(The Center Square) — A recent report by a Mississippi legislative committee recommends more accountability and transparency be brought to public charter school renewals.
The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review, better known as the PEER Committee, also said in the report that the 3% of state and local funds allocated from charters to support the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board could be reduced or provided with appropriations from other sources.
As for the transparency of the renewal process, the report said it “lacks clarity, objectivity and transparency by failing to set weights for each performance domain (academic, financial, and organizational) and failing to set clear standards for the length of the renewal term.”
The report also said the authorizer board doesn’t provide schools with a comprehensive report stating its prospects for renewal.
PEER evaluated the renewals of three schools – Smilow Collegiate (five-year term) and Clarksdale Collegiate and Midtown Public (four-year renewals with conditions) – that occurred in the 2022-23 school year.
The board passed its new iteration of its performance framework in 2021 over the objections of charter school operators and advocacy groups.
It also criticized the practice of uneven distribution of per-student revenues between charter schools and the school district where they are located and recommended that both traditional public and charter schools receive equal funding.
It also recommended that any time a school district’s January transfer of state funds is insufficient to cover the amount it owes the charter school, the school district should pay the charter school the balance it owes from its funds.
The panel also recommended changes to the staggered terms of the seven board members (three appointed by the governor, three appointed by the lieutenant governor and one appointed by the state superintendent) so it can retain a quorum. At present, three members rotate off at once, often preventing the board from carrying out its business operations.
The Legislature has been loathe to pass reforms for charter schools, letting House Bill 1150 die last year without a floor vote. It would have allowed more entities other than the charter board to authorize public charter schools.
House Bill 555 would have also changed the staggered terms of the authorizer board, but it too died without a floor vote.
Under state law charter schools are allowed in only D- and F-rated school districts unless approved by the local school district board. There is also only one authorizing entity, the state charter authorizer board.
As a result, there are only eight schools statewide, with most of them in the Jackson metro area.
