Inquirer Editorial: Keep tabs on charters
A dispute over the Philadelphia School District's authority to restrict enrollment at a charter school sheds new light on an old problem.
The inherent competition for students and the state funding that comes with them makes it difficult for local districts to objectively oversee charter schools.
The Philadelphia district and the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Charter School are at odds over a crucial issue in the charter movement: expansion. Charters already enroll more than 30,000 city students.
In a lawsuit, the Palmer School has asked Commonwealth Court to force the district to fork over $1.7 million in tuition payments for students it did not get permission to add to its enrollment.
The district has refused to pay up because the school exceeded the enrollment limit of 675
Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20101004_Inquirer_Editorial__Keep_tabs_on_charters.html#ixzz11OP0PQXb
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