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(Editor's note: Some information has been changed from a previous version of this story.)
A new fee approved by the Memphis school board Monday means some charter schools will receive less money.
One charter leader said the move sends charter students to the "back of the bus."
Over time, Memphis City Schools will charge 17 of the 22 charter schools a 3 percent fee to cover costs of overseeing them.
Charter leaders say the fee runs counter to several attorney general opinions, including one in April that said changes in the charter schools agreement with the board of education must be mutually accepted.
The change now, more than half a year after the agreements were signed, constitutes a change in the contract, says Matt Throckmorton, executive director of the Tennessee Charter School Association.
School board member Dr. Jeff Warren said it's not fair that the district be saddled with $1.5 million it costs to oversee how the charters run and is the reason the school board asked for a change in the law a year ago.
"One of the reasons we took it to the state is so we could recoup these expenses," Warren said. "We have good quality charter schools. We've only had to close one. All of ours have done well compared to what I have read about some of the charters nationally."
Warren suggested the quality is related to the district's oversight.
As the authorizer of charters in Memphis, the district is also responsible for passing funds it receives from the state and local taxpayers on to the charters.
In Memphis, the issue has been contentious because the district passes a portion of the $10,394 in funding it received last year per child.
The charters got $7,633 per child, excluding costs for school lunches, construction and other fees the district is not obligated to pay the charter schools.
"All we know is the district says 'here is the check.' We don't know what fees. We do know there is a disparity between what the charters get and the district is spending," said Steve Bares at Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering and chairman of the state charter organization, whose school is not going to be affected.
The new fee, Bares says, will cost schools the size of MASE $190,000 a year.
"The charters didn't get any stimulus money, they got zero Gates (Foundation) money, and we're not expecting to see any from Race to the Top," Bares said. "The process was never intended to create a caste system. But that is effectively what we have. Our kids in charter schools sit at the back of the bus. This is a publicly funded caste system."
The board passed the issue with very little discussion.
All were in favor, except Rev. Kenneth Whalum and Stephanie Gatewood. Gatewood was absent; Whalum left early.
The schools that will be affected are Southern Avenue Middle School; Southern Avenue Charter School; Freedom Preparatory Academy; STAR Academy; Memphis Business Academy; Memphis College Preparatory Elementary; North Pointe Lower School; North Pointe Middle School; Promise Academy; Memphis School of Excellence; New Consortium of Law & Business; Soulsville Charter School; City University School of Liberal Arts; City University School Boys Preparatory; and Veritas College Preparatory.
