an instructional approach, and pay employees' salaries and benefits, utilities, and leasing and maintenance costs; (2) the Dade County, Florida, contractor raised $2 million to implement its instructional approach in one school and hire principals and teachers, but the district retained its responsibilities over the school's budget, food service, and maintenance and repair; (3) in Hartford, Connecticut, the contractor received district, state, and federal funds to manage the district's 32 schools and made recommendations for improving instruction; (4) the Minneapolis, Minnesota, contractor served as the district's superintendent and was paid for achieving specific goals, objectives, and assignments; (5) while the school boards and teachers unions supported implementation of private management in Dade County and Minneapolis, there was opposition to private management in Baltimore and Hartford; (6) in Baltimore, teaching assistants with college degrees were placed in each class, students had access to more computers, and schools were cleaner and better maintained; (7) in Dade County, attendance rates improved, teaching assistants with college degrees increased, and students had access to more computers; (8) in Hartford, students had access to more computers and the contractor was in the process of repairing school buildings and installing computer labs in five schools; (9) in Minneapolis, attendance rates improved and suspension rates declined; and (10) in each of the four districts, standardized achievement test scores did not significantly increase or were not available.