School Board Policy
Appendix B -- Charter School Contract
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Last updated: August 1, 2007
THIS AGREEMENT is between & , whose address is , hereafter "Charter
School," and the Anchorage School Board, whose address is 4600 DeBarr
Road, P.O. Box 196614, Anchorage, Alaska 99519-6614, hereafter "School
Board."
WHEREAS, Charter School desires to operate within the Anchorage School
District (hereafter "School District") in conformance with
Alaska Statutes 14.03.250-290 and School District policies and procedures;
and
WHEREAS, the School Board has reviewed and approved Charter School's
application, subject to any amendments or conditions noted by the School
Board;
WHEREAS, by resolution adopted (date),
the School Board conditionally granted the application contingent upon
the negotiation and execution of a contract acceptable to Charter School
and School Board and subject to certain other conditions, including approval
by the State Department of Education; and
WHEREAS, the parties contemplate that the application, as amended by
this contract, between Charter School and the School Board, will constitute
the agreement between the parties regarding the governance and operation
of Charter School;
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements
contained in this contract, the parties agree as follows:
Charter School shall provide an educational program in the School District
subject to the terms and conditions of this contract, commencing on the
day
of for
the school year . Services will be provided in accordance with the Charter
School Calendar identified below.
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Compliance with Regulatory Requirements: Charter School warrants
that it will comply with all local, state and federal laws and regulations
applicable to public schools and all requirements imposed by School
District policy and regulation on the operation of charter schools.
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Educational Program: Charter School shall provide an educational
program that shall advance students' mastery of basic skill areas including
mathematics, science, health, reading, language arts and social studies,
appropriate to the age of students included in the program. Provision
will also be made for physical education, music, art, and instructional
technology within the educational program. The educational program
shall be designed as described on the attached pages.
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Achievement Levels: Charter School's educational program shall
result in students attaining the following specific levels of achievement
as described on the attached pages.
Administrative Policies and Procedures: Charter
School has requested and received authorization for the following exemptions
from
School District policies and procedures (list by number and title
on an attached sheet of paper):
Charter School agrees and warrants
that it will comply with all
other School District policies and procedures except those pertaining
to textbook, program, curriculum and scheduling requirements
as approved by the School Board.
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Admission Policies and Procedures: Charter School will
operate for years
as set forth below and admissions procedures for continuing
students from one school year to the next follow. Charter
School shall determine students' eligibility for admission
to its program using the following criteria (attach additional
sheets if necessary):
Charter School affirms that any eligible
student who applies in a timely fashion will be admitted, up
to the maximum number of students
that can be accommodated by the program. If more eligible students
apply than can be accommodated, admission to the program will
be determined by a drawing using the District’s adopted Lottery
Procedures. Charter school also affirms that it will not discriminate
in its policies or program against any individual on the basis
of any classification protected under law or district policy.
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Academic Policies: Academic policies and goals for Charter
School shall be established by the Academic Policy Committee. The
Academic Policy Committee shall meet with the Charter School principal/administrator
at least four times yearly, to monitor progress in achieving the
committee's policies and goals.
The Academic Policy Committee shall include persons,
including parents of students attending Charter School, teachers
at Charter School, and other Charter School employees. Students
shall be included if the Charter School is for grades 9-12. Members
of the first Academic Policy Committee shall be selected from applicants
subject to the approval of the School Board. Thereafter, membership
shall be determined in accordance with procedures developed and
approved by the committee.
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Funding: School District shall allocate funding for Charter
School based on a per-pupil allocation for the students enrolled in
the Charter School, computed in a manner consistent with the method
in which the District receives revenues from the State less administrative
costs retained by the District determined by applying the indirect
cost rate approved by the State Department of Education. The District
may allocate additional revenue beyond the per pupil allocation based
on the approved program for the charter school; this increase must
be approved by the School Board.
School District Charges: Charter School shall operate under
the terms of the approved program budget. The program budget was
developed utilizing anticipated School District funding based on
a per-pupil
allocation for the students enrolled in the Charter School. The per-pupil
allocation is computed in a manner consistent with the method in
which the District receives revenues from the State, less administrative
costs retained by the District, to be determined by applying the
indirect
cost rate approved by the State Department of Education. Charter
School’s
funding allocation from School Board for purposes of creating the
program budget was .
The approved program budget includes the revenues identified above.
In addition, revenues generated for special populations of students,
revenues from grants, and special revenue funds beyond the per-pupil
allocation may be approved by the School Board.
Operating revenues actually provided to Charter School by School District
may exceed or be less than the approved program budget since actual revenues
shall be determined from actual student enrollments in Charter School
during the year in which Charter School is operating. School District
will adjust the funding to reflect actual student enrollment. Actual
student enrollment shall be determined in the same manner that the State
of Alaska uses to determine student enrollments and state revenues generated
in the School District. Charter School and School District agree that
if student enrollment in Charter School during the 20 day count period
fluctuates more than 10 percent above or below the estimated enrollment,
the parties shall meet to review and re-negotiate the Charter School
budget.
Student Fees and Charges: A Charter School may not charge
tuition to students who reside within the school district. Fees charged
to students by the Charter School, including but not limited to supply
and activity fees, shall be retained by the Charter School and included
in the Charter School program budget. Budget and Accounting: The Charter School shall provide
an annual budget to the administration for approval on or before
the 15th day of November each school year. Charter School's funding
allocation for the next school year and a statement of costs assignable
to the Charter School program budget will be attached as Attachment
A to this agreement. The budget will be amended on an annual basis
to reflect any changes in Charter School's funding allocation or
assigned costs for subsequent school years.
Charter School acknowledges that adjustments to the Charter
School budget may be necessary if the estimated revenues are
revised due to School Board, legislative and/or Assembly action.
Charter School shall account for receipts and expenditures
by using and complying with the School District's accounting,
audit and other fiscal procedures, unless a waiver of these
procedures has been obtained. In the event of an approved waiver,
the Charter School shall account for receipts and expenditures
in the manner agreed to by the District and the Charter School
as described in the attached procedures. Charter School shall
establish, maintain, and retain appropriate financial records
in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local
laws, rules and regulations, and will make such records available
to the School District, as requested. Charter School agrees
that it shall comply with all local, state and federal requirements
for receipt and use of public money. Facility: Charter School shall be operated at the following
location:
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
The facility to be used is ___________ square feet, containing ___________
classrooms, administrative offices, and other facilities described
as follows (attach additional sheets if necessary):
Charter School guarantees that the facility complies with all local,
state and federal health and safety requirements applicable to other
public schools in the School District and that compliance will be maintained
at all times.
Charter School guarantees that it will comply with all District policies
and procedures, and all applicable state and local laws and regulations,
in obtaining leased or rented space. -
Teachers and Staff: At the time of executing this contract,
the parties anticipate that the following teachers will, by agreement,
teach in the Charter School (attach additional sheets if necessary:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
At the time of executing this contract, the parties anticipate that
the following individual(s) will, by agreement, act as a principal/administrator
in the Charter School and shall hold the title of
__________________________________________________
Charter School shall promptly provide School District with written
notice of any proposed changes to the school's staff.
Charter School agrees that teachers and administrators will be evaluated
in a manner equivalent to that used for other District certificated
personnel. (Charter School will utilize those evaluation procedures
currently used by the District for evaluation of its certificated
personnel or will describe how the Charter School will evaluate its
teachers and administrators.)
Unless the School District and any association representing an employee
agree to an exemption, all provisions of any existing negotiated
or collective bargaining agreement applicable to any employee shall
remain in effect while the employee provides services at Charter
School. All waiver requests and written responses from the appropriate
bargaining units are included in this contract and are attached hereto.
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Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Charter School shall maintain the following
pupil-teacher ratio: ___________________________________
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Enrollment: Charter School shall enroll a minimum of _____________________
students and a maximum of _____________________ students at all
times. Student enrollment may be adjusted pursuant to the admissions
procedures set forth above if there is increased student demand to
attend Charter School.
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School Calendar: Charter School warrants that it will operate
at all times designated in the attached school year calendar. The school
day shall be ________ hours long and will start at ______ a.m. and
end at ______ p.m.
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Retirement: All employees of the Charter School shall be members
of the Teacher's Retirement System or the Public Employee's Retirement
System and be subject to the requirements of those systems.
Contract Term: This contract shall be effective upon complete
execution and shall be reviewed annually. The contract has been approved
for a period of __________ fiscal years and will terminate on __________
(date). (No contract may be approved for a term in excess of five
years or for a term which extends beyond July 1, 2005). Charter School
may apply for a contract extension or reapply for a new contract during
the last year of the existing contract period.
Although this contract is for the operation of Charter School
for a period of __________ years, any financial commitment
on the part of the School District contained in this contract is
subject to annual appropriation by the School Board and the parties
agree that School District has no obligation to fund the financial
obligations under this contract other than for the current year of
the contract term. The parties also agree that the School District
has no obligation to provide the services described within this contract
other than for the current year of the contract term.
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Termination: This contract may be terminated by School Board
for Charter School's failure to meet educational achievement goals
or fiscal management standards, for a default in any material provision
of this agreement or for other good cause. The School Board shall
provide at least 30 days written notice to Charter School of its
intent to terminate this contract and the reasons therefore. If Charter
School fails to remedy the cause for termination within the time
provided in this notice, then this contract shall automatically terminate
at the end of the stated time. Any unused funds remaining shall immediately
be returned to the School District upon such termination. Charter
School may terminate the contract on an annual basis. In such event,
Charter School shall notify the District by February 1 of a given
school year of its intent to cease operations the following year.
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Risk Management: Charter School agrees to adequately protect
against liability and risk through an active risk management program.
This program shall include purchase of insurance coverages, as directed
by the Anchorage School District risk manager in the following amounts:
__________. Charter School agrees that it will coordinate all risk
management activities through the District’s risk management
office. Charter School shall not compromise, settle, negotiate, or
otherwise affect any disposition of potential claims asserted against
it without the School District’s prior written approval.
Charter School agrees to operate in such a manner as to minimize
the risk of injury or harm to students, employees, and others. Charter
School shall comply with all Board policies and regulations, and
comply with all applicable federal and state laws, concerning student
welfare, safety and health, including, without limitation, Board
policies and laws addressing the reporting of child abuse, accident
prevention and disaster response, and any state regulations governing
the operation of the school facilities.
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Contract Compliance: Charter School agrees to oversee its
operations to ensure that the terms of this contract are met. Charter
School agrees to meet regularly with parents, teachers/staff, and
students (where appropriate) to review, evaluate, and improve operations
of
the Charter School. Charter School agrees to meet with the Academic
Policy Committee at least quarterly to monitor progress in achieving
the Committee’s policies and goals.
- Indemnification: To the extent not covered by insurance, Charter
School agrees to indemnify and hold the School District, its Board,
agents and employees harmless from all liability, claims, and demands
on account of injury, loss or damage, including, without limitation,
claims arising from bodily injury, personal injury, sickness, disease,
death, property loss or damage or any other losses of any kind whatsoever
which arise out of or are in any manner connected with Charter School’s
operations.
In addition to the mutual covenants and agreements set forth
above, School District and Charter School agree to be bound by those
agreements, promises, and covenants set forth in the final approved Charter
School Application, a copy of which is attached, except as those terms
are amended by this contract, and the bylaws and policies of the Anchorage
School District, and federal, state and local statutes and regulations.
Dated ______________
________________________________
School Board President
Anchorage School District
Dated ______________
________________________________
Charter School Authorized Agent
Anchorage School District
(Revised 1/25/99)
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