Wendy Lecker: School takeovers disenfranchise poor districts - StamfordAdvocate

Wendy Lecker: School takeovers disenfranchise poor districts - StamfordAdvocate: "The Department of Education's chief financial officer reported that the district has been flat-funded for four years, despite rising costs and the expiration of millions of dollars in grants. The district faces a deficit of about $2 million and the possible loss of 60 of its 427 staff members. In 2008, the district's per-pupil funding was just below the others in its (the poorest) comparison group, called District Reference Group I. Now, its per-pupil funding is $900 below DRG I.

Given New London's severe lack of resources, it is a wonder the district's scores did not drop precipitously. In spite of these obstacles, the district has been able to maintain a steady level of achievement the past few years.

Astoundingly, this stable achievement level was the commissioner's pretext for the takeover. Declaring that there has not been a clear positive trajectory of improvement, the commissioner called for the appointment of a special master."

'via Blog this'