Comments on: Learning from Defeat?

By: Emmett

Emmett — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:46:31 +0000

What would those merits be? Does Haas Hall lack merit?

By: Susan Norton

Susan Norton — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:41:03 +0000

Emmett-The district evaluates each request on the merits of the specific request. Susan

By: Emmett

Emmett — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:24:42 +0000

Susan — Do you think the district would be more supportive if the application were for a charter high school?

I don’t believe that the district has ever supported a request from Haas Hall.

By: BKisida

BKisida — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:39:48 +0000

Thanks for stopping by Susan, and right you are. I didn’t focus on the grade levels to be offered by Prism because the substance of my argument was simply that the charter school would save the district money, and, even though the millage was for the high school, the central issue here is funding. Saving money in one area would free up money for other areas.

That said, while I don’t know the current status, there has been recent talk about another charter school that is planning on opening in Fayetteville–The Dove School of Excellence–that I believe would serve high school students. If successful, this school could both save the district money and help to alleviate some of the space concerns at the current high school.

By: Susan Norton

Susan Norton — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:33:56 +0000

Prism did not propose a charter high school.
Startup request was K-4 to extend to K-8 later.

By: P-Daddy

P-Daddy — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:10:38 +0000

The only other public charter high school in the Fayetteville School District, Haas Hall Academy, was oversubscribed 5-to-1 in their entry grade this year and subsequently had to implement a low-probability admission lottery. Clearly there is unsatisfied demand for alternatives to FHS.

By: WeekendBorrior

WeekendBorrior — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:20:06 +0000

It’s interesting that the district officials have recommended against authorizing a school promoting an innovative learning environment that seeks to prepare ‎children for ‎the 21st century…

Perhaps the district officials believe they are the only people who can ‎provide this ‎service?‎

By: Emmett

Emmett — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:04:52 +0000

Whether the Fayetteville school district is behaving irrationally here depends on whether we think districts behave as “profit” maximizers or revenue maximizers.

If they should behave as profit maximizers, then refusing charter applications is irrational because charters would allow them to have more “profit” (or more money to spend per student).

But if schools should behave as revenue maximizers, then the rational things for them to do is to turn down requests from charters because it would take revenue away from them.

I suspect most public school districts act like revenue maximizers, not profit maximizers.