DISD Leaders Oppose New Oak Cliff Charter School
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - There are too many charter schools taking too much public money. That is the argument being made by Dallas Independent School District leaders who want the Dallas City Council to vote against another charter school in southwest Oak Cliff.
The charter school system Uplift Education wants to build a new campus near the DISD's Terry Elementary School, where 393 children attend classes and there is a 90 percent poverty rate. Four out of 10 students at the school are still learning English as a second language.
The new campus would be for middle school and high school students. Uplift Education calls it a response to parental demand for these types of schools. They currently operate 34 schools on 17 sites.
Because charter schools are publicly funded, it is up to the city council to approve new construction. But some DISD leaders in the southwest part of the city said that the new school would do more harm than good to the public schools which are working to improve student achievement.
DISD trustee Joyce Foreman explained, of the 27,000 students in Dallas who attend charter schools, nearly half live in the low income neighborhoods of southwest Oak Cliff. Also, the trustee added, her district is already inundated with underperforming charter programs.
The decision will be made by the Dallas City Council on Wednesday afternoon.