DC Public Charter School Coalition

In early 1997, FOCUS helped form what became the DC Public Charter School Coalition, through which DC’s charter schools developed their positions on issues concerning the movement and coordinated the advocacy work of FOCUS, other charter school support groups, and the individual charter schools.  

There were many, many issues with which the Coalition had to deal and serious problems to be resolved. Three of the most serious issues were 1) charter school per pupil funding, which was supposed to come directly to the schools from the District’s chief financial officer, was being routed by the Financial Control Board through the school system, leading to delays; 2) the $1 million in federal startup funding had not yet been released to the approved schools; and 3) the charter schools’ ability to acquire abandoned DCPS school buildings was being impaired by decisions taken by the Emergency Transitional Board of Trustees.
 
FOCUS, taking the lead for the Coalition and supported by AppleTree and others, worked with Congress on critically-needed amendments to the School Reform Act that would increase charter school operating funding and provide them with facilities funding. FOCUS and its allies also urged Congress to reject damaging amendments proposed by the Financial Control Board and the Emergency Transitional Board of Trustees that would have gutted the independence of the chartering boards and eliminated the charter school preference to acquire excess space in DCPS school buildings. Both of these efforts were successful.