Report a Comment

"...DCPS principals overestimate their enrollment to receive extra funding.

DCPS schools project fall enrollment in the spring and these projections determine funding for the following year. If the actual enrollment is lower, DCPS' budget doesn't shrink."

Is the above accurate? From what I understand (based on experience w/ my kids' school), DCPS only releases a small portion of estimated budget to the schools at the beginning of the school year (10%, maybe?). The rest of the budget is released after the audits are conducted in October (where every child is counted). Actual budget received by the schools is based on the actual headcount.

The 'fun' part starts when new children enroll in the school after October, but the school is not given additional funding those kids.

Enter the 'stories' (full disclosure, this is hearsay on my part - I've heard this from principals) of charters getting rid of kids who are not 'good fits', charters keeping the budget for those kids, and those kids then being absorbed by their DCPS neighborhood school (the kid without the funding).

All that said, the point of centralizing charter lottery process is a good one, whether or not it's combined w/ DCPS'. From my perspective, the online lottery brought much needed transparency and efficiency to DCPS' enrollment process.

by Sandra on Jun 30, 2012 11:22 am • link • report