Family & Community Alternative Learning
Massachusetts Charter Schools

2004-2005 Charter School Pre-Enrollment

In accordance with M.G.L. c.71, §89, and 603 CMR 1.07(2), the purpose of this memorandum is to notify you of the number of students from your district who are expected to be enrolled in Commonwealth charter schools for the 2004-2005 school year.

I am providing you with two reports that provide information about projected charter school enrollment for the upcoming school year. The first report, Charter School Pre-Enrollment for the 2004-2005 School Year , provides by charter school the location, the grade levels to be served, the total pre-enrollment count, and the number of students on the school's waiting list.

The second report, Charter School Pre-Enrollment for the 2004-2005 School Year, by Sending School District , identifies by sending district the number of students, by grade, that have pre-enrolled in charter schools and the number of students placed on charter school waiting lists.

According to state regulations, payments shall be made to charter schools "only for the total number of students from all districts" as reported on the charter school pre-enrollment report. As a result, while actual enrollment from your district may differ slightly, the total enrollment in a charter school from all districts, as listed on the attached report, represents a cap on the number of students for which the charter school may receive tuition payments.

The first quarterly payment to charter schools in FY05 will be based on the attached pre-enrollment report using a projected FY05 tuition rate for each sending district. The remaining three quarterly payments for FY05 will be based on actual charter school enrollment and the FY05 charter school tuition rate at the time of the payment, with corrections made for any over- or under-payment in the first quarter.

While the legislation stipulating a reimbursement to school districts (100% of the increase in tuition payments to charter schools from FY04 to FY05, 60% of the tuition increase from FY03 to FY04, and 40% of the tuition increase from FY02 to FY03) remains on the books, it is important to note that this account was partially funded in FY04 at a level of $13 million, which the Governor has recommended continuing in his FY05 budget. This level of funding at $13 million represents about 40% of full funding of the reimbursement line in both years.

If you have any questions regarding charter school enrollment, the funding formula, or the charter school statute and regulations on these issues, please call Cliff Chuang in the Charter School Office at (781) 338-3228.