MADISON, Wis. — Madison Teachers Inc. is calling on One City Schools to return nearly $500,000 given to the charter school by the Madison Metropolitan School District.
The move comes less than a week after One City Schools announced it would be shuttering operations for ninth- and tenth-grade students due to staffing shortages. Starting Jan. 23, 51 of the roughly 60 affected students will start classes in one of six schools within MMSD.
RELATED: One City Schools shutting down for students in grades 9, 10 due to staffing shortages
In a statement Tuesday, the union representing teachers and other MMSD employees said the district’s budget gave One City Schools $472,464 to teach those 51 students — roughly $9,200 per student. The group said that, unless those students register with MMSD by Friday, their enrollment will not count towards the district’s funding for the spring.
“In other words, One City gets to keep almost half a million dollars in taxpayer dollars to educate students they are not educating,” MTI said.
MTI president Michael Jones said there needs to be more accountability for the charter school.
“If other schools are taking public funds taxpayer funds away from the system and then just able to do whatever they want without any accountability, that deserves to be called into question,” he said.
The group said charter schools like One City Schools help create “an inequitable education system,” and said MMSD is facing similar staffing challenges to the charter school.
“Let’s say they receive special ed services, there’s no money for special ed services, so now things that they might need like therapy or additional support or specific transportation… these things arent done for free; they require money they require investment and support,” Jones said.
Ultimately, Jones believes the state’s per-pupil funding model is flawed.
“In the end, the kids are the ones who hurt the most,” he said.
In a brief statement to News 3 Now, MMSD spokesperson Tim LeMonds said as the district “continue(s) to determine the financial impact the closure at One City Schools may have on the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), our current focus is to ensure the families impacted by this decision have all the support and resources they need to ensure a smooth and welcoming experience as they transition to the MMSD family.”
News 3 Now reached out to One City Schools officials multiple times on Tuesday for further comment; as of Tuesday night, we have not heard back.
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