to refuse to fill out the free lunch/income forms the next time they go around. That would get Mr Duncan’s attention when they lose federal funding based in the parent’s low income level.

I wish I knew how the different funding worked in DC. I know here part of is based on 2 days per year. Someone that knows how what the different funding is based on could really make a good recommendation.

Mr. Coulson did a great job breaking down the numbers for the District of Columbia Public School and they are not very pretty. While his numbers are verified and supported by the independent data, his final per pupil expenditure(PPE) formula is a bit eschewed. When reporting the PPE figures, typically the PPE only includes the cost associated with the student education and therefore excludes the capital expenditures as a whole but it does include the debt servicing cost (monthly mortgage payments). This is similar to paying for your mortgage on a monthly basis instead of counting the entire mortgage each and every month. For example, let’s say you have a 30 yr interest free mortgage for $100,000 (commonly known as a Senator Dodd special). You would record mortgage payment of $277.78 per month instead of $100,000. So the real PPE apples to apples is $16,822.83. If you count the yearly additional authorized funds which the DC council and/or Federal government appropriates, it rises to $18,461.41. However, the schools received a onetime funding that resulted in the PPE and supplements rising to $ 20,195.46. To reach the $24,600 you would have to include the entire capital budget in this year’s budget.

While we differ a bit on the PPE, where we agree is the PPE for the District of Columbia is the highest in the nation and achieves one of worst results. To compound the error, now the Senate and President Obama’s administration has decided to relegate these Opportunity Scholarship students back to the same underperforming schools that their parents fought to leave. Somewhat ironic, Sidwell Friends has at least two fellow student of President Obama’s children that would have to leave the school due to this callous decision. Canceling this successful program that many fought for over the past decade to create and now is achieving positive results is the purest form of power grab from the parents to the union. This is all about political paybacks which has nothing about education. I remember the unions being totally against this program and said the scholarships would fail and actually damage the entire school system. Well the Opportunity Scholarships have been in place for years now and as we predicted the positive results are quite impressive. The unions threatened retribution for those Congressional Members that voted for it but when it came to them actually doing something they could only achieve a whimpered impenitent response. Why a sitting Senator would succumb to these thug like tactics is beyond me except they are interested in helping the parents just their reelection campaigns. We have to hope that the Opportunity Scholarships get restored after the parents public uprising calling President Obama and Congressional Democrats to put children first again.

Just my Thoughts-
Trent A. Barton

Trent Barton is a national recognized education reform advocate and formally served as Congressional Aide and ALEC National Education Task Force Director. Mr. Barton has been a leader in establishing Charter Schools throughout the US and private capital for scholarship funds for the past 15 years.