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| Laura Comyns leads sixth grade band practice at Sonoma Mountain Charter School in Petaluma, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. (Crista Jeremiason / The Press Democrat) |
Sonoma County is at the forefront of the charter school movement in California with 11 new schools opening this year, second only to massive Los Angeles County Unified with its nearly 660,000 students.
Nearly a quarter -- 23 percent -- of Sonoma County's 70,700 kindergarten-through-12th graders are enrolled in charter schools. Just two years ago, 13 percent of Sonoma County students were in charter schools.
Today, there are 56 campuses working under 51 state-issued charters. Fifteen years ago, there were two charter schools in the county.
The trend reflects districts' efforts to attract students in an increasingly competitive environment and a calculated assessment of how to maximize dwindling state funding for public schools.
In many cases, charter schools can pull in more state funds and with fewer restrictions while also being free of interdistrict transfer rules. Students do not need permission from their home district if they want to attend a charter school -- a key factor as Sonoma County's 40 districts compete for students and the key portion of state funding that is based on enrollment.
"They are trying to use the system to their advantage," said Steve Herrington, superintendent of the Sonoma County Office of Education. "I think people are starting to figure out, 'If I can increase my revenue, I'll do it.' I think you'll see more of that as word of mouth of that spreads."
"I don't begrudge them any of it," he said.
The trend is not isolated to Sonoma County. In California, 1,065 charter schools serve 484,000 students -- a 17 percent increase over last year. This fall, 109 charter schools opened to students. Read more...
Published on www.pressdemocrat.com, November 4, 2012, Sunday
Staff Writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blog at extra credit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com She can be reached at 526-8671, kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com or on Twitter @benefield
