ACSA President Chuck Weis recently gave testimony before the state Little Hoover Commission at a public hearing on charter school issues.

Various interested parties were invited to speak. Weis represented the ACSA viewpoint, as well as his own, as the superintendent of Santa Clara County, on the issue of improving charter oversight and accountability.

Weis started out by indicating his belief that charter schools certainly have a role to play in education.

"Parents today are not interested in having their children attend a school simply because it is in their neighborhood," Weis said. "This ‘Y’ generation, which is very strong in Santa Clara County, is interested in putting their children into the school of their choice, regardless of district or county boundaries. This is a difficult concept for many in the traditional education model to understand and oftentimes difficult to implement, due to the way schools are funded. Charter schools can fit into this model."

However, Weis indicated interaction between charter schools and traditional schools has been problematic.

"Many charter schools simply replicate much of what the traditional school system has been doing," Weis testified. "While the relationship between charter schools and traditional districts vary by school and district, it is typical that the two segments are not encouraged to share ideas and work together to provide additional educational opportunities for all students. The primary reason for the lack of collaboration … is the competition implicit in the nature of charters."

Weis also noted he has knowledge of a number of examples where a district and charter school collaborate to offer classes to students and best practices for interventions.

"That is why ACSA is taking it upon itself to identify charter leaders throughout our designated regions and to provide this information to our members," he said. "We are encouraging our members to include charter school leaders in ACSA regional events, so that communication can continue and expand."

Weis suggested his own experience in Santa Clara County could help address the increasing number of charters approved on appeals at the county and state level.

"When I arrived two years ago, I made it a priority to put a process in place that clearly states what is expected for school districts and charter schools," Weis said. "We have put into place procedures and practices for overseeing charters that the county has approved, and we are assisting our school districts in their work as charter authorizers. This process has resulted in greater accountability for determining successful charters and is providing data that will be used to establish accountability targets."

Weis was asked to testify to the issue of charter renewals and revocations.

For renewal, he said, ACSA believes that mandatory academic accountability targets must be met, or a standard that shows significant movement toward those standards has been met.

He added that revoking a charter has been much harder than not renewing one. He said there should be another option besides revocation if it is in the best interests of students.

"What should we do if a charter school is performing well academically but has terrible fiscal mismanagement?" Weis asked. "The students, parents, employees or chartering authorizer may want to keep the school open, but the law only authorizes for a revocation. Alternatives could include removing members of the board, executive director, hiring someone to help the school financially, or revocation."

On the issue of charter schools, the question of flexibility always arises. The commission asked Weis if all schools would be able to improve student achievement if they were given the same amount of funding flexibility as charter schools enjoy.

"First, this question assumes all charter schools are able to improve student outcomes," Weis said. "There are good and bad charter schools and there are good and bad traditional schools. Certainly, giving school districts flexibility to meet the needs of our individual districts and communities is desired by everyone. School districts still will have collective bargaining contracts they must honor and court cases to comply with.

"With the current financial crisis that California’s school districts are facing, flexibility is critical for financial survival. Flexibility should be provided to all public schools across the board, charter and traditional."

The Little Hoover Commission is an independent state oversight agency created in 1962. The commission’s mission is to investigate state government operations and provide reports, recommendations and legislative proposals that promote government efficiency, economy and improved service. For more information on the commission, visit www.lhc.ca.gov.