Adam Duvernay

The News Journal

The lawsuit filed by 15 charter schools against the Christina School District and the Delaware Department of Education has been settled.

All parties have signed off on an arrangement meant to redistribute dollars withheld from charter schools by sudden changes just before the start of the school year. A larger portion of those dollars now will be shared between the district and charter schools.

The lawsuit came on Oct. 4 after political backlash precipitated a reversal to a change in the funding formula that calculates how much money public school districts pay charter schools. That reversal came just before students went back to school.

Public school officials said they didn't have enough time to prepare for the loss of revenue.

"Our charter schools and traditional districts now have certainty about their funding and financial commitments for this school year. We now all can move forward together to focus on ensuring every child in our school system is prepared to succeed," read a statement issued from the Department of Education by its spokeswoman Alison May.

Importantly, said school district spokeswoman Wendy Lapham, the money that will go to the charter schools still falls under the restrictions that taxpayers voted for in 2003.

"With the settlement, the Christina School District resolves the dispute over revenue generated by a 2003 referendum passed by Christina taxpayers in a manner which honors the promise made to voters in 2003," read a district news release.

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The settlement includes the following provisions:

The Christina School District agrees that $5.5 million in revenue from a tax increase first approved in a 2003 district-wide referendum now will be shared between Christina schools, other districts and charter schools serving Christina students. The portion for Christina students attending charter schools is estimated to be $1.5 million, which must be spent on the four programs identified in the original referendum.

The funds from the 2003 referendum will be shared this year and in the future based on revenue received each year, and not on expenses from the year before.

The Department of Education agrees to bring greater transparency to the process by which it determines each district’s "local cost per student," a key element in the law that allocates local revenue between school districts and the schools that their students choice into (other districts and charter schools). The Department of Education will set a timeline for the approval process, require supporting documentation for requests, include both districts and charter schools in the process and allow for time to meet and discuss determinations before they become final.

The Christina School District agrees to work together with the charter schools to find opportunities to share resources to serve special needs students.

The 15 charter schools agree to withdraw their claims on any funds that may have been excluded from distribution by the Christina School district in years prior to the 2016-17 school year.

The Christina School Board was not involved in the negotiations of the settlement, but last week approved it during a special meeting.

Only three members voted against the settlement, including Board President Elizabeth Campbell Paige who said she didn't think Christina got the better end of the deal. Others were concerned the deal demanded approval too quickly for them to digest it fully.

Kendall Massett, executive director of the Delaware Charter Schools Network, said in a news release she is grateful to see the process now is more fair and consistent.

“I’m glad everyone will have a seat at the table, and that the process will be transparent, so we don’t find ourselves in this situation again where charter schools go for years without answers and feel like they need to resort to legal action to make their voices heard,” Massett said.

Contact Adam Duvernay at (302) 324-2785 or aduvernay@delawareonline.com.