Principal Ray Griffin understands that today is the day of reckoning — literally — when the official student count is tabulated and sent to the state for compensation.
“This is a serious issue,” said Griffin, who heads the Denver Arts & Technology Academy, a charter that was almost closed this year by Denver’s school board.
The threat of closure and a new policy that denies kids from advancing to new grade levels unless they are proficient resulted in a drop in enrollment, which translates to a loss in state funds that are based on enrollment.
“We had 450 kids last year,” he said. “We may have 300 (today).”
Districts, on average, receive about $7,000 in per-pupil funding, generating most of a public school’s revenue for the year.
For charters, districts pass on most of the money but may withhold up to 5 percent for administrative costs. Also, schools and districts may have various service arrangements built into contracts.
Many charters, however, also must pay for their facilities from their per-pupil funds — spending on average about 15 percent of operating money for their buildings.
Griffin’s school, also called DATA, is still paying for an $8.5 million school building erected in 2003. The school also gives 16.5 percent of its state funds to its for-profit management company — Mosaica Education Inc.
Denver’s school board in February voted 4-3 to revoke DATA’s charter, citing mismanagement and declining student achievement. The board later unanimously overturned the vote and put the school on two years’ probation.
Griffin swears the school already has changed and says he has interim assessments to prove it. Discipline is under control, and the school culture has vastly improved, he said.
“One of my fundamental beliefs is the minute you improve the academics in a school, you improve the discipline,” said Griffin, who took over as head of the school a year ago.
This year, the school implemented a policy of halting social promotion, requiring students to master certain standards to advance to the next grade.
About 100 of the 150 new students who enrolled in DATA this year were told they needed to be in lower grades.
“We’re getting feedback from parents who are saying, ‘Thank God someone is finally telling us the truth,’ ” said Thad Dahl, chairman of DATA’s governing board.
Another charter school that struggled last year and is also bracing for today’s count is Challenges, Choices and Images in northeast Denver.
The school was almost closed by the district over mismanagement, and financial and leadership problems. The school was put on one year’s probation.
Oscar Joseph, a community college administrator, was installed as principal; the school’s governing board was reconstituted; and the school’s founding leader, Carolyn Jones, was removed.
The school lost 150 students from last year’s 600 enrollment, but Joseph said he is relieved it wasn’t more.
Denver Public Schools has been gradually growing over the past two years. Last year, the district had about 73,000 students. This year, Superintendent Michael Bennet is predicting about 75,000 students — mostly due to the growth of the district’s early-childhood education programs.
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
