Ending weeks of suspense, but with many critical questions still dangling unanswered, the redacted Great Neck International Charter School application was made public by the Charter School Institute on Dec. 1. Advocates for the Great Neck public school system have read it, dissected it, analyzed it and mobilized to respond to it. Great Neck school board trustee, Donald Ashkenase said, "The board is disappointed that any residents would choose the charter school approach rather than bringing their concerns to the board of education. The unintended consequences of this charter school, if approved, would result in significant reductions in programs and services to the children in the Great Neck public schools."

Under the New York Charter Schools Act of 1998, charter schools are defined as public schools, subject to a contractual agreement, or charter, between the school and the charter entity, which in this case would be the SUNY board of trustees. The Board of Regents grants charters to existing public schools that apply to convert to charter status. Charter schools are to be held accountable for achieving educational results and their contracts are limited to five years, at which time the contract may be extended or revoked depending on their measurable rate of success. In return, charter schools receive waivers that exempt them from many of the state-mandated avalanche of rules and regulations under which traditional public schools operate. A school with fewer than 250 students is not subject to collective bargaining.

The Charter School Institute, an organization created by the SUNY Board of Trustees, is responsible for processing and reviewing the applications and has the authority to bring in outside experts for an in-depth analysis. In the Institute's summary of the charter school definition, it states that charter schools are, "independent and autonomous of the local school district, are nonsectarian, charge no tuition, are open to all students, and each is governed by its own board of trustees."

The two-hundred page document, just released, outlines the short-range and long term goals and methodologies of the proposed charter school to be operated by SABIS International, a for-profit corporation, that if approved by the SUNY board of trustees would open in Sept. 2000 with 240 K-4 students. In SABIS's long range plan, the second year of operation would vault from 240 students to 818 students going through grade 8 and eventually by 2007 would serve 1,400 students through grade 12.

In the marketing plan for student recruitment, SABIS would target "students labeled at-risk of academic failure in the Great Neck Central School District, including minority students whose first language is not English." In an addendum to the document, SABIS further defines the "at-risk" population, specifically "minority students such as Hispanic, Korean and African-Americans." SABIS predicts that they would serve students attending private schools who wish to have "a high quality tuition free education" (sic) and students who are performing below par on state administered reading and mathematics tests. In a phone interview with Allen Anderson of SABIS, who was directly involved in developing the application, he said that the "at-risk" definition also includes students who are so bright that they are bored in the traditional public school setting.

The school would begin at 8:15 a.m., dismiss at 3:00 p.m. and would require students to wear uniforms. Among the uniform specifications listed, the application states, "No hat/caps (sic) allowed inside the building."

Class size for the kindergarten level would be 22; first grade, 23; second grade, 24; third grade, 25; and fourth grade, 26. Kindergarten classes would be slated to have one teacher and one aide each. All other classes would have one full-time teacher. There would be half-time music, art, and computer teachers, a half-time librarian, a full-time physical education teacher, two world language teachers, two special education teachers and two "intensive teachers" ("intensive" is not defined in the document) rotating throughout the school. (Average class sizes in Great Neck furnished by Dr. Sheila Terens, Assistant Superintendent-Elementary, are: K, 17.5; first grade, 20; second grade, 19.5; third grade, 20; fourth grade, 19.)

Spanish would be the foreign language taught at the proposed school. The application states that the goal is to produce "truly bilingual students who can read and write, as well as speak their mother tongue proficiently and also be competent in English." Mr. Anderson states that there are no plans to teach Korean, one of the minorities specifically mentioned in the application.

Some 70 pages in the application are devoted to an explanation of the SABIS instructional system, but generally, the stated philosophy is that teaching will occur until all students have mastered specific, "essential" concepts. It states, " One of the strengths of the SABIS System is in determining what is essential knowledge, which is then efficiently taught to the students."

SABIS employs a "point system" in which a teacher lists the points to be covered in a session. "Points" are explicate and are listed extensively for grade and subject matter in the application. "Use of commas to set off a name in direct address" is an example of a point. The point is taught to the class as a whole and since "some students learn faster than others,....such students are encouraged to help other group members." SABIS summarizes its approach as follows: "concepts and skills that the students should learn are carefully selected. Teachers then teach these concepts according to a set time plan. Computers are used to monitor the attainment of objectives. The continuous feedback from weekly testing is used to detect learning gaps as soon as they form, and the gaps are filled before new concepts are taught." These techniques coupled with others are "all intended to achieve more with less effort, in less time, and at a lower cost."

The New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 lists as its first objective in the creation of charter schools: to improve student learning and achievement. In a brief filed by Farrell Fritz, P.C., special counsel to the Great Neck School District, it states that the "application totally fails to identify or address any perceived deficiencies in the Great Neck School District, or even to offer any basis upon which one could conclude that student learning and achievement will be improved if the Charter School is allowed."

The brief refers to the resolution passed by the Great Neck board of education that cites numerous statistics relating to the academic performance of Great Neck students. For example, 99 percent of fourth graders (including special education students) tested in statewide exams already meet or exceed NYS standards. In Great Neck nearly 99 percent of the class of 1999 went on to higher education.

In a letter from Sigmund Wissner-Gross, counsel to the Citizens to Preserve Public Education in Great Neck (CPPE), to the Charter School Institute, he writes of the CPPE's investigation into the termination of the SABIS charter contract by the Chicago Charter School Foundation, Inc. (CCSF) In papers filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 30, 1999, the CCSF states that SABIS was engaged to provide management services for each of the charter school campuses CCSF opened during two academic years between 1997 and 1999. CCSF alleges that SABIS failed under their management agreement to adequately monitor and report the academic progress of the students, perform necessary maintenance, repair and work to school facilities, ensure the quality of teaching, make appropriate budgets and produce audited financial statements and accurately report student eligibility for public funds. In spite of these problems, CCSF asserts that they made timely payments to SABIS for a total of $13 million.

Continuing its arguments, CPPE spokesperson Wissner-Gross writes, "It is our view that SABIS does not use contemporary teaching methods or incorporate current knowledge about education, but emphasizes conformity and rote learning..."

General counsel for the school district, Jerome Ehrlich of Ehrlich, Frazer & Feldman wrote to Scott Steffey, president of the Charter School Institute, on Dec. 3 highlighting the constitutionally protected due process rights of students that come into play when students are subject to suspension or expulsion. He argues that these rights, which cannot be waived by the state, are not protected under the proposed charter school's stated discipline policy. Mr. Ehrlich cites special federal obligations relating to special education students which are also not addressed by the applicant. As the laws pertaining to disabled youngsters are "extremely complicated," he urged the Institute to "call upon the expertise of the State Education Department in their deliberations regarding all the applicants' presentations regarding their intentions to serve the needs of the disabled."

SABIS would establish a "Parent Connection" in which parents would be automatic members, eligible to join any committees or activities. Parents would be encouraged to raise any individual concerns to the administration and could, if not satisfied, appeal to the charter school board of trustees. There is no indication in the document that there would be any vehicle established for parents to be actively involved in influencing policy-making, curriculum or special program design. There is nothing described in the application that remotely resembles the school-based Shared Decision-Making Committees in which parents in Great Neck play a proactive role in identifying and resolving issues. Nor is there an indication that any parent body with elected officers, like the PTSAs, would be set up to advocate on behalf of all the parents and students. The applicants state that parents would, however, be encouraged to volunteer for chaperoning class trips, classroom projects and the like.

The application requires the applicant to describe the fiscal impact of the establishment of this charter school on existing public and non-public schools in the community. The SABIS analysis is: "A large school (approximately 1,400 students at full capacity) also provides an opportunity for many students residing in Great Neck to avail themselves of this highly academic option. The school will target at risk (sic) students in Great Neck and expand to the surrounding area as the enrollment increases. Since charter schools are required to fund capital expenses such as facilities through the operating budget, this additional capacity will be offered to the community at a lower cost than is usually experienced under the traditional public school model. There may be a fiscal impact on the public schools in the community but this impact will be minimized by the broader area concept. The charter school will attract people to the area, and thereby increase enrollment in all of the schools within a five year period."

Although an addendum to the application states that a building has already been located for the first year of operation with renovations currently underway, Mr. Anderson told the Record that he was not authorized to release specific information about the site. The proposed budget notes that the lease would amount to $660,000 for the first year with an additional $300,000 designated for capital expenditures. These figures comprise 25 percent of the total budget. $700,000 would be allocated for teacher salaries and $624,458 would be allocated toward school administration. The Great Neck public school budget allocates 73 percent of its budget to educational instruction, with less than five percent attributable to administrative costs.

In the second year, the lease would jump to $1,980,000 and $4 million would be spent on capital expenditures. In a projected 5-year cycle, out of a $64 million in total expenditures, $31 million would have been used for facility upgrades and rental fees with $20 million utilized for educational instruction. Within the category of instructional expenditures, SABIS collects six percent of the gross revenues for licensing fees which according to Mr. Anderson is the fee charged to the school for the use of the SABIS registered instructional system. SABIS would also, in the 5-year period, have collected $4.5 million in management fees. Further, SABIS states in the application that the corporation would loan funds to the school for start-up costs, but there is no mention of the specific outlay anticipated or the interest rate to be applied. The 5-year budget indicates that the charter school would repay SABIS a sum of $8,507 annually.

In the brief filed by Farrell Fritz, it concludes in the financial analysis section, "The proposed SABIS budget thus results in a very significant diversion of public school funds toward administrative expenses and real estate rental and acquisition costs, as opposed to the educational process itself."

Based on a state formula, the Great Neck School District would pay the charter school $15, 432 for each child from Great Neck enrolled in the charter school. Preference would be given to Great Neck children.

The Act specifically states that the applicant must show "evidence of adequate community support for and interest in the charter school sufficient to allow the school to reach its anticipated enrollment..."

The application states, "During the past few weeks several individuals, including parents, members of the clergy, business representatives, and citizens-at-large, have expressed interest in a charter school within the Great Neck Central School District. From all these contacts, and subsequent meetings, there was support to move ahead with this project to create an alternative education for children within the district." In a phone conversation with Robert Klein, lead applicant, the Record attempted to obtain specific information regarding the numbers of people involved and meetings held. Mr. Klein said that 150 signatures were garnered on a petition supporting charter schools.

As of Dec. 6, Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli's office reported that he has received 500 letters in opposition to the charter school and none in favor. (See today's article: Villages Join Charter School Opposition)

Kitty Poons, president of the Hispanic Community of Great Neck, Inc. wrote a letter, on behalf of the organization, to charter school decision-makers opposing the charter school. While listing some of the programs developed by the district designed to help children succeed academically and to help their families become active partners in their children's education, she states, "We want our children to be educated with the entire Great Neck community rather than isolated from it." She added that the organization was forwarding over 70 individual letters from members of the Hispanic community requesting that the application be denied.

The proposed, self-appointed board of trustees of the charter school would be composed of not less than three people who are at least 19 years old. Each would serve for a three-year term. The application states, "At each annual meeting of members (on or about June 10) the membership shall elect trustees to fill vacant positions. Each trustee shall hold office until the expiration of the term for which he was elected and until his successor has been elected and shall have qualified or until his prior resignation or removal." Since the document does not define who comprises the "membership", the Record asked Mr. Anderson of SABIS for clarification. He stated that the "membership" refers to the board of trustees, not the teachers and parents or community-at-large. Essentially, the applicant proposes a self-appointed and self-perpetuating board. Further, terms are not staggered, raising questions about board continuity.

The proposed board would, under the law, be subject to the requirements of the Open Meetings Law which mandates that meeting dates and times are publicized and that deliberations, other than personnel matters, be conducted in the public spotlight.

It is expected that the SUNY board of trustees may make a decision on this application on Dec. 14. If SUNY rejects the application, it must do so by written notice stating the reasons for rejection. Under the Act, their decision is not open to an appeal process by the applicant. If SUNY approves the application, it is forwarded to the Board of Regents for comment. The board of trustees of SUNY, who are appointed by the Governor, make the final determination as to granting charters for newly formed schools. The Board of Regents, appointed by the majority party of the combined Assembly and Senate, which is currently predominantly Democratic, makes final decisions on charter school conversions.

The state has established a charter school stimulus fund with a $1 million appropriation this year to be shared among up to 50 newly approved charter schools for start-up costs including renovations. The total federal grant to NY State for fostering charter schools is $4 million, but those funds may not be used for capital improvements.

Great Neck school board president Judi Bosworth commented to the Record, "At this point, we place our faith in the wisdom of the SUNY board of trustees to act prudently and responsibly, above the fray of partisan politics, to firmly reject the proposal for a charter school within the boundaries of the Great Neck school district. We will steadfastly continue to strive for excellence, inclusion and fulfillment of the American dream through public, accountable, responsive education."