Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Affirms Order Declaring Charter School Enrollment...

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Affirms Order Declaring Charter School
Enrollment Caps Illegal

CHESTER, Pa., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, January 18, in a 4-to-1
decision, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a trial court's
Order that declared illegal and unenforceable the Chester-Upland School
District's attempt to impose enrollment caps on charter schools in the School
District. The Commonwealth Court's decision constituted an agreement with the
September 4, 2007 Order of Delaware County Court of Common Pleas President
Judge Joseph P. Cronin, Jr. determining that limits on enrollment at charter
schools in the School District are illegal and unenforceable and enjoining the
School District from enforcing them.
Widener Partnership Charter School, Chester Community Charter School and a
number of parents of students in the Chester-Upland School District initiated
litigation challenging the legality of the caps shortly after they were
imposed following vocal opposition to the caps prior to their imposition. A
ruling by the Commonwealth Court was necessitated by a complaint filed with
the trial court that was brought by the Chester Community Charter School
(CCCS), in which the school challenged the legality of the School District's
enrollment cap resolution.
The School District, both in the trial court and before the Commonwealth
Court in its appeal, contended that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over
the case, and that a school charter was, in its opinion, a contract between
the School District and a charter school that could be unilaterally modified
or partially cancelled by the School District.
The Commonwealth Court's majority, however, ruled that the trial court
did, in fact, have jurisdiction, and that the Chester-Upland School District
lacked legal authority to impose limits on charter school enrollment.
Specifically, the Commonwealth Court stated: "a charter is not a contract,
but a grant of power for the board of directors of that school to establish a
school to provide public education to school-age children. Consequently, the
[School District] did not have authority ... to limit Charter School
enrollment."
"This is a great legal victory for the students and parents of the city of
Chester," said Chester Community Charter School CEO Steven Lee. "Now,
families in the Chester community are assured of having the increased choice
of educational options that was intended for them and their children under the
law."
Public records concerning charter school funding indicate that the
Chester-Upland School District receives and spends an average of $12,000.00
per student for those children enrolled in the School District's schools,
while it transfers only about 75% of that amount-$9,170.00-to a charter school
for each student who enrolls. On top of that, the School District is refunded
about 28% of the $9,170.00 it transfers to the charter school. Despite its
relative underfunding compared to the School District's schools and the
corresponding savings it provides to taxpayers, Chester Community Charter
School has the highest standardized test scores of any school in the School
District.
For example, in the PSSA scores released by the Pennsylvania Department of
Education in August 2007, the Chester Community Charter School's students
scored 60 in math, as compared to 21 for students in the Chester Upland School
District's schools, as a whole, and 57 in reading, as compared to 27 for the
District's students.
Also commenting on the Commonwealth Court's decision was Magisterial
District Judge Spencer B. Seaton, Jr., chairman of Chester Community Charter
School's board of directors. "It is our hope," said Judge Seaton, "that, as
we continue to pursue academic excellence for our students, that the same kind
of improved learning environment will be increasingly available to more
students in the Chester-Upland School District. That kind of educational
opportunity is one of the primary predictors of the success our young people
will be able to achieve as adults. It is also a critical factor in the
economic rebirth we hope to achieve in the city of Chester."
Chester Community Charter School opened its doors on September 9, 1998.
Back then, the entire school was situated in four meeting rooms in the lobby
of the Howard Johnson Hotel on the corner of Edgemont and Providence Avenues,
in Chester, Pennsylvania. Chester Community Charter School started with 97
students and has steadily increased to over 2000 students in nine state-of-
the-art buildings. Each school building has a computer lab and each classroom
has an average of three computers, which are connected to the Internet with T-
1 lines. Chester Community Charter School has recently constructed a new
middle school on its West Campus, and two gymnasiums, one on each campus.
SOURCE Chester Community Charter School

A. Bruce Crawley of Millennium 3 Management, +1-215-922-7184,
abcrawley@millennium3management.com, for Chester Community Charter School