By Jamar Younger
When Annie Gilbert of Chandler sought out a school for her four sons, she chose Ball Charter Schools, a K-8 public charter school network with campuses in Chandler, Gilbert and North Phoenix. Gilbert was drawn to the network’s reputation for promoting heavy parent involvement, as well as its core mission of meeting the needs of individual students.
However, it wasn’t enough to just volunteer at the school as a parent. Gilbert eventually began working part-time for the network as its business manager before rising to a full-time position as senior director of finance and operations.
After 22 years as a charter school parent and administrator, Gilbert has gained an intimate knowledge of daily charter operations, as she oversees everything from finances, procurement and purchasing processes, to academic reporting and analysis.
“I feel like I can make a significant difference with assisting the site leadership; making decisions on a day-to-day basis allows some accountability and but maintains flexibility,” she said. “They come to me for everything. It’s a very open, ongoing conversation for what meets the needs of students.”
Gilbert said there are some common concerns and misconceptions regarding the inner workings of charter schools.
A provision passed in the budget from this past legislative session will give the State Board for Charter Schools authority to close a school based on its financial performance. The Board is currently working through the process of updating its financial framework to reflect the new changes. Charter administrators always have to take a proactive approach towards managing school money, Gilbert said. “We always need to look at financial results and meet financial metrics,” she said.
This will add to the other layers of accountability for charter schools, which already receives less money on average than district schools. According to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, charters received $8,523 per student, compared to $9,474 for school districts for the 2017 fiscal year. “We receive less funding, but we’re still beholden to financial standards. It requires us to be more nimble,” she said.
Gilbert has noticed a cloud of confusion surrounding ownership of charter schools of facilities and financing. For non-profit organizations, charter operators do not keep the building if a school fails. Ownership of the facility reverts to the lienholder, which is usually a bank.
She also emphasized that all information is available for public viewing, including executive salaries, teacher salaries and budgets. Charter finances are also analyzed by third party auditors. “It ensures financial stability for the charter holder and school, which ensures the academic future for all students,” she said.
Overall, Gilbert attributes the flexibility afforded to charter schools for the network’s academic success. Ball’s two East Valley campuses – Dobson and Val Vista academies – both recently received a ‘B’ letter grade in the Arizona Department of Education’s accountability system. Ball’s Phoenix campus, Hearn Academy, received an ‘A.’
“We have provided excellent benefits to employees, individualized needs for students and positive results for more than 20 years,” she said. “It’s not a one-size fits all type of environment.”
This story originally appeared in the SanTan Sun News. Click here and scroll to page 22 to view the original story.
