The enrollment shortfall and projected budget cuts at the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School could mean more dollars for the Gloucester Public School District or other city departments.
But even with the school’s enrollment at least 28 percent below its budgeted figure for its first day, city officials aren’t sure what any such funding will look like. And they don’t expect to know for sure until the state Department of Education nails down enrollment numbers in October and the Department of Revenue certifies Gloucester’s “free cash” partway through the next school year.
The drop in the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School’s enrollment, said City Councilor Paul McGeary, if it stays at the level when the state documents it next month, would mean some financial boost for the city.
When that happens, he said, is the problem. The city could have the school’s overspend, knowing they’ll have that money in the general fund as additional state aid. That’s risky, he said, as it could fluctuate through the year, and the city might come up short.
If the district can’t manage some of the students coming back to it, like around 20 students heading back to O’Maley, McGeary said the city could bolster the district with some of the upcoming “free cash” funding. The state certifies free cash in November.
“It’s probably wise to (use) certified free cash when it comes in a month or so,” McGeary said.
Just 129 students attended the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School on its first day this past Tuesday. The school had a state-verified pre-enrollment of 212 and came in 83 students short. The school’s Executive Director, Tony Blackman, said he expects enrollment will level off around 135 students.
With enrollment down from what school officials expected, the charter faces a $571,000 cut from the school’s 180-student budget, which is based on a per-pupil allocation. It won’t feel that cut, however, until the state makes its second payment in December, officials said Friday.
Charter schools actually receive their operating revenue four times each year, at the end of every quarter, DESE spokesman J.C. Considine told the Times in a Friday e-mail. But school district’s aren’t charged for the first payment. That comes directly from the state, Considine said, and is based on the school’s verified pre-enrollment.
In the Gloucester charter school’s case, that’s 212 students – and a quarterly allocation of roughly $593,600.
The state documents the enrollment numbers in October, and adjusts the school’s funding accordingly, he added. If a charter school had a $2 million budget but the enrollment dropped the budget to $1.5 million, there’s money left over for the municipality.
“In that case, assuming that the district would still meet net school spending, if the charter school tuition drops below the budgeted amount, the balance accrues to the city surplus funds,” Considine said. “The city could appropriate back to the school district, but would not be obliged to do so.”
Mayor Carolyn Kirk said Friday she would be willing to do just that.
When the school came in at 134 students — short of its expected 196 — for the last school year, the city had around $100,000 of state aid fall to free cash, said Kirk, adding that money will become available when the Department of Revenue certifies the city’s municipal surplus in November.
She said she’d like to use that money to bolster the district, should it need it.
“I’d be very comfortable taking last year’s charter school surplus and applying it to the schools (district),” Kirk said.
The city essentially pays for the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School, but with all of the money coming through state aid. If the charter school’s enrollment stays at or near its current level, McGeary said, that will reduce the amount the city allocates for the charter.
Any funding that would end up in the general fund from a cut in charter enrollment, McGeary said, would be the net of reduced reimbursements and reduced charter tuition. The city, he said, won’t really know that final figure until next year, given that the state pays quarterly for the charter school.
For the current fiscal year, the state provided around $10.7 million in state aid, and charged the city $5.7 million, including $2.26 million for the charter school. The state also reimbursed the city around $938,146 in charter funding. Whatever funds the city would receive from the charter’s enrollment cuts, would be about 74 percent of the cut because of the reimbursements.
The state budgets the charter school assessment on the verified pre-enrollment, and the city budgets accordingly. But, said McGeary, the city doesn’t see the results of any change in enrollment until the following fiscal year.
“There is money we could have budgeted that’s effectively laying on the floor until it’s certified,” said McGeary.
This isn’t the first time the city’s received additional state aid from a charter school enrollment cut. When the school came in at 134 students — short of its expected 196 — for the last school year, the city had around $100,000 of state aid fall to free cash, said Mayor Carolyn Kirk.
Kirk said that will be available when the Department of Revenue certifies the city’s municipal surplus in November. She said she’d like to use that money to bolster the district, should it need it.
“I’d be very comfortable taking last year’s charter school surplus and applying it to the schools (district),” Kirk said.
Steven Fletcher can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3455, or at sfletcher@gloucestertimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenGDT
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