By Rev. Bryan Hudson
During the late summer of 2002, 11 charter schools opened their doors in Indiana. In what was the most innovative feature of Indiana charter school legislation, the mayor of Indianapolis was granted authority to authorize up to 5 new charters per year in the city of Indianapolis.
As with other charter school states, state universities and school boards are also granted authority to authorize education charters. Mayor Bart Peterson spearheaded a process to review charter school proposals and consider formal applications. Proposals came from applicants ranging from entrepreneurs to church-sponsored groups to public and private school educators who want to start their own school. These proposals were submitted to the mayor’s commission, which was charged with the responsibility to give recommended applications to the mayor for final consideration.
Charter schools in Indiana have garnered both praise and criticism. Praise comes from parents and other school choice advocates who have long demanded publicly funded education options in Indiana. But opponents of education options criticize the concept on the premise that nothing should be allowed to challenge the traditional public school model or financial order. While charter school legislation garnered bipartisan political support in the Indiana legislature, the framework was built on compromise. Specifically, the funding model required traditional public school districts to give up their share of per capita student revenue when parents elect to enroll their children in the new charter schools. One of the compromises involved charter schools receiving less money per student than traditional public schools. Another compromise resulted in the mayor’s commission imposing restrictions on enrollment numbers and location of new charter schools. These impositions were made in order to mitigate concern by the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS).
The issue on funding/enrollment/location was vigorously debated both in public and in private. IPS’s superintendent, Pat Pritchett, petitioned both the legislature and the charter school commission to limit the impact of charter schools by placing restrictions on their funding, enrollment, and physical location. One state legislator proposed a moratorium on new charter schools until the funding structure could be sorted out.
One charter recipient, the Imani School of Excellence proposed by African American religious and community leaders, had difficulty opening, partly because of the compromised funding/location model. Coupled with other start-up challenges, Imani became the first charter school to lose its charter, and this before it even opened. The group plans to reapply. School leaders were initially told to locate the school outside the IPS district—a compromise that made it difficult for them to serve their inner-city constituents or to acquire suitable property. The final blow for Imani was the downturn in the economy along with state school funding uncertainties, both of which contributed to the withdrawal of their management firm and investor, Edison Schools Inc.
It seems that African American–based groups have had greater difficulty getting proposals and applications through the arduous review process. The principal factor in this difficulty has been a lack of cash and capital. One of the frustrating stipulations of the original Indiana charter-school funding model was that operators were responsible to finance their charter schools from start-up to a full six months of operation before receiving a nickel of state money. With start up costs easily surpassing a million dollars and six months’ operating expenses consuming another million dollars for a small school, minority groups, which typically lack the investment power of whites, either could not demonstrate financial viability or decided that the financial obstacles were insurmountable.
The only African American–led organization that succeeded in the first round of new charters was Flanner House Charter School, which previously operated a private school and has functioned for decades doing community service.
It would be good to see more African Americans stepping up to the plate to start charter schools. But such an initiative will require collective vision and investment on the part of black leaders and businessmen in coordination with strategic partnerships.
Current Charter Schools
The Christel House Academy is operated by philanthropist Christel DeHahn. In a strange twist of events, DeHahn’s organization was able to acquire the facility of one-time megachurch Baptist Temple and Christian School. The property had been seized by the IRS after years of litigation following the church’s controversial refusal to pay payroll tax on its employees.
In demonstrating their ability to reach minority populations, Indiana’s charter schools have an impressive 40 percent minority enrollment. Children who attend charter schools come from socioeconomic conditions similar to, or worse than, those of traditional urban public schools.
Are Charter Schools Beneficial?
In my view, the development of charter schools is a positive achievement in Indiana. Speaking as a parent who spent 19 years educating four children in a private Christian school, I know the value (and expense!) of quality education. As a pastor, I also know the sad plight of families whose children become trapped in a failing school for lack of choice and financial resources. Short of taxfunded scholarships (i.e., vouchers) to lowerincome families, charter schools represent the best option for parents who want a better education for their children.
Urban Christian schools that have a pastoral and evangelistic focus will continue to fill a vital but diminishing role in educating the poor as parents choose tuition-free charter schools.
However, the introduction of charter schools brings yet another compromise on a wider scale:
Charter schools will change the order of the urban education landscape. Tuition-based urban private schools and private Christian schools that have faithfully served communities for decades will face declines in enrollment. Free tuition in a charter school is an attractive option for many parents who have formerly paid to educate their children at private schools or private Christian schools. The historic St. Rita’s Catholic School in Indianapolis was one of the first casualties of the new urban education order. That said, larger private schools and private Christian schools will continue to thrive because of the religious convictions and/or financial resources of parents who will choose only those schools. Some choose private schools for reasons of culture or prestige. Others choose Christian schools in the conviction that one is not truly educated without the integration of God into everyday life and curriculum. Urban Christian schools that have a pastoral and evangelistic focus will continue to fill a vital but diminishing role in educating the poor as parents choose tuition-free charter schools.
Parents with limited means who prefer to educate their children in faith-based schools should continue to make the personal sacrifices to pay tuition as well as work to enact school choice legislation such as tuition tax credits and education vouchers. As Dr. Howard Fuller, education options activist, says, “Choice is widespread, unless you are poor.”
Until more publicly funded education options become available in Indiana and across the nation, charter schools will be the only viable option to traditional public schools.
The Meantime Volume 4 Number 1