Suzanne Wells Council Testimony on 12-5-2024 on Eagle Academy Closing
/DC Council Hearing
December 5, 2024
Eagle Academy Public Charter School
Testimony of Suzanne Wells
Thank you Chairman Mendelson for agreeing to hold today’s hearing on Eagle Academy PublicCharter School, and for allowing interested members of the public the opportunity to testify.Since Eagle Academy closed in August 2024, one important issue has been resolved. TheCouncil initiated a request to reprogram $13.6 million from DCPS capital funds to DGS to pay offthe loan Eagle Academy had on the McGogney school which DC leased to Eagle Academy. Thisallow McGogney to stay in the DCPS inventory with the presumption that it will be used as swing space for upcoming DCPS renovations in Wards 7 and 8.
There should be a full public accounting of the closeout of the finances of Eagle Academy. Atthe August 2024 Public Charter School Board (PCSB) hearing, there were many unansweredquestions about Eagle Academy’s finances. I found it odd in August, and I find it odd today, thatthe key people involved in the financial management of Eagle Academy, i.e., the formerCEO/CFO and the former accounting firm have not been questioned. So little publicinformation is available about Eagle Academy’s finances that it is impossible to know the fullextent of any financial mismanagement. I encourage the Council to request the PCSB provide afull, public accounting of the closeout of Eagle Academy’s finances including 1) loans the school received from the CEO/CFO and whether these loans were legal, 2) all outstanding debts theEagle Academy has, and 3) what happened to the July 2024 UPSFF that was given to Eagle Academy.
In addition to Eagle Academy’s financial mismanagement, the demise of the school was directlyrelated to declining enrollment. Some of Eagle Academy’s declining enrollment may have been due to the school no longer meeting family expectations, and families deciding not to enrolltheir children. The declining enrollment was also due to the intense competition the schoolfaced in recruiting students, and this is directly related to the PCSB approving the opening ofmore seats than are needed. The PCSB assessed the number of already approved charterschool seats with the projected student population growth through 2030. Based on updatedpopulation growth data which shows the student population declining, the PCSB has already approved charter school growth for more students than DC anticipates having over the next 10years1. In spite of having this information, the PCSB approved in September the expansion ofBASIS to add a 516 student elementary school. This approval was done without anycoordinated planning with DCPS or the charter sector to understand the impact another elementary school will have on the education landscape.2 One impact for sure will be declining
1 Sector Planning Supplement, February 24, 2024.
2 June 24, 2024, Testimony by Suzanne Wells before the Public Charter School Board on BASIS expansion request
(attached).enrollment at multiple schools when families choose to send their children to the new BASIS
elementary school.
It must be recognized that when the PCSB oversaw the closing of Eagle Academy, they oversaw the closing of a school with a high percentage of special needs and at-risk students, and whenthe PCSB approved the opening of the BASIS elementary school, they approved a school thathistorically has had one of the lowest percentages of special needs and at-risk students.
When Congress passed the School Reform Act in 1995 that created the PCSB, the intent was tojump start the charter school movement in DC. Congress made the PCSB an autonomous bodythat has the ability to approve up to ten new schools a year. Congress’ intent has beenrealized, and today approximately half of the school age children now attend charter schools. Itis past time for the DC Council to reexamine the School Reform Act which is part of the DCCode. I would encourage the Council to pay particular attention to coordinated planning with DCPS when opening new charter schools, and whether prior to opening a new charter school there should be a financial impact assessment.
The District has many important advisory boards and commissions. None, however, are quite like the PCSB which essentially determines its budget in the Schedule I, and the Council approves the Schedule I the PCSB sets. While one might argue the District pays the same amount whether a student is in a DCPS school or a public charter school, there is one important distinction. Every time a new charter school opens, the DC taxpayers are required to fund a perstudent facilities allowance. In SY25/26, DC is expected to pay the charter sector $176 million in facility allowances. Whenever a new charter school opens, enrollment declines at both DCPSand charter schools leaving them with reduced budgets and making it difficult to impossible to offer the full support students need.
In December 2023, the Deputy Mayor for Education’s office issued the 2023 School Funding Study Final Report. The report acknowledges the diverse opportunities for school choice in DC, but says “…compared to other states there is generally a higher cost base in DC which can partially be attributed to the inefficiencies that a system of choice can lead to.” The report goes on to state that school choice can drive up UPSFF costs by reducing efficiencies in “fixed and semi-fixed” school-level and LEA-level overhead….” The City’s school choice approach is causing the city to spend more on administrative, building and operations costs. As many have said before, DC is spreading it’s education dollars thinly across its schools.
The District has too many important issues to fund, and can’t afford to waste dollars. Eagle Academy’s closure has brought to light many shortcomings of the oversight provided by the PCSB, and the problems created by the PCSB’s opening new charter schools and expanding existing schools when the District’s student population is not growing. Let’s use this as an opportunity to have more rational decision making regarding the opening and closing of schools, and the financial oversight of the charter sector.