matthews ped emails with "former clients" and "former" law partner
DESCRIPTION
Emails provided to ISPAC in response to our IPRA to PED directly contradicting PED's spokesman.TRANSCRIPT
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: ATTDate: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:37:35 AM
I am resubmitting the LWOP package to PED and PSFA re: the ATT LWOP. To whom at PED shouldit be directed? You had mentioned that Rod Ventura would probably be looking at it for PED. Theapplication checklist still says Sam Obenshain. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]: CATADate: Friday, September 30, 2011 9:54:00 AM
Do you think it would be better for me to send the information to the CATA G.C. president insteadof sending it to you first? PATRICIA MATTHEWSOPTIONS FOR PARENTSNEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT300 Don GasparSanta Fe, NM 87501(505) 827-6576
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Aguilar, Paul J, PED; Ortiz, Antonio, PEDCc: "[email protected]"Subject: charter regarding transportationDate: Friday, August 19, 2011 1:20:00 PM
Paul and Antonio: This is the language from the charter regarding transportation. H. OTHER STUDENT SERVICES
· Describe the school plan for meeting the transportation needs of its students and plans
for contracting services for transportation, if applicable. RRVCS will be contracting with a local bus company for transportation. We are hoping to contractwith the company that provides transportation to the Questa District. We will be transportingstudents to Red River from Questa. PATRICIA MATTHEWSOptions for Parents, Director505.699-0755 (temporary)[email protected]
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Ahner, EricSubject: congratulations!Date: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 11:40:00 AM
Eric: Cudos! Saw this in the PSFA report – way to go.
Silver City/ Aldo Leopold High School Receives National Award
Silver City Sun-News ReportJuly 19, 2011 Aldo Leopold High School received national recognition for excellence in globaleducation by Education First Foundation for Foreign Study, the leader in high schoolexchange. Awarded annually, the EF Foundation Global Education Excellence Award ispresented to schools and districts that demonstrate an extraordinary commitmentto international understanding and global awareness. Aldo Leopold High School was one of a select group of schools recognized across the United Statesfor the 2010-11 school year.
This year, Aldo Leopold High School welcomed one EF Foundation exchange student. Not only wasthe student accepted into the ALHS community, she became an integral part of the Aldo Leopold HighSchool's academic and extracurricular life, involving the community-at-large in the exchangeexperience. The award was presented to the school at a farewell gathering for this year's Germanexchange student, Denise Wagner.
ALHS has welcomed six foreign exchange students in the past four years, including four studentsthrough the EF exchange program.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Roskom, GretaSubject: Emailing: New Mexico Public Education DepartmentDate: Monday, July 25, 2011 3:20:00 PMAttachments: image001.png
image002.pngimage015.png
GRETA, SEE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE HIGHLIGHTED
questions about AYP?
If you are a parent: PED Help Desk(505) 827-5800 | submit online
If you are a representative ofthe media:Communications Office(505) 476-0393 | email
No Child Left Behind No Child Left Behind: A Parent's
Guide
NMPED Resource Links
Assessment and AccountabilityCharter SchoolsSpecial EducationPriority SchoolsTitle I ProgramsBilingual and MulticulturalEducation Strategic InitiativesResponse to Intervention (RtI)
School Appeal of NCLBDesignation
NCLB legislation provides an appealprocess for schools that are identifiedfor School Improvement I, SchoolImprovement II, Corrective Action,Restructuring I, or Restructuring II.
The Superintendent or Charter SchoolAdministrator may file an appealwhen he / she believes that there arestatistical or other substantive reasonsresulting in an incorrect designation.
Request Revew for 2011 AYPand Designation (downloadform)
July 22, 2011—New Mexico's AYP Ratings Signal the Need forReform
AYP 2011
AYP Basics
FAQ: Answers to FrequentlyAsked Questions About AYP
How to Make AYP: A QuickReference Guide
AYP 2011 Business Rules
Cohort Graduation Rate
4-Year Cohort GraduationRates, Class of 2010
Definition, Frequently AskedQuestions, Graduation Rates
and More ...
School Improvement
Public School Choice ParentNotification Letter and Sample
Form(en Español)
Public School ChoiceTechnical Assistance Q&A
Comparison of VariousFederal and State School
Improvement Requirements
LEA and School ImprovementNon-Regulatory Guidance
Memo: Title I SchoolImprovement Requirements:
Parent Notification, SchoolChoice and Supplemental
Educational Services
Best in Class: System ofSupport for Districts and
Schools
Additional Reference Materials
Reorganization of GradeLevels, Opening and Closing
Schools
Consolidated StateAccountability Workbook
(Revised 2008)
New Mexico English LanguageDevelopment Standards
Must submit this form by August 5,2011 at 5:00pm.
Consolidated State ApplicationAccountability Workbook
School Improvement Grants(SIG)
Working Together: School-Family-Community
Partnerships
Full screen slideshow | Download slides
AYP Quick Facts 2011
Detailed AYP Reports
District Summary | School Summary l Charter SchoolSummary
Schools Off Designation for 2011
Standards Based Assessment Summaries 2005-2011
Prior Year Data: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005| 2004
2011 NCLB AYP School Accreditation Letters to Schools(Select "School Accreditation Letter" from the DocumentType dropdown)
NMPED Home :: PED A to Z Directory :: Contact Us
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Ahner, Eric ; ":"Subject: Follow upDate: Monday, July 18, 2011 12:42:00 PMAttachments: AMENDMENTS AND FOLLOW UP TO SITE VISIT.docx
Eric: Please find the attached memorandum that Corina prepared before she left. Please let meknow if you have any questions. PATRICIA MATTHEWSOptions for Parents, Director505.699-0755 (temporary)[email protected]
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]: FW:Date: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:26:00 AMAttachments: HB33 & SB9 Match Reminder.pdf
FYI – Also getting sorry about not getting stuff to you about CATA. Just got the docs this a.m. Patty Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576 From: Griego, Barbara, PED Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:25 AMTo: PED-State Charter Schools; PED-NM BusinessManager; PED-NM SuperintendentsCc: Ortiz, Antonio, PED; Ventura, Roderick, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject:
Barbara Griego
Executive Assistant to
Antonio Ortiz, Director of
Student Services & Tranportation Bureau
Public Education Department
300 Don Gasper Ave. RM. 121
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: 505-827-6613
Fax: 505-827-6422
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]: FW: August 2011 E-Newsletter: Conflict of Interest Issues - fyiDate: Tuesday, September 06, 2011 8:55:00 AM
From: National Charter School Resource Center [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 4:20 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: August 2011 E-Newsletter: Conflict of Interest Issues
To view this email as a web page, go here.
National Charter SchoolResource Center
August 2011 E-Newsletter
News, Insight, and Resources to Support the Development of High-QualityCharter Schools
To receive this e-newsletter,please provide your e-mail information.
Conflicts of Interest:Matters to Avoid andManage for CharterSchools Should a charter school governing boarddo business with a board member'scompany? This is one of a diverse field ofpotential conflict of interest questions thatcan arise with charter school operationsand relationships. This month's newsletterfeature provides context for understandingthe issues, examples of recentdevelopments, guidance from the InternalRevenue Service, a charter schoolattorney's views about managing conflictsof interest, and a Michigan authorizercenter's approach to disclosure by schoolboard members. The newsletter alsoprovides links to resources, such assample conflict of interest policies.
The scrutiny of charter schools has increased.Delaware's governor, on August 19, 2011, signed
U.S. Department ofEducation Grants$217 Million to NewYork and FloridaOver Five Years toBoost School Choice
The U.S. Department ofEducation has awarded grantsto New York and Florida thattotal more than $217 millionover five years to increaseschool choice options. The firstyear of the grant for New Yorkis $28.2 million, with the five-year amount totaling more than$113 million. The first year ofthe grant for Florida is $21.4million, with the five-yearamount totaling more than$104 million.
The grants come from theDepartment of Education'sCharter Schools Program'sstate education agencycompetition, which provides
into law a bill that requires charter school boardmembers to disclose any financial interests theyhave in the school as part of a measure thatrequires tighter financial oversight, according to abill synopsis. In New York in 2010, in the wake ofconcern about inappropriate self-dealing by somecharter school boards, the state legislature decidedto put charter schools under the same lawsgoverning ethics and conflicts that apply to schooldistricts. The change also gave the statecomptroller authority to audit charter schoolfinances, work that has begun, according to astatement by the agency. In Ohio, aconflict of interest is apparent in a lawsuitthat pits a group of charter schoolgoverning boards against their operators ina dispute over who has what rights andresponsibilities, with a judge ruling in anAugust 2011 pretrial matter that theoperators must abide by state law and turnover extensive financial information to theboards. The state legislature in Minnesotatightened the rules for charter schoolsfollowing a 2008 report by the statelegislative auditor's office that identifiedconflict of interest concerns, including therole of teachers on school governingboards. And Michigan took steps to moreclosely monitor conflict of interest issuesinvolving its charter schools following a2002 report by its state auditor.
The details of conflict of interest provisions varyacross the country. Over 10 years ago, the InternalRevenue Service, recognizing the increasingpresence of charter schools, provided guidancefocused on charter school operations; the grantingof tax-exempt status; and key areas where thepotential for conflicts of interest exist, includingboard governance, compensation, and contracts.The guidance involves charter school organizationsoperating as nonprofits and for-profits. Theguidance covers relationships between schoolsand school managers or operators and addressesthe distinction between private and public interestsand the importance of whether school boards areindependent or "appointed or dominated by acomprehensive management company." Conflict of InterestRequirements Do NotNecessarily MeanForgoing School BoardMembers' Connections Abiding by the spirit and the letter of conflict ofinterest rules does not necessarily mean, forexample, that a school must avoid any deal wherethere may be a connection with a board member.
funds to states to create new,high-quality charter schoolsand disseminate informationabout existing charters. Thepurpose of the Charter SchoolsProgram is to increasefinancial support and build abetter national understandingof public charter schools whileexpanding the number of high-quality public charter schools.Read more.
Native AmericanCharter School Gets$500,000 Grant forHealth Center
A New Mexico charter schoolplans to build a school-basedhealth center with a $500,000grant from the U.S.Department of Health andHuman Services.
Native American CommunityAcademy in Albuquerque,founded in 2005 and servingabout 385 middle and highschool students, plans toconstruct a 2,685-square-foothealth center as part of theschool's new 75,000-square-foot facility, according to thefederal agency. Read more.
Charter SchoolEducators AmongDepartment ofEducation 2011-12TeachingAmbassador Fellows
Two of the 16 educatorschosen as TeachingAmbassador Fellows for 2011-12 are from charter schools.The fellows were chosen fromamong 750 applications. Thefellowship program wascreated to "give outstandingteachers an opportunity tolearn about national policyissues in education, and tocontribute their expertise tothose discussions," accordingto the Department. Readmore.
New Orleans MilitaryBase Charter School
But it is a common reflex, according to Jim Taylor,a lawyer who represents the Delaware CharterSchools Network and most of the state's charterschools. His general sense is that the boardmembers he works with are "hypersensitive" aboutconflicts of interest and are so "worried about itthat they see conflicts where, legally, there maynot be."
Part of the value of a board member is that his orher knowledge, skills, and connections can beuseful for a school's development. However,caution is required in how those assets areleveraged, Taylor said in an interview with theNational Charter School Resource Center(Resource Center). There are real conflicts ofinterest to address as well as appearances of aconflict of interest.
"There is nothing wrong with school X getting aloan from bank Y even if it has a board memberwho is an officer at bank Y," Taylor said. "If it's agood deal for the school, it's a good deal for theschool." But Taylor urged full disclosure about thedeal and said that the "board ought to be carefulin documenting it and determining who wasinvolved. As with any big decision, what are thealternatives? Try to shop it [the loan] around if youcan. Sometimes, it isn't even an option."
"If you can show that you did your due diligenceand that you didn't just take the first deal that camedown the pike because Johnny told you to andthat you can further show that Johnny didn't pushyou into it-ideally, he recused himself-then I thinkyou're home free in terms of the school," Taylorsaid.
And if there is a benefit, such as acommission for making the deal, Taylorrecommended that the board memberrefuse it. "That just looks bad. It smellsbad," Taylor said. "And therefore it may bebad. So why put yourself or your school inthat position?" For Michigan Center,Conflict of InterestMonitoring Starts WithBoard Member Application
The Center for Charter Schools (the Center) atCentral Michigan University incorporates conflict ofinterest issues into its application for charter schoolboard appointment process and requires thatboard members annually submit a conflict ofinterest disclosure form.
Central Michigan University authorizes nearly 60 ofMichigan's charter schools, and the universitycreated the Center to, among other duties, monitor
Starts Expansion
Construction is under way on a$6 million expansion of BelleChasse Academy, a K-8charter school on Naval AirStation/Joint Reserve BaseNew Orleans. Work on the26,600-square-foot facilitybegan in July 2011 and isexpected to be completed byJuly 2012. Read more.
Connecticut CharterSchool StudentGains, on Average,Outpace District,State Charter GroupAnalysis Says
Annual improvement in mathand reading proficiency forstudents in Connecticut charterschools, on average, isoutpacing gains for students inhost district schools, accordingto an analysis of statestandardized test scores by theConnecticut Charter SchoolNetwork.
The analysis used a growthmodel to show theperformance of student groupsfrom 2006 to 2010 andinvolved Connecticut MasteryTest results and federaldemographic data. Theanalysis also examinedperformance for economicallydisadvantaged students, aswell and black and Hispanicstudents. The report was thesubject of a Hartford Courantarticle.
The analysis involved 12 ofConnecticut's 17 charterschools, with 5 schoolsexcluded because there weretoo few test takers or becausethey are high schools. TheConnecticut Mastery Test isgiven to students in Grades 3and 8.
All 12 charter schoolsoutpaced the host district inmath gains, with the highestmargin being 16.7 percentagepoints and the lowest 0.9percentage points, accordingto the analysis report,
the actions of school boards.
The Center's process to address conflict of interestissues was initiated in part because of a stateaudit, which recommended that the statedepartment of education address conflict ofinterest concerns with charter schools statewide.The Center's process is a way of warding offpotential problems as well as an effort to buildrelationships with charter school board members,according to Orlando M. Castellon, the Center'sdirector of board appointments and development.
The university's board of trustees appoints charterschool board members to four-year terms and isempowered to remove them. "We look at boardmembership as a comprehensive process,"Castellon said in an interview with the ResourceCenter. "They are public officials, and they fallunder certain laws."
State law does not prohibit conflicts. "But there areways that they have to disclose them and mitigatethe issue," Castellon said, although the Centerwould prefer that board members avoid conflicts."So those are a lot of the conversations that wehave," Castellon said.
Part of the application process also includes aconversation with board members about whatservice means and the university's expectations."Part of that expectation is that they are going tobe submitting that conflict of interest disclosure,and that they really should avoid any actualconflicts or any perceived conflicts," Castellon said."We talk to them about that right up front so we'reall on the same page."
Occasionally, issues are identified that are "prettyminimal in nature," Castellon said. "So youmanage those," he said.
The disclosure form questions were revised aboutfive years ago. "Rather than ask very specificquestions, we broadened them out a little bit sothat we would never have someone come backand say my relationship doesn't fit that definition."
Sometimes, board members will call asking to bereminded why they have to submit the disclosureform. The answer is standard. "All of our boardmembers swear the constitutional oath of office,"Castellon said. "They are public officials, and theyhave to follow the same rules that ourrepresentatives in Lansing do. We can lean on thatsay, 'Listen, it's not just the university that wants tomake sure that we don't have conflicts in place.'"
The Center considered its charter contract,university expectations, state law, and policy indeveloping its process. The charter schools have 5to 9 board members, and some have boardmembers who have served for 15 years, according
Measures of Success: WhatStandardized Test ScoresReveal About Charter Schoolsin Connecticut .
In reading, 3 of the 12 charterschools did not outpace thehost district, with the lowestbeing minus 11.5 percentagepoints. But the average overallfor all schools was ahead ofthe host district by 3.9percentage points, with thehighest margin being 20.9percentage points.
Webinar Focused onExploring GrantOpportunities andEffectivelyCompeting for Funds
A webinar focused onexploring grant opportunitiesand effectively competing forfunds was presented by theResource Center.
The hour-long webinarfeatured Erin Pfeltz and AnnMargaret Galiatsos of theCharter Schools Program;Danny Corwin, vice presidentof development at theCalifornia Charter SchoolsAssociation; and RhondaKochlefl, chief developmentofficer of the Noble Network ofCharter Schools in Chicago.
The presenters sharedinformation about grantprograms, bestpractices, developmentstrategies, and tips that havehelped charter schoolsenhance and sustain theirprograms. Read more.
October 24-27: TheNational Association of CharterSchool Authorizers will host its2011 Leadership Conferenceon Amelia Island, nearJacksonville, Florida.
February 27-29, 2012:The Second AnnualGreen Schools NationalConference will be in
to Castellon. The vacancy rate on boards isbetween 5 and 6 percent.
"We don't want to make this a bureaucraticprocess, but at the same time we want tounderstand and know the relationships our boardmembers have in place with not only the entity but[also] any other members," Castellon said. It spursdeeper conversations that, ultimately, servestudent achievement.
"If we have that relationship in place," Castellonsaid, "then when we have to have a difficultdiscussion about achievement, we're not gettingthe push back because they know that we carelike they do."
Denver, Colorado.
New York City CharterSchool Center, GeneralMunicipal Law. Thissection of the New YorkCharter School Centerwebsite providesinformation about theimpact of a May 2010change by the statelegislature to the CharterSchools Act that isintended to increaseaccountability andtransparency. It includes alist of responses tofrequently askedquestions, a model codeof ethics, a model conflictof interest policy, and anoverview of changes tothe state Charter SchoolsAct dealing with schooltrustees and employees.
Electronic Code of FederalRegulations: 75.525 Conflict ofInterest: Participation inProject. This section of theCode of Federal Regulationsdescribes limits onparticipation in administrativedecisions involving granteesand their projects.
Electronic Code of FederalRegulations: 80.36 (b)(3)Procurement. This section ofthe Code of FederalRegulations describes rulesand limitations on the awardingof contracts supported byfederal funds.
Purpose of Conflict of InterestPolicy. This summary from theInternal Revenue Servicereviews key points forunderstanding the conflict ofinterest concept and why theissue matters, including itsrelevance to obtaining andmaintaining tax-exempt status.
Sample Conflict of InterestPolicy. This is a sampleconflict of interest policy from
the Internal Revenue Service.
Charter Schools: TaxExemption Application Issues .This section of the InternalRevenue Service websiteprovides three documents thatoffer detailed information aboutconflict of interest issues andguidance for applications fortax exemption, with a specificfocus on the impact for charterschool governance andoperations. A list of criticalquestions is provided as wellas background and analysisaddressing relationshipsbetween charter schools andmanagement companies.
Charter Schools and theCommon Core State Standards
About the National Charter School Resource Center
The U.S. Department of Education is committed to promoting effective practices, providing technicalassistance, and disseminating the resources critical to ensuring the success of charter schools acrossthe country. To that end, the U.S. Department of Education, under a contract with Learning PointAssociates, an affiliate of American Institutes for Research, has developed the National CharterSchool Resource Center. The Resource Center provides on-demand resources, information, andtechnical assistance to support successful planning, authorizing, implementation, and sustainability ofhigh-quality charter schools; to share evaluations on the effects of charter schools; and todisseminate information about successful practices in charter schools
Contact Us
National Charter School Resource Center 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street NW Washington, DC 20007-3835Phone: 877-277-2744 • 202-403-6222E-Mail: [email protected]: charterschoolcenter.org
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: "[email protected]"Subject: FW: HB-283Date: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 10:46:00 AMAttachments: Charter_Procedure_06-2011.pdf
Sue – take a look at this “guidance” which looks more like a rule making to me. This is regarding283. From: Martica Casias [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 25, 2011 8:40 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: HB-283 Dear Patricia, Enclosed are the procedures that PSFA has in place to assess the Charters. Martica CasiasPlanning & Design ManagerPublic School Facilities Authority1312 Basehart Drive SEAlbuquerqure, New Mexico 87106505-‐843-‐6272 office505-‐362-‐1356 cell
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]: [email protected]: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning and Implementation GrantDate: Friday, September 30, 2011 9:48:00 AMAttachments: PCSP Expenditure Guidelines- June, 2011.docx
PCSP P&I Application Form-2011.docxPCSP P&I Proposed Budget Form-with tabs.xlsxPCSP Proposed P&I Budget Form-2011.xlsxPSCP P&I RFA - 2011.docx
Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576 From: Olix, Robert, PED Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 9:44 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Initial CSP Grant Notice
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: Olix, Robert, PED Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2011 9:40 AMTo: 'Algene Herrick'; 'Dawn Moore'; 'Deborah Bennett Anderson'; DeFelice, Dominic ; 'Donna Eldredge';'Eric Mack'; 'Fancisco Romero'; Glasrud, Scott; 'Jack Long'; 'Jasper Matthews'; 'Jennifer Brown'; 'JoAnnMyers'; 'John Bishop'; 'Joni Hagemeyer'; 'Justin Baiardo'; 'Karen Webb'; Kuffer, Dorene; 'MargaretWoods'; 'Prairie Boulmier-Darden'; 'Roger Lenard'; 'Tricia McCarty'Cc: PED-Charter DivisionSubject: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant To All New Charter School Applicants: As a new charter school applicant, you have the opportunity to apply for a federal Public CharterSchools Program (PCSP) grant. The grant is a competitive, discretionary grant administered by theCharter Schools Division (CSD) of the NM Public Education Department (NMPED). Grant funds areawarded after the approval of your charter school application and may be used only for the Planningand Implementation of new charter schools as allowed by federal law. If either the charter applicationor the grant application is not approved, grant funds cannot be awarded. New charter school applicants are allowed and encouraged to apply for this grant before a decision is
made on their charter applications so that the grant applications can be evaluated and grant funds canbe awarded as soon as possible after charter authorization. Grant funds can be used for allowableexpenses obligated on or after the date of the grant award letter; however, if grant applications are notsubmitted until after charter authorization, award letters and the availability of grant funds can be furtherdelayed. Attached to this e-mail are: 1. The Request For Applications document (RFA) that sets forth the terms, qualifications andapplication process for the PCSP grant. 2. The NM PCSP Application form3. The NM PCSP Proposed Budget form (two versions)4. The CSD’s “Guidelines for Allowable and Unallowable Expenses” that contains important informationabout the types of expenses that can be paid from the PCSP grant. Please read the RFA fully and carefully. Use the attached “Guidelines for Allowable and UnallowableExpenses” to determine what expenses may be requested in the proposed budget. PCSP grant applications must be received no later than 5 PM on September 30, 2011 to receiveconsideration. In order to assist you in preparing your PCSP grant application, the CSD will provide the followingtechnical assistance opportunities: 1. A training session on completing the application and proposed budgets will be held on July 13,2011 in Room 111 of the CNM Workforce Training Center at 5600 Eagle Rock Ave. in Albuquerquefrom 1 PM to 4 PM. This is a general training opportunity for all interested parties who will be involvedin preparing the PCSP grant application.PLEASE RSVP (E-MAIL) TO ME BY JULY 12 , 2011 WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM YOURORGANIZING GROUP THAT WILL ATTEND THIS TRAINING. 2. The RFA requires that all grant applicants schedule an individual technical assistance session withthe PCSP Project Director. If you cannot attend the meeting indicated above, or if you desireadditional assistance, please contact: Dr. Bob Olix, PCSP Project Director, at (505) 222-4764 [email protected] to set up a separate technical assistance session. 3. Additional technical assistance is available during the application period by contacting the ProjectDirector. Please be aware that the PSCP Planning and Implementation grant is not an entitlement and theauthorization of a charter school does not automatically result in grant funding. The charter applicationand the grant application are two separate and distinct processes, each with its own set of criteria. Fullcompliance with the requirements of the grant is necessary in order for a grant application to beapproved. Please feel free to share this information with any other persons who may be involved in thepreparation of your PCSP grant application and contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely,
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]: FW: Question regarding SB446Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 9:16:03 PM
Sue: Willie is on vacation and I assume Rod is buried. Keep dogging this. It is really crazy and I havenever been this far behind in getting things done. PATRICIA MATTHEWS, DIRECTOROPTIONS FOR PARENTSNEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT(505) 827-6576 (SF)(505) 222-4760 (ABQ)
From: Brown, Willie R., PEDSent: Friday, July 22, 2011 12:10 PMTo: Ventura, Roderick, PEDCc: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: FW: Question regarding SB446
Rod:I didn’t get a chance to review and respond. Can you please take a stab and trying to respond? Thx. Willie R. Brown, General Counsel
OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL
NEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
300 DON GASPAR
SANTA FE, NM 87501-2786
ph: (505) 827-6641 fx: (505) [email protected] Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail, including all attachments, is for the sole use of theintended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Anyunauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited, unless specificallyprovided under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act.
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 3:51 PMTo: Brown, Willie R., PEDSubject: FW: Question regarding SB446 Hi Willie – please see my original query below, which I apparently sent to the wrong address. Sorryabout that!
Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
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From: [email protected] Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 6:33 AMTo: '[email protected]'Cc: 'Matthews, Patricia, PED'Subject: Question regarding SB446 Willie: A dilemma has arisen in the context of charter nonprofit foundations (which often, asallowed/contemplated by 22-‐8B-‐4.2, and the Lease Purchase Act, either purchase or lease facilitiesto lease back to their charter schools) – and the conflict of interest provisions of SB 446. Here it is: It has to do with tax requirements, which may not have been taken into consideration by theLegislature in drafting this piece of the bill. Here’s the situation: IRS Form 1023 is the form that 501c3s are required to complete in order toget tax-‐exempt status. Schedule D of that Form requires ‘supporting organizations’ to meet one ofthree relationship tests with the organization being supported (here, the school):
1. Is a majority of your governing board or officers elected or appointed by the supportedorganization(s)?
2. Does a majority of your governing board consist of individuals who also serve on thegoverning board of the supported organization(s)? or
3. Are you a trust from which the named supported organization can enforce and compel anaccounting under state law?
So, the foundation has to be able to answer ‘yes’ to one of these in order for the IRS to certify it asa 501c3. Obviously, #3 is not applicable. By now you’ve probably identified the dilemma: having
a majority of the Foundation’s board elected or appointed by the school, or having a majority ofthe Foundation board consist of individuals who also serve on the school’s GC, raises a potentialconflict of interest issue for the School (as of July 1, 2012), under the “Governing Body Conflicts ofInterest” provision of SB 446, reading that provision broadly. That section says, in relevant part, that “a person shall not serve as a member of a governing bodyof a charter school if the person or an immediate family member of the person is an owner, agentof, contractor with or otherwise has a financial interest in a for-‐profit or nonprofit entity withwhich the charter school contracts directly, for professional services, goods or facilities. A violationof this subsection renders the contract between the person or the person’s immediate family andthe charter school voidable at the option of the chartering authority, the department or governingbody. A person who knowingly violates this subsection may be individually liable to the charterschool for any financial damage caused by the violation.” …. My first thought to get around this was, well, people who serve on nonprofit boards don’t havefinancial interests in the contract, because they don’t receive any compensation or remunerationpersonally from the contract. However, the fact that the Legislature included nonprofit entitieswithin the purview of the statute creates some ambiguity on this issue, despite the fact thatnonprofit boards/members don’t receive any actual personal benefit. My second thought is that the provision isn’t effective until July 1, 2012, but that postpones ratherthan solves the problem. I’ve raised this issue with the Charter Schools Division/Parent Options Division, and Patty suggestedthat I forward this question/issue to you, and that we try to schedule a meeting between you, me,herself, and whomever else might be looking at this from the NMPED’s end. I have several schoolswho are trying to establish their nonprofit foundations right now, and this directly impacts thiseffort, so if we could meet or discuss soon, I’d appreciate it. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]: FYIDate: Monday, September 12, 2011 3:55:00 PMAttachments: Colorado Charter School Training Handbook.pdf
Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: Gut checkDate: Friday, July 22, 2011 12:48:11 PM
I tried to call your 222-‐4760 number and Michael’s voice came on the line and said that the personat that number is no longer there … surely you’ve not left already? Anyway, FYI. Do you have anew number? Need a gut check re: HAW. Ed & company and moving to get a nonprofit set up that can act as thebuilding company for the school – under the two IRS options the board of directors of the nonprofiteither needs to be appointed by the supported organization (the School’s GC), or it there are twoor more GC members who sit on the nonprofit board. The latter option gives me more pause thanthe former, given SB446’s conflict provisions. In your experience, how have charter nonprofit boards typically set themselves up – as appointedby the GC or as having GC members sit on the board? I can’t find any guidance/law on this – APS’s foundation board has one Board of Ed member andthe Supt as Ex Oficio, everyone else is a community member – but I don’t know how its bylaws areset up. My concern in doing it the first way (GC appoints nonprofit board members) is that someone maysee this as a delegation of public functions to a private entity – or more broadly, as an end-‐aroundthe various laws governing public entities. But obviously, it’s done, and has been done. I just can’tfind anything that gives me comfort – maybe there is nothing. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
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From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDDate: Saturday, July 30, 2011 1:15:35 PMAttachments: rgf_virtual_education.pdf
You’ve probably already seen this, since you are the IDEAL NM guru, but here it is anyway, FYI. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Monfiletto, Tony; "Lisa Grover ([email protected])"Subject: Meeting with Paul Aguilar and Steve BurrellDate: Friday, August 05, 2011 4:57:00 PM
Tony and Lisa: I did not have any success convincing Paul that you have a separate program, byadding the 10th grade to your regular “day school.” They are concerned that what you are askingthem to do is effectively stacking units; growth, plus new program funds. I see their point about“stacking the units” but also understand your argument that this was contemplated in your charter. They are concerned if they permit this for charter schools, they would open the door for regulardistricts to implement a similar program and insist on similar funding. Unfortunately, the budget inyour charter is a “proposed” budget and not official. I emphasized the necessity for PED to beinvolved in the future when looking at PEC charter application budgets so that programs are notapproved based on projections that erroneously apply the rules and law of the department. I’m not sure what else I can do internally. If you want another meeting with Paul and Steve, letme know. Sorry. Patty PATRICIA MATTHEWSOPTIONS FOR PARENTSNEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT300 Don GasparSanta Fe, NM 87501(505) 827-6576
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Bonnie Braden ([email protected])Subject: PEC VacanciesDate: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 11:11:00 AM
Bonnie: Secretary Skandera is looking for names to submit to the Governor for the two vacant seats on thePEC. The two seats are for the following districts and would serve for the balance of the four-yearterm that started in December 2010. I think you’re in district 5. District Three is composed of Bernalillo county precincts 4 through 18, 86, 101 through 105, 107,150 through 153, 161, 180 through 187, 191 through 197, 211, 212, 214 through 217, 221, 223through 226, 241 through 246, 251 through 258, 271 through 275, 278, 281 through 287, 291, 292,311 through 318, 321 through 323, 326 through 329, 341 through 347, 351 through 358, 371through 375, 381 through 387, 410, 418, 422 through 425, 431 through 438, 441 through 446, 475through 478, 485, 486, 510, 542, 543 and 601
District Five is composed of McKinley county; San Juan county precincts 1 through 16,18 through 31, 40 through 46, 49, 51 through 59, 70, 71, 73 through 75, 79 and 81through 86; and Sandoval county precincts 21 through 27.
I look forward to your recommendations. As soon as I receive them I’ll forward to Sec. Skandera. Thanks for any suggestions. PATRICIA MATTHEWSOptions for Parents, Director505.699-0755 (temporary)[email protected]
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCEDate: Friday, September 09, 2011 4:04:00 PM
Fyi – CHARTERS ARE ON THE AGENDA THIS DAY. I am on the agenda as well to discuss concerns –it may be that the issue new conflicts provisions in 446 that interferes with the nonprofits ability tocreate a lease purchase agreement should be addressed. I’m not sure I can articulate it as well asyou. I’m putting together my suggestions them about facilities issues for charters – so your ideasare welcome. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576
From: [email protected]: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: Question regarding SB446Date: Monday, July 18, 2011 6:33:02 AM
Willie: A dilemma has arisen in the context of charter nonprofit foundations (which often, asallowed/contemplated by 22-‐8B-‐4.2, and the Lease Purchase Act, either purchase or lease facilitiesto lease back to their charter schools) – and the conflict of interest provisions of SB 446. Here it is: It has to do with tax requirements, which may not have been taken into consideration by theLegislature in drafting this piece of the bill. Here’s the situation: IRS Form 1023 is the form that 501c3s are required to complete in order toget tax-‐exempt status. Schedule D of that Form requires ‘supporting organizations’ to meet one ofthree relationship tests with the organization being supported (here, the school):
1. Is a majority of your governing board or officers elected or appointed by the supportedorganization(s)?
2. Does a majority of your governing board consist of individuals who also serve on thegoverning board of the supported organization(s)? or
3. Are you a trust from which the named supported organization can enforce and compel anaccounting under state law?
So, the foundation has to be able to answer ‘yes’ to one of these in order for the IRS to certify it asa 501c3. Obviously, #3 is not applicable. By now you’ve probably identified the dilemma: havinga majority of the Foundation’s board elected or appointed by the school, or having a majority ofthe Foundation board consist of individuals who also serve on the school’s GC, raises a potentialconflict of interest issue for the School (as of July 1, 2012), under the “Governing Body Conflicts ofInterest” provision of SB 446, reading that provision broadly. That section says, in relevant part, that “a person shall not serve as a member of a governing bodyof a charter school if the person or an immediate family member of the person is an owner, agentof, contractor with or otherwise has a financial interest in a for-‐profit or nonprofit entity withwhich the charter school contracts directly, for professional services, goods or facilities. A violationof this subsection renders the contract between the person or the person’s immediate family andthe charter school voidable at the option of the chartering authority, the department or governingbody. A person who knowingly violates this subsection may be individually liable to the charterschool for any financial damage caused by the violation.” …. My first thought to get around this was, well, people who serve on nonprofit boards don’t havefinancial interests in the contract, because they don’t receive any compensation or remunerationpersonally from the contract. However, the fact that the Legislature included nonprofit entitieswithin the purview of the statute creates some ambiguity on this issue, despite the fact that
nonprofit boards/members don’t receive any actual personal benefit. My second thought is that the provision isn’t effective until July 1, 2012, but that postpones ratherthan solves the problem. I’ve raised this issue with the Charter Schools Division/Parent Options Division, and Patty suggestedthat I forward this question/issue to you, and that we try to schedule a meeting between you, me,herself, and whomever else might be looking at this from the NMPED’s end. I have several schoolswho are trying to establish their nonprofit foundations right now, and this directly impacts thiseffort, so if we could meet or discuss soon, I’d appreciate it. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
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From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE:Date: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:39:31 AM
That’s ok – GC meeting got moved to Monday, so I’ll have additional time to look at this. If you have particular ideas about what concerns/issues in charter school law NM is currently facedwith – particularly in the political arena in which you’re currently immersed – let me know so I canbe alert to those/be in a position to discuss those with the Alliance folk at Harvard next week andreport back to you about how other states are addressing those. From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:26 AMTo: [email protected]: FW: FYI – Also getting sorry about not getting stuff to you about CATA. Just got the docs this a.m. Patty Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576 From: Griego, Barbara, PED Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:25 AMTo: PED-State Charter Schools; PED-NM BusinessManager; PED-NM SuperintendentsCc: Ortiz, Antonio, PED; Ventura, Roderick, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject:
Barbara Griego
Executive Assistant to
Antonio Ortiz, Director of
Student Services & Tranportation Bureau
Public Education Department
300 Don Gasper Ave. RM. 121
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: 505-827-6613
Fax: 505-827-6422
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Monfiletto, TonyCc: "Lisa Grover ([email protected])"Subject: RE: ACEDate: Thursday, August 04, 2011 4:13:00 PM
We’re meeting tomorrow p.m. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2011 3:14 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Lisa Grover ([email protected])Subject: Re: ACE PattyThanks very much. Tony
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 4, 2011, at 2:49 PM, "Matthews, Patricia, PED" <[email protected]>wrote:
Tony and Lisa: Paul wants to meet with me first. Unfortunately, I am buried forthe balance of this week and I’m on the road with the Commission all nextweek. I will ask for a meeting tomorrow, but not sure we’ll pull that off, but willtry. Alternatively I seek something early the following week. PATRICIA MATTHEWSOPTIONS FOR PARENTSNEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT300 Don GasparSanta Fe, NM 87501(505) 827-6576
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: ATTDate: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:53:06 AM
Which address? Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:41 AMTo: [email protected]: Re: ATT Send it to me. I'll route to Rod From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:37 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PED Subject: ATT I am resubmitting the LWOP package to PED and PSFA re: the ATT LWOP. To whom at PED shouldit be directed? You had mentioned that Rod Ventura would probably be looking at it for PED. Theapplication checklist still says Sam Obenshain. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: "[email protected]"Subject: Re: ATTDate: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:40:36 AM
Send it to me. I'll route to Rod From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:37 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PED Subject: ATT I am resubmitting the LWOP package to PED and PSFA re: the ATT LWOP. To whom at PED shouldit be directed? You had mentioned that Rod Ventura would probably be looking at it for PED. Theapplication checklist still says Sam Obenshain. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: "[email protected]"Subject: RE: ATTDate: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 1:29:00 PM
Santa Fe ; 300 Don Gaspar PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:53 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: ATT Which address? Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:41 AMTo: [email protected]: Re: ATT Send it to me. I'll route to Rod From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:37 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PED Subject: ATT I am resubmitting the LWOP package to PED and PSFA re: the ATT LWOP. To whom at PED shouldit be directed? You had mentioned that Rod Ventura would probably be looking at it for PED. Theapplication checklist still says Sam Obenshain.
Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Montoya, CindySubject: RE: August 17thDate: Thursday, July 07, 2011 3:56:00 PM
Cindy: I don’t have any sway here; she is pretty busy. I just recommend that you make therequest. She does do a lot of public events. PATRICIA MATTHEWSOPTIONS FOR PARENTS From: Cindy Montoya [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2011 3:50 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: August 17th Hi Patty,
Our opening day ceremonies will be on August 17thfrom about 9-‐10:30. We have a speaker, writeJimmy Santiago Baca. Do you think that Secretary Skanderra would want to or have the time tospeak that morning as well? Let me know and I will make the formal request. I just wanted to get some idea if this was possibleand/or appropriate. Thanks. Good online forum. Cindy
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: August 2011 E-Newsletter: Conflict of Interest Issues - fyiDate: Tuesday, September 06, 2011 9:58:34 AM
Grazie. Timely! I subscribed to the newsletter. Call me re: distribution when you get a chance. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2011 8:55 AMTo: [email protected]: FW: August 2011 E-Newsletter: Conflict of Interest Issues - fyi From: National Charter School Resource Center [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 4:20 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: August 2011 E-Newsletter: Conflict of Interest Issues
To view this email as a web page, go here.
National Charter School ResourceCenter
August 2011 E-Newsletter
News, Insight, and Resources to Support the Development of High-Quality
Charter Schools
To receive this e-newsletter,please provide your e-mail information.
Conflicts of Interest:Matters to Avoid andManage for CharterSchools Should a charter school governing boarddo business with a board member'scompany? This is one of a diverse field ofpotential conflict of interest questions thatcan arise with charter school operationsand relationships. This month's newsletterfeature provides context for understandingthe issues, examples of recentdevelopments, guidance from the InternalRevenue Service, a charter schoolattorney's views about managing conflictsof interest, and a Michigan authorizercenter's approach to disclosure by schoolboard members. The newsletter alsoprovides links to resources, such assample conflict of interest policies.
The scrutiny of charter schools has increased.Delaware's governor, on August 19, 2011, signedinto law a bill that requires charter school boardmembers to disclose any financial interests theyhave in the school as part of a measure thatrequires tighter financial oversight, according to abill synopsis. In New York in 2010, in the wake ofconcern about inappropriate self-dealing by somecharter school boards, the state legislature decidedto put charter schools under the same lawsgoverning ethics and conflicts that apply to schooldistricts. The change also gave the statecomptroller authority to audit charter schoolfinances, work that has begun, according to astatement by the agency. In Ohio, aconflict of interest is apparent in a lawsuitthat pits a group of charter schoolgoverning boards against their operators ina dispute over who has what rights andresponsibilities, with a judge ruling in anAugust 2011 pretrial matter that theoperators must abide by state law and turnover extensive financial information to theboards. The state legislature in Minnesotatightened the rules for charter schoolsfollowing a 2008 report by the statelegislative auditor's office that identifiedconflict of interest concerns, including therole of teachers on school governing
U.S. Department ofEducation Grants$217 Million to NewYork and FloridaOver Five Years toBoost School Choice
The U.S. Department ofEducation has awarded grantsto New York and Florida thattotal more than $217 millionover five years to increaseschool choice options. The firstyear of the grant for New Yorkis $28.2 million, with the five-year amount totaling more than$113 million. The first year ofthe grant for Florida is $21.4million, with the five-yearamount totaling more than$104 million.
The grants come from theDepartment of Education'sCharter Schools Program'sstate education agencycompetition, which providesfunds to states to create new,high-quality charter schoolsand disseminate informationabout existing charters. Thepurpose of the Charter SchoolsProgram is to increasefinancial support and build abetter national understandingof public charter schools whileexpanding the number of high-quality public charter schools.Read more.
Native AmericanCharter School Gets$500,000 Grant forHealth Center
A New Mexico charter schoolplans to build a school-basedhealth center with a $500,000grant from the U.S.Department of Health andHuman Services.
Native American CommunityAcademy in Albuquerque,founded in 2005 and serving
boards. And Michigan took steps to moreclosely monitor conflict of interest issuesinvolving its charter schools following a2002 report by its state auditor.
The details of conflict of interest provisions varyacross the country. Over 10 years ago, the InternalRevenue Service, recognizing the increasingpresence of charter schools, provided guidancefocused on charter school operations; the grantingof tax-exempt status; and key areas where thepotential for conflicts of interest exist, includingboard governance, compensation, and contracts.The guidance involves charter school organizationsoperating as nonprofits and for-profits. Theguidance covers relationships between schoolsand school managers or operators and addressesthe distinction between private and public interestsand the importance of whether school boards areindependent or "appointed or dominated by acomprehensive management company." Conflict of InterestRequirements Do NotNecessarily MeanForgoing School BoardMembers' Connections Abiding by the spirit and the letter of conflict ofinterest rules does not necessarily mean, forexample, that a school must avoid any deal wherethere may be a connection with a board member.But it is a common reflex, according to Jim Taylor,a lawyer who represents the Delaware CharterSchools Network and most of the state's charterschools. His general sense is that the boardmembers he works with are "hypersensitive" aboutconflicts of interest and are so "worried about itthat they see conflicts where, legally, there maynot be."
Part of the value of a board member is that his orher knowledge, skills, and connections can beuseful for a school's development. However,caution is required in how those assets areleveraged, Taylor said in an interview with theNational Charter School Resource Center(Resource Center). There are real conflicts ofinterest to address as well as appearances of aconflict of interest.
"There is nothing wrong with school X getting aloan from bank Y even if it has a board memberwho is an officer at bank Y," Taylor said. "If it's agood deal for the school, it's a good deal for theschool." But Taylor urged full disclosure about thedeal and said that the "board ought to be carefulin documenting it and determining who wasinvolved. As with any big decision, what are thealternatives? Try to shop it [the loan] around if youcan. Sometimes, it isn't even an option."
about 385 middle and highschool students, plans toconstruct a 2,685-square-foothealth center as part of theschool's new 75,000-square-foot facility, according to thefederal agency. Read more.
Charter SchoolEducators AmongDepartment ofEducation 2011-12TeachingAmbassador Fellows
Two of the 16 educatorschosen as TeachingAmbassador Fellows for 2011-12 are from charter schools.The fellows were chosen fromamong 750 applications. Thefellowship program wascreated to "give outstandingteachers an opportunity tolearn about national policyissues in education, and tocontribute their expertise tothose discussions," accordingto the Department. Readmore.
New Orleans MilitaryBase Charter SchoolStarts Expansion
Construction is under way on a$6 million expansion of BelleChasse Academy, a K-8charter school on Naval AirStation/Joint Reserve BaseNew Orleans. Work on the26,600-square-foot facilitybegan in July 2011 and isexpected to be completed byJuly 2012. Read more.
Connecticut CharterSchool StudentGains, on Average,Outpace District,State Charter GroupAnalysis Says
Annual improvement in mathand reading proficiency forstudents in Connecticut charterschools, on average, isoutpacing gains for students inhost district schools, accordingto an analysis of statestandardized test scores by the
"If you can show that you did your due diligenceand that you didn't just take the first deal that camedown the pike because Johnny told you to andthat you can further show that Johnny didn't pushyou into it-ideally, he recused himself-then I thinkyou're home free in terms of the school," Taylorsaid.
And if there is a benefit, such as acommission for making the deal, Taylorrecommended that the board memberrefuse it. "That just looks bad. It smellsbad," Taylor said. "And therefore it may bebad. So why put yourself or your school inthat position?" For Michigan Center,Conflict of InterestMonitoring Starts WithBoard Member Application
The Center for Charter Schools (the Center) atCentral Michigan University incorporates conflict ofinterest issues into its application for charter schoolboard appointment process and requires thatboard members annually submit a conflict ofinterest disclosure form.
Central Michigan University authorizes nearly 60 ofMichigan's charter schools, and the universitycreated the Center to, among other duties, monitorthe actions of school boards.
The Center's process to address conflict of interestissues was initiated in part because of a stateaudit, which recommended that the statedepartment of education address conflict ofinterest concerns with charter schools statewide.The Center's process is a way of warding offpotential problems as well as an effort to buildrelationships with charter school board members,according to Orlando M. Castellon, the Center'sdirector of board appointments and development.
The university's board of trustees appoints charterschool board members to four-year terms and isempowered to remove them. "We look at boardmembership as a comprehensive process,"Castellon said in an interview with the ResourceCenter. "They are public officials, and they fallunder certain laws."
State law does not prohibit conflicts. "But there areways that they have to disclose them and mitigatethe issue," Castellon said, although the Centerwould prefer that board members avoid conflicts."So those are a lot of the conversations that wehave," Castellon said.
Connecticut Charter SchoolNetwork.
The analysis used a growthmodel to show theperformance of student groupsfrom 2006 to 2010 andinvolved Connecticut MasteryTest results and federaldemographic data. Theanalysis also examinedperformance for economicallydisadvantaged students, aswell and black and Hispanicstudents. The report was thesubject of a Hartford Courantarticle.
The analysis involved 12 ofConnecticut's 17 charterschools, with 5 schoolsexcluded because there weretoo few test takers or becausethey are high schools. TheConnecticut Mastery Test isgiven to students in Grades 3and 8.
All 12 charter schoolsoutpaced the host district inmath gains, with the highestmargin being 16.7 percentagepoints and the lowest 0.9percentage points, accordingto the analysis report,Measures of Success: WhatStandardized Test ScoresReveal About Charter Schoolsin Connecticut .
In reading, 3 of the 12 charterschools did not outpace thehost district, with the lowestbeing minus 11.5 percentagepoints. But the average overallfor all schools was ahead ofthe host district by 3.9percentage points, with thehighest margin being 20.9percentage points.
Webinar Focused onExploring GrantOpportunities andEffectivelyCompeting for Funds
A webinar focused onexploring grant opportunitiesand effectively competing forfunds was presented by theResource Center.
Part of the application process also includes aconversation with board members about whatservice means and the university's expectations."Part of that expectation is that they are going tobe submitting that conflict of interest disclosure,and that they really should avoid any actualconflicts or any perceived conflicts," Castellon said."We talk to them about that right up front so we'reall on the same page."
Occasionally, issues are identified that are "prettyminimal in nature," Castellon said. "So youmanage those," he said.
The disclosure form questions were revised aboutfive years ago. "Rather than ask very specificquestions, we broadened them out a little bit sothat we would never have someone come backand say my relationship doesn't fit that definition."
Sometimes, board members will call asking to bereminded why they have to submit the disclosureform. The answer is standard. "All of our boardmembers swear the constitutional oath of office,"Castellon said. "They are public officials, and theyhave to follow the same rules that ourrepresentatives in Lansing do. We can lean on thatsay, 'Listen, it's not just the university that wants tomake sure that we don't have conflicts in place.'"
The Center considered its charter contract,university expectations, state law, and policy indeveloping its process. The charter schools have 5to 9 board members, and some have boardmembers who have served for 15 years, accordingto Castellon. The vacancy rate on boards isbetween 5 and 6 percent.
"We don't want to make this a bureaucraticprocess, but at the same time we want tounderstand and know the relationships our boardmembers have in place with not only the entity but[also] any other members," Castellon said. It spursdeeper conversations that, ultimately, servestudent achievement.
"If we have that relationship in place," Castellonsaid, "then when we have to have a difficultdiscussion about achievement, we're not gettingthe push back because they know that we carelike they do."
The hour-long webinarfeatured Erin Pfeltz and AnnMargaret Galiatsos of theCharter Schools Program;Danny Corwin, vice presidentof development at theCalifornia Charter SchoolsAssociation; and RhondaKochlefl, chief developmentofficer of the Noble Network ofCharter Schools in Chicago.
The presenters sharedinformation about grantprograms, bestpractices, developmentstrategies, and tips that havehelped charter schoolsenhance and sustain theirprograms. Read more.
October 24-27: TheNational Association of CharterSchool Authorizers will host its2011 Leadership Conferenceon Amelia Island, nearJacksonville, Florida.
February 27-29, 2012:The Second AnnualGreen Schools NationalConference will be inDenver, Colorado.
New York City CharterSchool Center, GeneralMunicipal Law. Thissection of the New YorkCharter School Centerwebsite providesinformation about theimpact of a May 2010change by the statelegislature to the CharterSchools Act that isintended to increaseaccountability andtransparency. It includes alist of responses tofrequently askedquestions, a model codeof ethics, a model conflictof interest policy, and anoverview of changes tothe state Charter Schools
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From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: CATADate: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:17:25 AM
Probably. You can cc me if you think you ought to, or not. Her name is Debra Curry: [email protected]. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 9:54 AMTo: [email protected]: CATA Do you think it would be better for me to send the information to the CATA G.C. president insteadof sending it to you first? PATRICIA MATTHEWSOPTIONS FOR PARENTSNEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT300 Don GasparSanta Fe, NM 87501(505) 827-6576
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Roskom, GretaSubject: RE: Emailing: New Mexico Public Education DepartmentDate: Monday, July 25, 2011 3:25:00 PMAttachments: image001.png
image002.pngimage015.png
Look at the bottom of the form. From: Greta Roskom [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 25, 2011 3:24 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Emailing: New Mexico Public Education Department I have the form, I don’t know who to give it to. Greta Roskom, DirectorGordon Bernell Charter SchoolOffice: (505) 468-7702Email: [email protected]: http://gordonbernell.org From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 25, 2011 3:21 PMTo: Greta RoskomSubject: Emailing: New Mexico Public Education Department
GRETA, SEE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE HIGHLIGHTED
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Ahner, EricSubject: RE: Follow upDate: Monday, July 18, 2011 5:23:00 PM
ERIC – why don’t you remind me about SMART goals in a month or so. In the interim I encourageyou to reach out to other charter school leaders, e.g. Kelly Callahan at SIATech or Caryl Thomas atCesar Chavez – they have a good sense about how to articulate goals that can be measured. We’re working on improving what and why we ask for things here.!! From: Eric B. Ahner [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 5:20 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Follow up Please disregard the last email! I greatly appreciate the clarification regarding what needs to besubmitted as “amendments to our charter.” I asked for more clarification over a year ago and wastold to simply submit them to be safe. What constituted a change to the charter was unclear at thetime! We have a draft updated curriculum for our internship program and are still working on our SMARTgoals. As such, we should be in pretty good shape for the Annual Self Report. I still struggle withSMART goals! Any ideas or resources regarding the development of good SMART goals? Wecontinuously struggle with avoiding subjective assessment of these goals as the PED seems to likequantifiable data. Thanks for the clarity in your letter, Eric From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 12:43 PMTo: Eric B. Ahner; Shauna McCoshSubject: Follow up Eric: Please find the attached memorandum that Corina prepared before she left. Please let meknow if you have any questions. PATRICIA MATTHEWSOptions for Parents, Director505.699-0755 (temporary)[email protected]
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Ahner, EricSubject: RE: Follow upDate: Monday, July 18, 2011 5:16:00 PM
Hi Eric: Hope you are well. No, there is no other NMPED division that needs to be informed. I thinkthat answers your question. Have a great summer! Patty From: Eric B. Ahner [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 5:12 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Follow up Hi Patty, I hope the transition into your new position is going smoothly. I will look over the letter in moredetail to see where we are in process. I submitted many charter amendment (Policies) to Sam Obenshain about two month ago, whichcovered all the missing policies that are listed in the letter. Do I need to inform anyone else aboutthese policies? Cheers, Eric
· Grade Change Policy
· Safe School Plan,
· Wellness Plan,
· Special Ed Policy & Procedures, Distance Learning Policy, and
· Parent Complaint Policy.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 12:43 PMTo: Eric B. Ahner; Shauna McCoshSubject: Follow up Eric: Please find the attached memorandum that Corina prepared before she left. Please let meknow if you have any questions.
PATRICIA MATTHEWSOptions for Parents, Director505.699-0755 (temporary)[email protected]
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Ahner, EricSubject: RE: Follow upDate: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 8:00:00 AM
Eric – no problem. I sent an email to the wrong person earlier – we were just having the same kind of day! From: Eric B. Ahner [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 7:03 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: Re: Follow up You have made my day (We’re working on improving what and why we ask for things here.!!)! I will most likely contact these schools to see how they feel about their SMART goals. Most charters seem very willing to share best pactices! I apologize for the first email as I clearly did a poor job of scanning your letter before sending it! Have a great remaining summer. I fear there is little rest with your new endeavor. Eric
From: "Matthews, Patricia, PED" <[email protected]>Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:23:38 -‐0600To: Eric Ahner <[email protected]>Subject: RE: Follow up ERIC – why don’t you remind me about SMART goals in a month or so. In the interim I encourage you to reach out to other charter school leaders, e.g. Kelly Callahan at SIATech or Caryl Thomas at Cesar Chavez – they have a good sense about how to articulate goals that can be measured. We’re working on improving what and why we ask for things here.!! From: Eric B. Ahner [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 5:20 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Follow up Please disregard the last email! I greatly appreciate the clarification regarding what needs to be submitted as “amendments to our charter.” I asked for more clarification over a year ago and was told to simply submit them to be safe. What constituted a change to the charter was unclear at the time! We have a draft updated curriculum for our internship program and are still working on our SMART goals. As such, we should be in pretty good shape for the Annual Self Report. I still struggle with
SMART goals! Any ideas or resources regarding the development of good SMART goals? We continuously struggle with avoiding subjective assessment of these goals as the PED seems to like quantifiable data. Thanks for the clarity in your letter, Eric From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 12:43 PMTo: Eric B. Ahner; Shauna McCoshSubject: Follow up Eric: Please find the attached memorandum that Corina prepared before she left. Please let me know if you have any questions. PATRICIA MATTHEWSOptions for Parents, Director505.699-0755 (temporary)[email protected]
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Gut checkDate: Monday, July 25, 2011 11:51:05 AM
I’ll check and see what they say, if we have a copy in our files. I know Stan Albrycht has doneseveral of these, I’ll also check with him as to how he’s set those up. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 25, 2011 11:43 AMTo: [email protected]: RE: Gut check No. We need to flesh out all of the issues. So, fundamentally, SB446 has now made it impossiblefor a charter school to use a 501c3 nonprofit to acquire a facility? Does it make sense to look atATC’s bylaws and ATT’s bylaws (nonprofits) to see whether there is language in these nonprofitbylaws that met the IRS requirements, but also the state. I’m going to guess that they do not. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 25, 2011 11:22 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Gut check Thanks. Problem I see with an ‘umbrella’ organization is the language from CSA 22-‐8B-‐4.2 – the2015 private landlord situation contemplates a “nonprofit entity specifically organized for thepurpose of providing the facility for the charter school” – being one of those pessimists whoalways look for the worst case scenario I think that this coul mitigate against an umbrellaorganization, at least for this statute’s purposes, just by virtue of the fact that the statute says“for the charter school” rather than “for charter schools”. Then again, I could be reading toonarrowly.
“
Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2011 5:01 PMTo: [email protected]: RE: Gut check Sorry - use the 827-6576 number. I was in a meeting all day with big dogs and am just getting back toemail. I have rarely been involved at the organization state of a non profit that is acting on behalf of thecharter. I've always (in my recollection) advised them to seek outside counsel. I agree that I'd look at "appointing" the nonprofit board, but the appointees, I think, should be namedby a slate of candidates, vetted for any conflict and that this process occurs in a public meeting. Thismight be difficult for charter schools because of the difficulty of getting even governing body folks tosign up. With these requirements I think a discussion about an umbrella nonprofit makes sense - onethat multiple charters could use- is that a possibility? I think we may have approached that discussionat one of our meeting. I think based on my ignorance and guaranty that there is no New Mexico guidance to rely on that I'dcall John Cairnes (spelling?) he's the attorney working with Ed and Dick Ward and Tracy S. if he's still inthe picture. In any event 446 needs to be revisited and this is an issue. PATRICIA MATTHEWS, DIRECTOROPTIONS FOR PARENTSNEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT(505) 827-6576 (SF)(505) 222-4760 (ABQ)
From: [email protected] [[email protected]]Sent: Friday, July 22, 2011 12:48 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: Gut check
I tried to call your 222-‐4760 number and Michael’s voice came on the line and said that the personat that number is no longer there … surely you’ve not left already? Anyway, FYI. Do you have anew number? Need a gut check re: HAW. Ed & company and moving to get a nonprofit set up that can act as thebuilding company for the school – under the two IRS options the board of directors of the nonprofiteither needs to be appointed by the supported organization (the School’s GC), or it there are twoor more GC members who sit on the nonprofit board. The latter option gives me more pause thanthe former, given SB446’s conflict provisions. In your experience, how have charter nonprofit boards typically set themselves up – as appointedby the GC or as having GC members sit on the board? I can’t find any guidance/law on this – APS’s foundation board has one Board of Ed member andthe Supt as Ex Oficio, everyone else is a community member – but I don’t know how its bylaws areset up. My concern in doing it the first way (GC appoints nonprofit board members) is that someone maysee this as a delegation of public functions to a private entity – or more broadly, as an end-‐aroundthe various laws governing public entities. But obviously, it’s done, and has been done. I just can’tfind anything that gives me comfort – maybe there is nothing. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
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From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Gut checkDate: Monday, July 25, 2011 1:05:43 PM
ATC’s nonprofit board is self-‐elected – there is only a draft in the file but this is how it’s set up. Isuspect that this is how 98% of charter nonprofits are set up. This comports with NM law onnonprofit corps, which says that each corporation SHALL have power to …. Elect or appointdirectors and define their duties and fix their compensation, if any … 53-‐8-‐5. So now I see aconflict between the IRS requirement for single-‐purpose nonprofit board membership and statelaw! I’m going to call Tracy. My brain is damaged enough already. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 25, 2011 11:43 AMTo: [email protected]: RE: Gut check No. We need to flesh out all of the issues. So, fundamentally, SB446 has now made it impossiblefor a charter school to use a 501c3 nonprofit to acquire a facility? Does it make sense to look atATC’s bylaws and ATT’s bylaws (nonprofits) to see whether there is language in these nonprofitbylaws that met the IRS requirements, but also the state. I’m going to guess that they do not. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, July 25, 2011 11:22 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Gut check Thanks. Problem I see with an ‘umbrella’ organization is the language from CSA 22-‐8B-‐4.2 – the2015 private landlord situation contemplates a “nonprofit entity specifically organized for thepurpose of providing the facility for the charter school” – being one of those pessimists whoalways look for the worst case scenario I think that this coul mitigate against an umbrellaorganization, at least for this statute’s purposes, just by virtue of the fact that the statute says
“
“for the charter school” rather than “for charter schools”. Then again, I could be reading toonarrowly.
Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2011 5:01 PMTo: [email protected]: RE: Gut check Sorry - use the 827-6576 number. I was in a meeting all day with big dogs and am just getting back toemail. I have rarely been involved at the organization state of a non profit that is acting on behalf of thecharter. I've always (in my recollection) advised them to seek outside counsel. I agree that I'd look at "appointing" the nonprofit board, but the appointees, I think, should be namedby a slate of candidates, vetted for any conflict and that this process occurs in a public meeting. Thismight be difficult for charter schools because of the difficulty of getting even governing body folks tosign up. With these requirements I think a discussion about an umbrella nonprofit makes sense - onethat multiple charters could use- is that a possibility? I think we may have approached that discussionat one of our meeting. I think based on my ignorance and guaranty that there is no New Mexico guidance to rely on that I'dcall John Cairnes (spelling?) he's the attorney working with Ed and Dick Ward and Tracy S. if he's still inthe picture. In any event 446 needs to be revisited and this is an issue. PATRICIA MATTHEWS, DIRECTOROPTIONS FOR PARENTSNEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT(505) 827-6576 (SF)(505) 222-4760 (ABQ)
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Roskom, GretaSubject: RE: IDEAL-NMDate: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 8:14:00 AM
Greta – this is great – thanks for the input. From: Greta Roskom [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 8:13 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: IDEAL-NM Patty,I asked my IDEAL-NM coordinator to list the reasons it doesn’t work for us. His response isattached. Greta Roskom, DirectorGordon Bernell Charter SchoolOffice: (505) 468-7702Email: [email protected]: http://gordonbernell.org
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]; [email protected]: RE: LWOP questionDate: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 7:44:00 AM
Michelle: Susan has all of your documents, so feel free to contact her about this. From: Michele Hunt [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 8:11 PMTo: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: LWOP question Hi Susan,I was wondering if you could respond to one question for me regarding our LWOP. I am assumingyou have that in our file in your office. Sorry if I am being presumptive. Should the lease with theAnansi Day School preschool, who lease20% of our one facility, be leasing directly from the Friendsor should they be sub-‐leasing from the Anansi Charter School. It is time to renew their lease or setup a new lease, and this has come up, and no one in our group seems to be clear on this. Pleaseadvise. Thanks, Michele Michele HuntDirector, Anansi Charter SchoolPO Box 1709El Prado, NM87529575-‐776-‐2256, fax 575-‐776-‐5561
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From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure GuidelinesDate: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 7:25:16 AM
Are you going to attend the webinar? From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 12:48 PMTo: [email protected]: FW: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure Guidelines See attached. FYI. PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Wine, Doug [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 8:31 PMTo: Ramon Vigil; [email protected]; Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: FW: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure Guidelines I read this document, and it seems to disagree with your legal assessment of this law. I thought youshould know.
1. No charter OWNS a facility; we are working to enter into a lease purchase. MACCS is in alease purchase.
2. APS buys computer equipment with its HB 33 money. We are part of that election. Whycan’t we buy equipment and software with it?
3. Furniture is an afterthought. Are we allowed to buy it or not? Only if we are in a publicbuilding?
General comment: After receiving a year of this money, isn’t this opinion a little late? Please let me know how to proceed. Thanks. Douglas WinePrincipalEast Mountain High School"Engage, Challenge, and Inspire"P.O. Box 340Sandia Park, NM 87047(505) 281 - 7400 x. [email protected]
From: Thweatt, Christopher, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 2:27 PMTo: PED-NM Superintendents; PED-NM Charter Schools; PED-NM BusinessManagerSubject: FW: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure Guidelines Good afternoon. Please find the two Word document attachments (provisions for HB-‐33 and SB-‐9expenditures) that are referenced in the HB-‐33 and SB-‐9 State Match Expenditure Guidelines
memo. Thank you, Chris From: Griego, Barbara, PED Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 2:35 PMTo: PED-‐NM Superintendents; PED-‐NM Charter Schools; PED-‐NM BusinessManagerCc: Ortiz, Antonio, PEDSubject: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditur Guidelines Barbara Griego
Executive Assistant to
Antonio Ortiz, Direct of
Capitol Outlay
Instructional Materials
Student Transportation
Public Education Department
300 Don Gasper Ave. RM. 121
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: 505-‐827-‐6613
Fax: 505-‐827-‐6422
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From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure GuidelinesDate: Monday, August 15, 2011 1:02:23 PM
I guess I’m going to attend Thursday’s phone session. Let’s catch up when you get a chance –lunch sometime. Not that either of us ‘does’ lunch. My desk or yours? Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 12:48 PMTo: [email protected]: FW: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure Guidelines See attached. FYI. PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Wine, Doug [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 8:31 PMTo: Ramon Vigil; [email protected]; Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: FW: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure Guidelines I read this document, and it seems to disagree with your legal assessment of this law. I thought youshould know.
1. No charter OWNS a facility; we are working to enter into a lease purchase. MACCS is in alease purchase.
2. APS buys computer equipment with its HB 33 money. We are part of that election. Whycan’t we buy equipment and software with it?
3. Furniture is an afterthought. Are we allowed to buy it or not? Only if we are in a publicbuilding?
General comment: After receiving a year of this money, isn’t this opinion a little late?
Please let me know how to proceed. Thanks. Douglas WinePrincipalEast Mountain High School"Engage, Challenge, and Inspire"P.O. Box 340Sandia Park, NM 87047(505) 281 - 7400 x. [email protected]
From: Thweatt, Christopher, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 2:27 PMTo: PED-NM Superintendents; PED-NM Charter Schools; PED-NM BusinessManagerSubject: FW: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure Guidelines Good afternoon. Please find the two Word document attachments (provisions for HB-‐33 and SB-‐9expenditures) that are referenced in the HB-‐33 and SB-‐9 State Match Expenditure Guidelinesmemo. Thank you, Chris From: Griego, Barbara, PED Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 2:35 PMTo: PED-‐NM Superintendents; PED-‐NM Charter Schools; PED-‐NM BusinessManagerCc: Ortiz, Antonio, PEDSubject: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditur Guidelines Barbara Griego
Executive Assistant to
Antonio Ortiz, Direct of
Capitol Outlay
Instructional Materials
Student Transportation
Public Education Department
300 Don Gasper Ave. RM. 121
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: 505-‐827-‐6613
Fax: 505-‐827-‐6422
Click here to report this email as spam.
This message has been scanned for malware by Websense. www.websense.com
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: "[email protected]"Subject: RE: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure GuidelinesDate: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 4:58:00 PM
I will try, but have a meeting at just before. I’ll find out if they’re recording it. PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 7:25 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure Guidelines Are you going to attend the webinar? From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 12:48 PMTo: [email protected]: FW: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure Guidelines See attached. FYI. PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Wine, Doug [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 8:31 PMTo: Ramon Vigil; [email protected]; Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: FW: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure Guidelines I read this document, and it seems to disagree with your legal assessment of this law. I thought youshould know.
1. No charter OWNS a facility; we are working to enter into a lease purchase. MACCS is in alease purchase.
2. APS buys computer equipment with its HB 33 money. We are part of that election. Whycan’t we buy equipment and software with it?
3. Furniture is an afterthought. Are we allowed to buy it or not? Only if we are in a publicbuilding?
General comment: After receiving a year of this money, isn’t this opinion a little late? Please let me know how to proceed. Thanks. Douglas WinePrincipalEast Mountain High School"Engage, Challenge, and Inspire"P.O. Box 340Sandia Park, NM 87047
(505) 281 - 7400 x. [email protected]
From: Thweatt, Christopher, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 2:27 PMTo: PED-NM Superintendents; PED-NM Charter Schools; PED-NM BusinessManagerSubject: FW: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditure Guidelines Good afternoon. Please find the two Word document attachments (provisions for HB-‐33 and SB-‐9expenditures) that are referenced in the HB-‐33 and SB-‐9 State Match Expenditure Guidelinesmemo. Thank you, Chris From: Griego, Barbara, PED Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 2:35 PMTo: PED-‐NM Superintendents; PED-‐NM Charter Schools; PED-‐NM BusinessManagerCc: Ortiz, Antonio, PEDSubject: Memo for HB 33 and SB 9 State Match Expenditur Guidelines Barbara Griego
Executive Assistant to
Antonio Ortiz, Direct of
Capitol Outlay
Instructional Materials
Student Transportation
Public Education Department
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Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: 505-‐827-‐6613
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From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]: Olix, Robert, PEDSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning and Implementation GrantDate: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:52:00 PM
No sorry, I was looking at September’s calendar. Please have the application in by Friday, October
the 7th. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:50 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant October 9 is a Sunday – did you mean Monday the 10th? Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:35 PMTo: [email protected]; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Dear Ms. Fox: I reviewed the statute and regulation and there is no requirement that an applicant notify the PECor CSD of an address change. Moreover, the issue concerns the federal application for grant funds,
which is a separate application and eligibility question than as set forth for the state charterapplication. According to the documents you submitted to me, his current email contactinformation submitted to the local district, differed from the email information submitted with hisletter of intent to submit a charter application. I also verified that the CSD did not notify the localdistricts with pending applications about the deadlines for the federal grant application. Consequently, I am granting Mr. Arrellanes’ request for an extension to submit a federal grantapplication until 5:00 p.m. October 9, 2011. Please send the application to me and Dr. Olix inelectronic format. You may deliver the hard copy of the application to the Santa Fe office. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 11:35 AMTo: Olix, Robert, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant True; however, the email given in the actual application cover sheet (see attached) should be andhas been the operative one for purposes of all communications between the authorizer and thisapplicant – Mr. Arellanes subsequently updated his email address with the District to thegmail.com address, and this has been the one that the District has used to communicateelectronically with the applicant. Other important communications from the District to theapplicant have been sent via certified/snail mail to the address given in the cover sheet. We appreciate your consideration of our extension request – truly, this has not been a case of theapplicant sitting on his hands with regard to this process – he simply was unaware of this deadline. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Olix, Robert, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 11:27 AMTo: [email protected]; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Ms. Fox, Ms. Matthews, et al: I have spoken with Michael C de Baca, former Administrative Assistant in the Charter Schools Division,and he has informed me that the e-mail address for Mr. Arellanes that was used to transmit the July11, 2011 federal Charter Schools grant notice to potential applicants was that shown on Mr. Arellanes’Jan. 6, 2011 Letter of Intent to submit a charter school application which is on file in our office. Mr. Cde Baca indicated that our office received no further communications with Mr. Arellanes. A copy of theLetter of Intent showing the [email protected] as part of Mr. Arellanes’ contact information isattached. Because Mr. Arellanes submitted his charter school application to the Farmington Municipal Schools,he was not required to provide our office with a copy of the application and none was received. Consequently, the latest e-mail address of record was used by our office to transmit the July 11, 2011federal Charter Schools grant notice.
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:58 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PED; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Dear Dr. Olix and Ms. Matthews: We have figured out what happened with regard to the July 11 email sent to the district applicants,see below. The Comcast.net address used for Mr. Arellanes is not his correct email address – thecorrect email address is [email protected]. His alternative email address (which is on theapplication) is [email protected]. Mr. Arellanes believes that the CSD used his oldComcast.net address, which may have been on the CSD’s system from the days of his 2009 SandiaAcademy application. The nature and extent of the application is such that it will be impossible to complete theapplication in the hours remaining before the 5 p.m. deadline today; we request a one-‐weekextension in order to get a completed application to you on behalf of NMVA. If you need thisrequest to be in a more formal format, signed by the applicant, please advise and we will get thisto you.
Thank you for your consideration. Best regards, Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Olix, Robert, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:17 AMTo: [email protected]: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Sue, Here is the original e-mail sent to district charter applicants. Please call if you have any questions.
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: Olix, Robert, PED Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 11:23 AMTo: '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'Subject: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant We have been informed by other sources that you may have submitted a charter schoolapplication to your local school district. Please confirm or deny if this information is correct
through a Reply to this e-mail. If you have submitted a charter application, you are eligible to apply for a federal CharterSchools Planning and Implementation grant. Attached and below is the informationneeded to apply for this grant. To All New Charter School Applicants: As a new charter school applicant, you have the opportunity to apply for a federal Public CharterSchools Program (PCSP) grant. The grant is a competitive, discretionary grant administered by theCharter Schools Division (CSD) of the NM Public Education Department (NMPED). Grant funds areawarded after the approval of your charter school application and may be used only for the Planningand Implementation of new charter schools as allowed by federal law. If either the charter applicationor the grant application is not approved, grant funds cannot be awarded. New charter school applicants are allowed and encouraged to apply for this grant before a decision ismade on their charter applications so that the grant applications can be evaluated and grant funds canbe awarded as soon as possible after charter authorization. Grant funds can be used for allowableexpenses obligated on or after the date of the grant award letter; however, if grant applications are notsubmitted until after charter authorization, award letters and the availability of grant funds can be furtherdelayed. Attached to this e-mail are: 1. The Request For Applications document (RFA) that sets forth the terms, qualifications andapplication process for the PCSP grant. 2. The NM PCSP Application form3. The NM PCSP Proposed Budget form (two versions)4. The CSD’s “Guidelines for Allowable and Unallowable Expenses” that contains important informationabout the types of expenses that can be paid from the PCSP grant. Please read the RFA fully and carefully. Use the attached “Guidelines for Allowable and UnallowableExpenses” to determine what expenses may be requested in the proposed budget. PCSP grant applications must be received no later than 5 PM on September 30, 2011 to receiveconsideration. In order to assist you in preparing your PCSP grant application, the CSD will provide the followingtechnical assistance opportunities: 1. A training session on completing the application and proposed budgets will be held on July 13,2011 in Room 111 of the CNM Workforce Training Center at 5600 Eagle Rock Ave. in Albuquerquefrom 1 PM to 4 PM. This is a general training opportunity for all interested parties who will be involvedin preparing the PCSP grant application.PLEASE RSVP (E-MAIL) TO ME BY JULY 12 , 2011 WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM YOURORGANIZING GROUP THAT WILL ATTEND THIS TRAINING. 2. The RFA requires that all grant applicants schedule an individual technical assistance session withthe PCSP Project Director. If you cannot attend the meeting indicated above, or if you desireadditional assistance, please contact: Dr. Bob Olix, PCSP Project Director, at (505) 222-4764 [email protected] to set up a separate technical assistance session. 3. Additional technical assistance is available during the application period by contacting the ProjectDirector. Please be aware that the PSCP Planning and Implementation grant is not an entitlement and the
authorization of a charter school does not automatically result in grant funding. The charter applicationand the grant application are two separate and distinct processes, each with its own set of criteria. Fullcompliance with the requirements of the grant is necessary in order for a grant application to beapproved. Please feel free to share this information with any other persons who may be involved in thepreparation of your PCSP grant application and contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely,
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning and Implementation GrantDate: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:49:53 PM
October 9 is a Sunday – did you mean Monday the 10th? Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:35 PMTo: [email protected]; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Dear Ms. Fox: I reviewed the statute and regulation and there is no requirement that an applicant notify the PECor CSD of an address change. Moreover, the issue concerns the federal application for grant funds,which is a separate application and eligibility question than as set forth for the state charterapplication. According to the documents you submitted to me, his current email contactinformation submitted to the local district, differed from the email information submitted with hisletter of intent to submit a charter application. I also verified that the CSD did not notify the localdistricts with pending applications about the deadlines for the federal grant application. Consequently, I am granting Mr. Arrellanes’ request for an extension to submit a federal grantapplication until 5:00 p.m. October 9, 2011. Please send the application to me and Dr. Olix inelectronic format. You may deliver the hard copy of the application to the Santa Fe office. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 11:35 AMTo: Olix, Robert, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant True; however, the email given in the actual application cover sheet (see attached) should be andhas been the operative one for purposes of all communications between the authorizer and thisapplicant – Mr. Arellanes subsequently updated his email address with the District to thegmail.com address, and this has been the one that the District has used to communicateelectronically with the applicant. Other important communications from the District to theapplicant have been sent via certified/snail mail to the address given in the cover sheet. We appreciate your consideration of our extension request – truly, this has not been a case of theapplicant sitting on his hands with regard to this process – he simply was unaware of this deadline. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Olix, Robert, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 11:27 AMTo: [email protected]; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Ms. Fox, Ms. Matthews, et al: I have spoken with Michael C de Baca, former Administrative Assistant in the Charter Schools Division,and he has informed me that the e-mail address for Mr. Arellanes that was used to transmit the July11, 2011 federal Charter Schools grant notice to potential applicants was that shown on Mr. Arellanes’Jan. 6, 2011 Letter of Intent to submit a charter school application which is on file in our office. Mr. Cde Baca indicated that our office received no further communications with Mr. Arellanes. A copy of theLetter of Intent showing the [email protected] as part of Mr. Arellanes’ contact information isattached.
Because Mr. Arellanes submitted his charter school application to the Farmington Municipal Schools,he was not required to provide our office with a copy of the application and none was received. Consequently, the latest e-mail address of record was used by our office to transmit the July 11, 2011federal Charter Schools grant notice.
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:58 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PED; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Dear Dr. Olix and Ms. Matthews: We have figured out what happened with regard to the July 11 email sent to the district applicants,see below. The Comcast.net address used for Mr. Arellanes is not his correct email address – thecorrect email address is [email protected]. His alternative email address (which is on theapplication) is [email protected]. Mr. Arellanes believes that the CSD used his oldComcast.net address, which may have been on the CSD’s system from the days of his 2009 SandiaAcademy application. The nature and extent of the application is such that it will be impossible to complete theapplication in the hours remaining before the 5 p.m. deadline today; we request a one-‐weekextension in order to get a completed application to you on behalf of NMVA. If you need thisrequest to be in a more formal format, signed by the applicant, please advise and we will get thisto you. Thank you for your consideration. Best regards, Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Olix, Robert, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:17 AMTo: [email protected]: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Sue, Here is the original e-mail sent to district charter applicants. Please call if you have any questions.
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: Olix, Robert, PED Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 11:23 AMTo: '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'Subject: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant We have been informed by other sources that you may have submitted a charter schoolapplication to your local school district. Please confirm or deny if this information is correctthrough a Reply to this e-mail. If you have submitted a charter application, you are eligible to apply for a federal CharterSchools Planning and Implementation grant. Attached and below is the informationneeded to apply for this grant. To All New Charter School Applicants: As a new charter school applicant, you have the opportunity to apply for a federal Public CharterSchools Program (PCSP) grant. The grant is a competitive, discretionary grant administered by theCharter Schools Division (CSD) of the NM Public Education Department (NMPED). Grant funds areawarded after the approval of your charter school application and may be used only for the Planningand Implementation of new charter schools as allowed by federal law. If either the charter applicationor the grant application is not approved, grant funds cannot be awarded.
New charter school applicants are allowed and encouraged to apply for this grant before a decision ismade on their charter applications so that the grant applications can be evaluated and grant funds canbe awarded as soon as possible after charter authorization. Grant funds can be used for allowableexpenses obligated on or after the date of the grant award letter; however, if grant applications are notsubmitted until after charter authorization, award letters and the availability of grant funds can be furtherdelayed. Attached to this e-mail are: 1. The Request For Applications document (RFA) that sets forth the terms, qualifications andapplication process for the PCSP grant. 2. The NM PCSP Application form3. The NM PCSP Proposed Budget form (two versions)4. The CSD’s “Guidelines for Allowable and Unallowable Expenses” that contains important informationabout the types of expenses that can be paid from the PCSP grant. Please read the RFA fully and carefully. Use the attached “Guidelines for Allowable and UnallowableExpenses” to determine what expenses may be requested in the proposed budget. PCSP grant applications must be received no later than 5 PM on September 30, 2011 to receiveconsideration. In order to assist you in preparing your PCSP grant application, the CSD will provide the followingtechnical assistance opportunities: 1. A training session on completing the application and proposed budgets will be held on July 13,2011 in Room 111 of the CNM Workforce Training Center at 5600 Eagle Rock Ave. in Albuquerquefrom 1 PM to 4 PM. This is a general training opportunity for all interested parties who will be involvedin preparing the PCSP grant application.PLEASE RSVP (E-MAIL) TO ME BY JULY 12 , 2011 WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM YOURORGANIZING GROUP THAT WILL ATTEND THIS TRAINING. 2. The RFA requires that all grant applicants schedule an individual technical assistance session withthe PCSP Project Director. If you cannot attend the meeting indicated above, or if you desireadditional assistance, please contact: Dr. Bob Olix, PCSP Project Director, at (505) 222-4764 [email protected] to set up a separate technical assistance session. 3. Additional technical assistance is available during the application period by contacting the ProjectDirector. Please be aware that the PSCP Planning and Implementation grant is not an entitlement and theauthorization of a charter school does not automatically result in grant funding. The charter applicationand the grant application are two separate and distinct processes, each with its own set of criteria. Fullcompliance with the requirements of the grant is necessary in order for a grant application to beapproved. Please feel free to share this information with any other persons who may be involved in thepreparation of your PCSP grant application and contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely,
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education Department
CNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PED; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning and Implementation GrantDate: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:44:33 PM
Thanks to you both for this extension. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:35 PMTo: [email protected]; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Dear Ms. Fox: I reviewed the statute and regulation and there is no requirement that an applicant notify the PECor CSD of an address change. Moreover, the issue concerns the federal application for grant funds,which is a separate application and eligibility question than as set forth for the state charterapplication. According to the documents you submitted to me, his current email contactinformation submitted to the local district, differed from the email information submitted with hisletter of intent to submit a charter application. I also verified that the CSD did not notify the localdistricts with pending applications about the deadlines for the federal grant application. Consequently, I am granting Mr. Arrellanes’ request for an extension to submit a federal grantapplication until 5:00 p.m. October 9, 2011. Please send the application to me and Dr. Olix inelectronic format. You may deliver the hard copy of the application to the Santa Fe office. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576
CNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning and Implementation GrantDate: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:34:00 PM
Dear Ms. Fox: I reviewed the statute and regulation and there is no requirement that an applicant notify the PECor CSD of an address change. Moreover, the issue concerns the federal application for grant funds,which is a separate application and eligibility question than as set forth for the state charterapplication. According to the documents you submitted to me, his current email contactinformation submitted to the local district, differed from the email information submitted with hisletter of intent to submit a charter application. I also verified that the CSD did not notify the localdistricts with pending applications about the deadlines for the federal grant application. Consequently, I am granting Mr. Arrellanes’ request for an extension to submit a federal grantapplication until 5:00 p.m. October 9, 2011. Please send the application to me and Dr. Olix inelectronic format. You may deliver the hard copy of the application to the Santa Fe office. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 11:35 AMTo: Olix, Robert, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant True; however, the email given in the actual application cover sheet (see attached) should be andhas been the operative one for purposes of all communications between the authorizer and thisapplicant – Mr. Arellanes subsequently updated his email address with the District to thegmail.com address, and this has been the one that the District has used to communicateelectronically with the applicant. Other important communications from the District to theapplicant have been sent via certified/snail mail to the address given in the cover sheet. We appreciate your consideration of our extension request – truly, this has not been a case of theapplicant sitting on his hands with regard to this process – he simply was unaware of this deadline. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Olix, Robert, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 11:27 AMTo: [email protected]; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Ms. Fox, Ms. Matthews, et al: I have spoken with Michael C de Baca, former Administrative Assistant in the Charter Schools Division,and he has informed me that the e-mail address for Mr. Arellanes that was used to transmit the July11, 2011 federal Charter Schools grant notice to potential applicants was that shown on Mr. Arellanes’Jan. 6, 2011 Letter of Intent to submit a charter school application which is on file in our office. Mr. Cde Baca indicated that our office received no further communications with Mr. Arellanes. A copy of theLetter of Intent showing the [email protected] as part of Mr. Arellanes’ contact information isattached. Because Mr. Arellanes submitted his charter school application to the Farmington Municipal Schools,he was not required to provide our office with a copy of the application and none was received. Consequently, the latest e-mail address of record was used by our office to transmit the July 11, 2011federal Charter Schools grant notice.
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:58 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PED; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Dear Dr. Olix and Ms. Matthews: We have figured out what happened with regard to the July 11 email sent to the district applicants,see below. The Comcast.net address used for Mr. Arellanes is not his correct email address – the
correct email address is [email protected]. His alternative email address (which is on theapplication) is [email protected]. Mr. Arellanes believes that the CSD used his oldComcast.net address, which may have been on the CSD’s system from the days of his 2009 SandiaAcademy application. The nature and extent of the application is such that it will be impossible to complete theapplication in the hours remaining before the 5 p.m. deadline today; we request a one-‐weekextension in order to get a completed application to you on behalf of NMVA. If you need thisrequest to be in a more formal format, signed by the applicant, please advise and we will get thisto you. Thank you for your consideration. Best regards, Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Olix, Robert, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:17 AMTo: [email protected]: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Sue, Here is the original e-mail sent to district charter applicants. Please call if you have any questions.
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center
5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: Olix, Robert, PED Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 11:23 AMTo: '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'Subject: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant We have been informed by other sources that you may have submitted a charter schoolapplication to your local school district. Please confirm or deny if this information is correctthrough a Reply to this e-mail. If you have submitted a charter application, you are eligible to apply for a federal CharterSchools Planning and Implementation grant. Attached and below is the informationneeded to apply for this grant. To All New Charter School Applicants: As a new charter school applicant, you have the opportunity to apply for a federal Public CharterSchools Program (PCSP) grant. The grant is a competitive, discretionary grant administered by theCharter Schools Division (CSD) of the NM Public Education Department (NMPED). Grant funds areawarded after the approval of your charter school application and may be used only for the Planningand Implementation of new charter schools as allowed by federal law. If either the charter applicationor the grant application is not approved, grant funds cannot be awarded. New charter school applicants are allowed and encouraged to apply for this grant before a decision ismade on their charter applications so that the grant applications can be evaluated and grant funds canbe awarded as soon as possible after charter authorization. Grant funds can be used for allowableexpenses obligated on or after the date of the grant award letter; however, if grant applications are notsubmitted until after charter authorization, award letters and the availability of grant funds can be furtherdelayed. Attached to this e-mail are: 1. The Request For Applications document (RFA) that sets forth the terms, qualifications andapplication process for the PCSP grant. 2. The NM PCSP Application form3. The NM PCSP Proposed Budget form (two versions)4. The CSD’s “Guidelines for Allowable and Unallowable Expenses” that contains important informationabout the types of expenses that can be paid from the PCSP grant. Please read the RFA fully and carefully. Use the attached “Guidelines for Allowable and UnallowableExpenses” to determine what expenses may be requested in the proposed budget. PCSP grant applications must be received no later than 5 PM on September 30, 2011 to receiveconsideration. In order to assist you in preparing your PCSP grant application, the CSD will provide the followingtechnical assistance opportunities: 1. A training session on completing the application and proposed budgets will be held on July 13,2011 in Room 111 of the CNM Workforce Training Center at 5600 Eagle Rock Ave. in Albuquerquefrom 1 PM to 4 PM. This is a general training opportunity for all interested parties who will be involved
in preparing the PCSP grant application.PLEASE RSVP (E-MAIL) TO ME BY JULY 12 , 2011 WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM YOURORGANIZING GROUP THAT WILL ATTEND THIS TRAINING. 2. The RFA requires that all grant applicants schedule an individual technical assistance session withthe PCSP Project Director. If you cannot attend the meeting indicated above, or if you desireadditional assistance, please contact: Dr. Bob Olix, PCSP Project Director, at (505) 222-4764 [email protected] to set up a separate technical assistance session. 3. Additional technical assistance is available during the application period by contacting the ProjectDirector. Please be aware that the PSCP Planning and Implementation grant is not an entitlement and theauthorization of a charter school does not automatically result in grant funding. The charter applicationand the grant application are two separate and distinct processes, each with its own set of criteria. Fullcompliance with the requirements of the grant is necessary in order for a grant application to beapproved. Please feel free to share this information with any other persons who may be involved in thepreparation of your PCSP grant application and contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely,
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769
From: [email protected]: Olix, Robert, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning and Implementation GrantDate: Friday, September 30, 2011 11:35:07 AMAttachments: AR-M355N_20110930_114759.pdf
True; however, the email given in the actual application cover sheet (see attached) should be andhas been the operative one for purposes of all communications between the authorizer and thisapplicant – Mr. Arellanes subsequently updated his email address with the District to thegmail.com address, and this has been the one that the District has used to communicateelectronically with the applicant. Other important communications from the District to theapplicant have been sent via certified/snail mail to the address given in the cover sheet. We appreciate your consideration of our extension request – truly, this has not been a case of theapplicant sitting on his hands with regard to this process – he simply was unaware of this deadline. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Olix, Robert, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 11:27 AMTo: [email protected]; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Ms. Fox, Ms. Matthews, et al: I have spoken with Michael C de Baca, former Administrative Assistant in the Charter Schools Division,and he has informed me that the e-mail address for Mr. Arellanes that was used to transmit the July11, 2011 federal Charter Schools grant notice to potential applicants was that shown on Mr. Arellanes’Jan. 6, 2011 Letter of Intent to submit a charter school application which is on file in our office. Mr. Cde Baca indicated that our office received no further communications with Mr. Arellanes. A copy of theLetter of Intent showing the [email protected] as part of Mr. Arellanes’ contact information isattached.
Because Mr. Arellanes submitted his charter school application to the Farmington Municipal Schools,he was not required to provide our office with a copy of the application and none was received. Consequently, the latest e-mail address of record was used by our office to transmit the July 11, 2011federal Charter Schools grant notice.
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:58 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PED; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Dear Dr. Olix and Ms. Matthews: We have figured out what happened with regard to the July 11 email sent to the district applicants,see below. The Comcast.net address used for Mr. Arellanes is not his correct email address – thecorrect email address is [email protected]. His alternative email address (which is on theapplication) is [email protected]. Mr. Arellanes believes that the CSD used his oldComcast.net address, which may have been on the CSD’s system from the days of his 2009 SandiaAcademy application. The nature and extent of the application is such that it will be impossible to complete theapplication in the hours remaining before the 5 p.m. deadline today; we request a one-‐weekextension in order to get a completed application to you on behalf of NMVA. If you need thisrequest to be in a more formal format, signed by the applicant, please advise and we will get thisto you. Thank you for your consideration. Best regards, Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Olix, Robert, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:17 AMTo: [email protected]: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Sue, Here is the original e-mail sent to district charter applicants. Please call if you have any questions.
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: Olix, Robert, PED Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 11:23 AMTo: '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'Subject: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant We have been informed by other sources that you may have submitted a charter schoolapplication to your local school district. Please confirm or deny if this information is correctthrough a Reply to this e-mail. If you have submitted a charter application, you are eligible to apply for a federal CharterSchools Planning and Implementation grant. Attached and below is the informationneeded to apply for this grant. To All New Charter School Applicants: As a new charter school applicant, you have the opportunity to apply for a federal Public CharterSchools Program (PCSP) grant. The grant is a competitive, discretionary grant administered by theCharter Schools Division (CSD) of the NM Public Education Department (NMPED). Grant funds areawarded after the approval of your charter school application and may be used only for the Planningand Implementation of new charter schools as allowed by federal law. If either the charter applicationor the grant application is not approved, grant funds cannot be awarded. New charter school applicants are allowed and encouraged to apply for this grant before a decision is
made on their charter applications so that the grant applications can be evaluated and grant funds canbe awarded as soon as possible after charter authorization. Grant funds can be used for allowableexpenses obligated on or after the date of the grant award letter; however, if grant applications are notsubmitted until after charter authorization, award letters and the availability of grant funds can be furtherdelayed. Attached to this e-mail are: 1. The Request For Applications document (RFA) that sets forth the terms, qualifications andapplication process for the PCSP grant. 2. The NM PCSP Application form3. The NM PCSP Proposed Budget form (two versions)4. The CSD’s “Guidelines for Allowable and Unallowable Expenses” that contains important informationabout the types of expenses that can be paid from the PCSP grant. Please read the RFA fully and carefully. Use the attached “Guidelines for Allowable and UnallowableExpenses” to determine what expenses may be requested in the proposed budget. PCSP grant applications must be received no later than 5 PM on September 30, 2011 to receiveconsideration. In order to assist you in preparing your PCSP grant application, the CSD will provide the followingtechnical assistance opportunities: 1. A training session on completing the application and proposed budgets will be held on July 13,2011 in Room 111 of the CNM Workforce Training Center at 5600 Eagle Rock Ave. in Albuquerquefrom 1 PM to 4 PM. This is a general training opportunity for all interested parties who will be involvedin preparing the PCSP grant application.PLEASE RSVP (E-MAIL) TO ME BY JULY 12 , 2011 WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM YOURORGANIZING GROUP THAT WILL ATTEND THIS TRAINING. 2. The RFA requires that all grant applicants schedule an individual technical assistance session withthe PCSP Project Director. If you cannot attend the meeting indicated above, or if you desireadditional assistance, please contact: Dr. Bob Olix, PCSP Project Director, at (505) 222-4764 [email protected] to set up a separate technical assistance session. 3. Additional technical assistance is available during the application period by contacting the ProjectDirector. Please be aware that the PSCP Planning and Implementation grant is not an entitlement and theauthorization of a charter school does not automatically result in grant funding. The charter applicationand the grant application are two separate and distinct processes, each with its own set of criteria. Fullcompliance with the requirements of the grant is necessary in order for a grant application to beapproved. Please feel free to share this information with any other persons who may be involved in thepreparation of your PCSP grant application and contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely,
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PED; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning and Implementation GrantDate: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:59:03 AM
Dear Dr. Olix and Ms. Matthews: We have figured out what happened with regard to the July 11 email sent to the district applicants,see below. The Comcast.net address used for Mr. Arellanes is not his correct email address – thecorrect email address is [email protected]. His alternative email address (which is on theapplication) is [email protected]. Mr. Arellanes believes that the CSD used his oldComcast.net address, which may have been on the CSD’s system from the days of his 2009 SandiaAcademy application. The nature and extent of the application is such that it will be impossible to complete theapplication in the hours remaining before the 5 p.m. deadline today; we request a one-‐weekextension in order to get a completed application to you on behalf of NMVA. If you need thisrequest to be in a more formal format, signed by the applicant, please advise and we will get thisto you. Thank you for your consideration. Best regards, Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Olix, Robert, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:17 AMTo: [email protected]: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant
Sue, Here is the original e-mail sent to district charter applicants. Please call if you have any questions.
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: Olix, Robert, PED Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 11:23 AMTo: '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'Subject: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant We have been informed by other sources that you may have submitted a charter schoolapplication to your local school district. Please confirm or deny if this information is correctthrough a Reply to this e-mail. If you have submitted a charter application, you are eligible to apply for a federal CharterSchools Planning and Implementation grant. Attached and below is the informationneeded to apply for this grant. To All New Charter School Applicants: As a new charter school applicant, you have the opportunity to apply for a federal Public CharterSchools Program (PCSP) grant. The grant is a competitive, discretionary grant administered by theCharter Schools Division (CSD) of the NM Public Education Department (NMPED). Grant funds areawarded after the approval of your charter school application and may be used only for the Planningand Implementation of new charter schools as allowed by federal law. If either the charter applicationor the grant application is not approved, grant funds cannot be awarded. New charter school applicants are allowed and encouraged to apply for this grant before a decision ismade on their charter applications so that the grant applications can be evaluated and grant funds canbe awarded as soon as possible after charter authorization. Grant funds can be used for allowableexpenses obligated on or after the date of the grant award letter; however, if grant applications are notsubmitted until after charter authorization, award letters and the availability of grant funds can be furtherdelayed. Attached to this e-mail are: 1. The Request For Applications document (RFA) that sets forth the terms, qualifications andapplication process for the PCSP grant. 2. The NM PCSP Application form3. The NM PCSP Proposed Budget form (two versions)4. The CSD’s “Guidelines for Allowable and Unallowable Expenses” that contains important informationabout the types of expenses that can be paid from the PCSP grant.
Please read the RFA fully and carefully. Use the attached “Guidelines for Allowable and UnallowableExpenses” to determine what expenses may be requested in the proposed budget. PCSP grant applications must be received no later than 5 PM on September 30, 2011 to receiveconsideration. In order to assist you in preparing your PCSP grant application, the CSD will provide the followingtechnical assistance opportunities: 1. A training session on completing the application and proposed budgets will be held on July 13,2011 in Room 111 of the CNM Workforce Training Center at 5600 Eagle Rock Ave. in Albuquerquefrom 1 PM to 4 PM. This is a general training opportunity for all interested parties who will be involvedin preparing the PCSP grant application.PLEASE RSVP (E-MAIL) TO ME BY JULY 12 , 2011 WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM YOURORGANIZING GROUP THAT WILL ATTEND THIS TRAINING. 2. The RFA requires that all grant applicants schedule an individual technical assistance session withthe PCSP Project Director. If you cannot attend the meeting indicated above, or if you desireadditional assistance, please contact: Dr. Bob Olix, PCSP Project Director, at (505) 222-4764 [email protected] to set up a separate technical assistance session. 3. Additional technical assistance is available during the application period by contacting the ProjectDirector. Please be aware that the PSCP Planning and Implementation grant is not an entitlement and theauthorization of a charter school does not automatically result in grant funding. The charter applicationand the grant application are two separate and distinct processes, each with its own set of criteria. Fullcompliance with the requirements of the grant is necessary in order for a grant application to beapproved. Please feel free to share this information with any other persons who may be involved in thepreparation of your PCSP grant application and contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely,
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning and Implementation GrantDate: Friday, September 30, 2011 1:06:46 PM
Thanks again. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:53 PMTo: [email protected]: Olix, Robert, PEDSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant No sorry, I was looking at September’s calendar. Please have the application in by Friday, October
the 7th. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:50 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant October 9 is a Sunday – did you mean Monday the 10th? Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:35 PMTo: [email protected]; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Dear Ms. Fox: I reviewed the statute and regulation and there is no requirement that an applicant notify the PECor CSD of an address change. Moreover, the issue concerns the federal application for grant funds,which is a separate application and eligibility question than as set forth for the state charterapplication. According to the documents you submitted to me, his current email contactinformation submitted to the local district, differed from the email information submitted with hisletter of intent to submit a charter application. I also verified that the CSD did not notify the localdistricts with pending applications about the deadlines for the federal grant application. Consequently, I am granting Mr. Arrellanes’ request for an extension to submit a federal grantapplication until 5:00 p.m. October 9, 2011. Please send the application to me and Dr. Olix inelectronic format. You may deliver the hard copy of the application to the Santa Fe office. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 11:35 AMTo: Olix, Robert, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant True; however, the email given in the actual application cover sheet (see attached) should be andhas been the operative one for purposes of all communications between the authorizer and thisapplicant – Mr. Arellanes subsequently updated his email address with the District to the
gmail.com address, and this has been the one that the District has used to communicateelectronically with the applicant. Other important communications from the District to theapplicant have been sent via certified/snail mail to the address given in the cover sheet. We appreciate your consideration of our extension request – truly, this has not been a case of theapplicant sitting on his hands with regard to this process – he simply was unaware of this deadline. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Olix, Robert, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 11:27 AMTo: [email protected]; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Ms. Fox, Ms. Matthews, et al: I have spoken with Michael C de Baca, former Administrative Assistant in the Charter Schools Division,and he has informed me that the e-mail address for Mr. Arellanes that was used to transmit the July11, 2011 federal Charter Schools grant notice to potential applicants was that shown on Mr. Arellanes’Jan. 6, 2011 Letter of Intent to submit a charter school application which is on file in our office. Mr. Cde Baca indicated that our office received no further communications with Mr. Arellanes. A copy of theLetter of Intent showing the [email protected] as part of Mr. Arellanes’ contact information isattached. Because Mr. Arellanes submitted his charter school application to the Farmington Municipal Schools,he was not required to provide our office with a copy of the application and none was received. Consequently, the latest e-mail address of record was used by our office to transmit the July 11, 2011federal Charter Schools grant notice.
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center
5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:58 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PED; Olix, Robert, PEDCc: Cody Claver; Ralph ArellanesSubject: RE: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Dear Dr. Olix and Ms. Matthews: We have figured out what happened with regard to the July 11 email sent to the district applicants,see below. The Comcast.net address used for Mr. Arellanes is not his correct email address – thecorrect email address is [email protected]. His alternative email address (which is on theapplication) is [email protected]. Mr. Arellanes believes that the CSD used his oldComcast.net address, which may have been on the CSD’s system from the days of his 2009 SandiaAcademy application. The nature and extent of the application is such that it will be impossible to complete theapplication in the hours remaining before the 5 p.m. deadline today; we request a one-‐weekextension in order to get a completed application to you on behalf of NMVA. If you need thisrequest to be in a more formal format, signed by the applicant, please advise and we will get thisto you. Thank you for your consideration. Best regards, Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Olix, Robert, PED [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 10:17 AMTo: [email protected]: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant Sue, Here is the original e-mail sent to district charter applicants. Please call if you have any questions.
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769 From: Olix, Robert, PED Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 11:23 AMTo: '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'Subject: FW: Opportunity to Apply for the Federal Public Charter Schools Program Planning andImplementation Grant We have been informed by other sources that you may have submitted a charter schoolapplication to your local school district. Please confirm or deny if this information is correctthrough a Reply to this e-mail. If you have submitted a charter application, you are eligible to apply for a federal CharterSchools Planning and Implementation grant. Attached and below is the informationneeded to apply for this grant. To All New Charter School Applicants: As a new charter school applicant, you have the opportunity to apply for a federal Public CharterSchools Program (PCSP) grant. The grant is a competitive, discretionary grant administered by theCharter Schools Division (CSD) of the NM Public Education Department (NMPED). Grant funds areawarded after the approval of your charter school application and may be used only for the Planningand Implementation of new charter schools as allowed by federal law. If either the charter applicationor the grant application is not approved, grant funds cannot be awarded. New charter school applicants are allowed and encouraged to apply for this grant before a decision ismade on their charter applications so that the grant applications can be evaluated and grant funds canbe awarded as soon as possible after charter authorization. Grant funds can be used for allowableexpenses obligated on or after the date of the grant award letter; however, if grant applications are notsubmitted until after charter authorization, award letters and the availability of grant funds can be furtherdelayed. Attached to this e-mail are: 1. The Request For Applications document (RFA) that sets forth the terms, qualifications andapplication process for the PCSP grant.
2. The NM PCSP Application form3. The NM PCSP Proposed Budget form (two versions)4. The CSD’s “Guidelines for Allowable and Unallowable Expenses” that contains important informationabout the types of expenses that can be paid from the PCSP grant. Please read the RFA fully and carefully. Use the attached “Guidelines for Allowable and UnallowableExpenses” to determine what expenses may be requested in the proposed budget. PCSP grant applications must be received no later than 5 PM on September 30, 2011 to receiveconsideration. In order to assist you in preparing your PCSP grant application, the CSD will provide the followingtechnical assistance opportunities: 1. A training session on completing the application and proposed budgets will be held on July 13,2011 in Room 111 of the CNM Workforce Training Center at 5600 Eagle Rock Ave. in Albuquerquefrom 1 PM to 4 PM. This is a general training opportunity for all interested parties who will be involvedin preparing the PCSP grant application.PLEASE RSVP (E-MAIL) TO ME BY JULY 12 , 2011 WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM YOURORGANIZING GROUP THAT WILL ATTEND THIS TRAINING. 2. The RFA requires that all grant applicants schedule an individual technical assistance session withthe PCSP Project Director. If you cannot attend the meeting indicated above, or if you desireadditional assistance, please contact: Dr. Bob Olix, PCSP Project Director, at (505) 222-4764 [email protected] to set up a separate technical assistance session. 3. Additional technical assistance is available during the application period by contacting the ProjectDirector. Please be aware that the PSCP Planning and Implementation grant is not an entitlement and theauthorization of a charter school does not automatically result in grant funding. The charter applicationand the grant application are two separate and distinct processes, each with its own set of criteria. Fullcompliance with the requirements of the grant is necessary in order for a grant application to beapproved. Please feel free to share this information with any other persons who may be involved in thepreparation of your PCSP grant application and contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely,
Robert J. Olix, Ed.D.
Education AdministratorCharter Schools DivisionNM Public Education DepartmentCNM Workforce Training Center5600 Eagle Rock Ave. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87113505-222-4764FAX: 505-222-4769
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Montoya, CindySubject: RE: PEC meetingDate: Monday, August 22, 2011 4:25:00 PM
Cindy: I’ve been horribly remiss in thanking all of the reviewers. I know that you all worked forcents on the dollar. I appreciate your willingness to jump in at the last minute. I will ask the Commission to put this on the October agenda. I heard the opening for NMSA was beautiful – good luck for the new school year. Thanks, Patty PATRICIA MATTHEWSOPTIONS FOR PARENTSNEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT300 Don GasparSanta Fe, NM 87501(505) 827-6576 From: Cindy Montoya [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 1:00 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PED; Ehlert, Karen R., PEDSubject: RE: PEC meeting Dear Patty, Thank you for the opportunity to review the charters. I learned so much about the process and itwill help me as we fine tune the NMSA charter. It was also very rewarding to see so many peoplethroughout the state interested in creating real opportunities for our children. I am always willingto help you with whatever you need to make NM schools successful. Monetary compensation isnot a requirement! The October 21 meeting date would benefit my schedule as well. We are in the process of creatinga long range plan and the October 21 date will allow the charter to reflect those goals. I understand about the amendments and I will let the board know that you are moving as quicklyas is possible given the large number of new applications. Sincerely, Cindy Montoya, NMSA 505 310 4194
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 2:03 PMTo: Ehlert, Karen R., PED; Montoya, CindySubject: RE: PEC meeting Cindy: First, I want to thank you for serving as a team reviewer. Overall, the comments I receivedfrom everyone was that this was an arduous, but beneficial process. I know it took a lot more timethan expected. I think it would be better to schedule this for the meeting now set for October 21, 2011. The PECvoted to move the decision making meetings to Sept. 15 and 16, but I’m not convinced they’llhave time for much else. Their next scheduled meeting is the October meeting. I need to getNMSA’s requested amendments to them. I am terribly sorry it has taken a back seat to these newapplications. Let me know if that creates any problems. Thank you and your board for their patience. PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Ehlert, Karen R., PED Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 11:03 AMTo: Montoya, CindyCc: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PEC meeting Hi Cindy, The next scheduled PEC meetings are September 15 & 16 (decision making meeting for newcharter applications) and October 21. I am forwarding your question about when you may present to Patty. She will be working with thePEC in developing the agendas for the upcoming meetings. Karen Karen EhlertEducation AdministratorOptions for Parents -‐ Charter Schools DivisionNM Public Education Department505-‐827-‐1237 From: Cindy Montoya [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 6:13 AMTo: Ehlert, Karen R., PEDSubject: PEC meeting Hi Karen, Do you have a date for the next PEC meeting? I am working with our LRP Committee and
board. I want to have our updates to the charter ready before the PEC meeting. If possible,could we present at the end of September as I would like to share the LRP with parents, staffand Governing Council before the PEC meeting. Thanks, Cindy
-- Confidentiality Notice: This email, including all attachments, is for the sole use of theintended recipients and may contain confidential and privileged information. Anyunauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited unless specifically providedunder the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act. If you are not the intendedrecipient, please contact the sender and destroy all copies of this message.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Penne WilsonCc: Callahan, Kelly, PEDSubject: RE: Policies and ProceduresDate: Friday, September 09, 2011 11:12:00 AM
Thanks Penne: I forwarded this to Kelly Callahan who will be taking on your school until we get
another ed administrator hired. She probably won’t respond until after the 19th. From: Penne Wilson [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 11:10 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: Policies and Procedures Hi Patty, Here is the list of policies and procedures that were on the list that I was given. I have alsoincluded the review and revision date of the Parent/Student Handbook, the Staff Handbook,the Wellness Policy, the Special Ed Handbook, and the Governing Council Bi-Laws. I thinkwe have completed everything that was required. Please let me know if you need anythingelse. Penne Dr. Penne L. WilsonPrincipalRalph J. Bunche AcademyPhone: 505-292-0100FAX: [email protected] Excellence Pride Tradition
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCEDate: Monday, September 12, 2011 11:25:39 AM
Contact Renita Thurkal at [email protected] and she’ll get you back on the listserv. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 10:30 AMTo: [email protected]: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Well – you’ll miss the fun. I need to get back on that list serv – could you forward a recent email? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 10:18 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Drat; I 'm going to be in Boston at the charter atty conference that day.
Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless
-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐Original message-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐From: "Matthews, Patricia, PED" <[email protected]>To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>Sent: Mon, Sep 12, 2011 14:31:37 GMT+00:00Subject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE
Not sure I responded; October 5 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 6:29 PM
To: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE What day is the task force meeting? From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 4:04 PMTo: [email protected]: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Fyi – CHARTERS ARE ON THE AGENDA THIS DAY. I am on the agenda as well to discuss concerns –it may be that the issue new conflicts provisions in 446 that interferes with the nonprofits ability tocreate a lease purchase agreement should be addressed. I’m not sure I can articulate it as well asyou. I’m putting together my suggestions them about facilities issues for charters – so your ideasare welcome. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCEDate: Monday, September 12, 2011 11:16:53 AM
I spoke with Rod Ventura about this on an ‘unofficial’ basis – there are two options under the IRSforms for qualifying as a ‘supported entity’ for 501c3 purposes – one being a nonprofit board themajority of which also sits on the GC (problematic), the other being a board of independentmembers who is elected/appointed by the GC (less problematic). Rod thinks the latter is the wayto go to avoid 446 problems – and also to make sure that after July 1, 2012 there are no schoolemployees who sit on the nonprofit board (which is a little tough since you really need someonespearheading the facility effort who is knowledgeable about the school’s needs and is committedto following through with the work that needs to be done to get a building in place). In this regardRod also suggested that a GC member could resign from the GC and sit on/be elected to thenonprofit board, to take care of business that way. I am not sure that ALL 501c3s run up against this concern – I think it may be just the ‘supportedentity’ form that John Cairns is using to create these building foundations. There is some reasonthat this ‘supported entity’ format is needed from the bond issuer’s standpoint. You mightinterface with John about this, and whether ‘plain vanilla’ 501c3s who are just going to be doingfundraising and perhaps leasing a building to sublease to a school have to go through the sameanalysis – I don’t know anything about tax law (and don’t want to if I don’t absolutely have to)
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 10:30 AMTo: [email protected]: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Well – you’ll miss the fun. I need to get back on that list serv – could you forward a recent email? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 10:18 AM
To: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Drat; I 'm going to be in Boston at the charter atty conference that day.
Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless
-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐Original message-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐From: "Matthews, Patricia, PED" <[email protected]>To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>Sent: Mon, Sep 12, 2011 14:31:37 GMT+00:00Subject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE
Not sure I responded; October 5 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 6:29 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE What day is the task force meeting? From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 4:04 PMTo: [email protected]: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Fyi – CHARTERS ARE ON THE AGENDA THIS DAY. I am on the agenda as well to discuss concerns –it may be that the issue new conflicts provisions in 446 that interferes with the nonprofits ability tocreate a lease purchase agreement should be addressed. I’m not sure I can articulate it as well asyou. I’m putting together my suggestions them about facilities issues for charters – so your ideasare welcome. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCEDate: Monday, September 12, 2011 10:29:00 AM
Well – you’ll miss the fun. I need to get back on that list serv – could you forward a recent email? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 10:18 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Drat; I 'm going to be in Boston at the charter atty conference that day.
Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless
-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐Original message-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐From: "Matthews, Patricia, PED" <[email protected]>To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>Sent: Mon, Sep 12, 2011 14:31:37 GMT+00:00Subject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE
Not sure I responded; October 5 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 6:29 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE What day is the task force meeting? From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 4:04 PMTo: [email protected]: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Fyi – CHARTERS ARE ON THE AGENDA THIS DAY. I am on the agenda as well to discuss concerns –it may be that the issue new conflicts provisions in 446 that interferes with the nonprofits ability tocreate a lease purchase agreement should be addressed. I’m not sure I can articulate it as well asyou. I’m putting together my suggestions them about facilities issues for charters – so your ideasare welcome. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCEDate: Monday, September 12, 2011 10:18:43 AM
Drat; I 'm going to be in Boston at the charter atty conference that day.
Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless
-----Original message-----
From: "Matthews, Patricia, PED" <[email protected]>To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>Sent: Mon, Sep 12, 2011 14:31:37 GMT+00:00Subject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE
Not sure I responded; October 5 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 6:29 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE What day is the task force meeting? From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 4:04 PMTo: [email protected]: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Fyi – CHARTERS ARE ON THE AGENDA THIS DAY. I am on the agenda as well to discussconcerns – it may be that the issue new conflicts provisions in 446 that interferes with thenonprofits ability to create a lease purchase agreement should be addressed. I’m not sureI can articulate it as well as you. I’m putting together my suggestions them about facilitiesissues for charters – so your ideas are welcome. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCEDate: Monday, September 12, 2011 8:31:00 AM
Not sure I responded; October 5 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 6:29 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE What day is the task force meeting? From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 4:04 PMTo: [email protected]: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Fyi – CHARTERS ARE ON THE AGENDA THIS DAY. I am on the agenda as well to discuss concerns –it may be that the issue new conflicts provisions in 446 that interferes with the nonprofits ability tocreate a lease purchase agreement should be addressed. I’m not sure I can articulate it as well asyou. I’m putting together my suggestions them about facilities issues for charters – so your ideasare welcome. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCEDate: Friday, September 09, 2011 6:29:13 PM
What day is the task force meeting? From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 4:04 PMTo: [email protected]: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Fyi – CHARTERS ARE ON THE AGENDA THIS DAY. I am on the agenda as well to discuss concerns –it may be that the issue new conflicts provisions in 446 that interferes with the nonprofits ability tocreate a lease purchase agreement should be addressed. I’m not sure I can articulate it as well asyou. I’m putting together my suggestions them about facilities issues for charters – so your ideasare welcome. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: [email protected]: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCEDate: Monday, September 12, 2011 12:03:00 PM
tks From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 11:24 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Contact Renita Thurkal at [email protected] and she’ll get you back on the listserv. Susan B. Fox
Charter Law Office, P.C.
1925 Aspen Drive, Suite 301A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Tel. 505.473.3020
Fax 505.474.3727
This message is confidential and may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you believe that
it has been sent to you in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error,
and delete.
From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 10:30 AMTo: [email protected]: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Well – you’ll miss the fun. I need to get back on that list serv – could you forward a recent email? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 10:18 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Drat; I 'm going to be in Boston at the charter atty conference that day.
Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless
-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐Original message-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐From: "Matthews, Patricia, PED" <[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>Sent: Mon, Sep 12, 2011 14:31:37 GMT+00:00Subject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE
Not sure I responded; October 5 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 6:29 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE What day is the task force meeting? From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 4:04 PMTo: [email protected]: PSCOC OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE Fyi – CHARTERS ARE ON THE AGENDA THIS DAY. I am on the agenda as well to discuss concerns –it may be that the issue new conflicts provisions in 446 that interferes with the nonprofits ability tocreate a lease purchase agreement should be addressed. I’m not sure I can articulate it as well asyou. I’m putting together my suggestions them about facilities issues for charters – so your ideasare welcome. Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: "Traci Filiss"Subject: RE: Question on State Chartered SchoolsDate: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 5:41:00 PM
Hi Traci: I hope you had a great vacation. School boards have statutory authority for a number of things that charter school governing bodiesdo not, e.g. eminent domain, bonding authority – etc. In addition, and significantly, they arepublically elected officials. The hurdle is the statute creating REC’s does not specifically identifycharter school governing bodies – so this is the law currently and until it is revised, there is noauthority to grant the permission to create one. I hope that helps. I will keep you in mind for the Farmington school district who had a virtual applicant. Take care, Patty From: Traci Filiss [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 2:23 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: Question on State Chartered Schools Hi Patty, I hope you are settling into your new position. I have returned from my vacation and lookforward to settling into our new facility. Let me know if you need any help with newapplicants or anything else. You know how passionate I am about promoting digital educationin NM. On another note, attached is a letter from Secretary Skandera referring to a request toestablish an REC for State Chartered Schools. My concern is not about the REC, although Ithink we should be able to develop one, but rather the comment about Local School Board'sand Charter Governing Bodies not being the same. I could see this for district charter schoolsbut State Charter Schools have the same responsibly as LEA's. I also understand that we arenot considered "state supported schools". So what is our relationship with our authorizer(PED) if we are not a state school or have the same recognition as a School Board? This isconfusing to me and I am concerned about support specifically for State Chartered Schools.We do not have the local district, REC, or state support (as it relates to state supportedschools). Could you please clarify what the relationship of State Chartered Schools and theirGoverning Council to the PED? And if we are considered an LEA, what difference are wefrom District LEA's? What responsibilities do we NOT have that District LEA's have? Andvise versa? Thank you for your help Patty, Traci Filiss
Taos Academy Director/Superintendent
125 La Posta Rd.
Taos, NM 87571
575-751-3109 PH
575-751-3394 FAX
www.taosacademyonline.org
"Increase joy and effectiveness everyday."
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Grace, Cynthia J.Subject: RE: question re. re chartering~Date: Thursday, September 29, 2011 5:16:00 PM
No – good luck!!! Patricia MatthewsNMPED-‐Options for Parents505.827.6576 From: CJ Grace [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 5:08 PMTo: padilla, david, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: question re. re chartering~ Hi There, VGHS is rechartering right now and doing so through the LEA (Taos Municipals Schools).Do we need to submit anything to the state by 5 pm on Saturday? Thanks, CJ --CJ Grace School DirectorVista Grande High School111 Paseo del Cañon WestTaos, NM 87571fax 575-758-5102phone 575-758-5100 ext. 102
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Grace, Cynthia J.Subject: RE: recharter--Date: Sunday, September 18, 2011 4:25:17 PM
Hi CG: No problem. I assume you're staying with your district? Also, I certainly would start with Sue Fox, my former law partner (473-3020) on you special edquestion, unless you wanted someone from NMPED. Then I'd start with the liaison for your school. Ifyou go to the website, i believe their contact information is listed. PATRICIA MATTHEWS, DIRECTOROPTIONS FOR PARENTSNEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT(505) 827-6576 (SF)(505) 222-4760 (ABQ)
From: CJ Grace [[email protected]]Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2011 10:33 AMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: recharter--
Hi Patty,
Three things...
1) Congratulations on your new position!
2) I'm sorry I missed the meeting-- I attended in the spring and have been horribly sick forthe last two weeks! Grr.
3) One of my parents HR (parent of PR) is raising sped issues. I know this is outside of yourrealm right now. But, who would you recommend as a sped legal resource?
Thanks and look forward to seeing you soon, CJ
-- CJ Grace School DirectorVista Grande High School111 Paseo del Cañon WestTaos, NM 87571fax 575-758-5102phone 575-758-5100 ext. 102
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Ahner, EricSubject: RE: Self ReportDate: Monday, August 08, 2011 11:19:13 AM
Eric: the reports are due on Septmber 30. Please use the form on the website. We will likely change thesite visit format, but any changes wil be announced in advance.
PATRICIA MATTHEWS, DIRECTOR
OPTIONS FOR PARENTS
NEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
(505) 827-6576 (SF)
(505) 222-4760 (ABQ)
________________________________________From: Eric B. Ahner [[email protected]]Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2011 9:38 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: Self Report
Hey Patty,
I hope your start with your new position is going smoothly. I hope I can visit you sometime this fall orwinter to get a better feel about your role and your ideas moving forward. Do you think you will beable to attend the annual NMCCS conference?
It seems that I should now this, but I’m unable to find the deadline or target date for the Annual Self-Report that is due to you (or the CSD). Can you forward that date? I assume the format is the sameas the one posted on the CSD section of the PED’s website.
We continue to circle with developing smarter SMART goals and I’m trying to create a backwards planknowing that our GC must approve prior to our response to the CSD.
Best,
Eric
_____________________________________________Eric B. AhnerDirector
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Aldo Leopold High School1422 HW 180Silver City, NM 88061
575-538-2547 (main)575-388-4970 (fax)
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Ahner, EricSubject: RE: Self ReportDate: Monday, August 08, 2011 11:19:13 AM
Eric: the reports are due on Septmber 30. Please use the form on the website. We will likely change thesite visit format, but any changes wil be announced in advance.
PATRICIA MATTHEWS, DIRECTOR
OPTIONS FOR PARENTS
NEW MEXICO PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
(505) 827-6576 (SF)
(505) 222-4760 (ABQ)
________________________________________From: Eric B. Ahner [[email protected]]Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2011 9:38 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: Self Report
Hey Patty,
I hope your start with your new position is going smoothly. I hope I can visit you sometime this fall orwinter to get a better feel about your role and your ideas moving forward. Do you think you will beable to attend the annual NMCCS conference?
It seems that I should now this, but I’m unable to find the deadline or target date for the Annual Self-Report that is due to you (or the CSD). Can you forward that date? I assume the format is the sameas the one posted on the CSD section of the PED’s website.
We continue to circle with developing smarter SMART goals and I’m trying to create a backwards planknowing that our GC must approve prior to our response to the CSD.
Best,
Eric
_____________________________________________Eric B. AhnerDirector
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Aldo Leopold High School1422 HW 180Silver City, NM 88061
575-538-2547 (main)575-388-4970 (fax)
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: Filiss, TraciSubject: RE: Taos Academy met AYPDate: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 3:52:00 PM
That’s great Traci! From: Traci Filiss [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 3:02 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PED; Ehlert, Karen R., PEDSubject: Taos Academy met AYP
Hi Patty and Karen, Just wanted to let you know that my visit to PED was productive. Taos Academy's appealwas granted and we now have Met AYP through the Safe Harbor rule. Thanks for your support. Traci FilissTaos Academy Charter SchoolDirector/Superintendent110 Paseo Del Canon WestTaos, NM 87571575-751-3109
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: transportationDate: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 3:44:54 PM
Well, I’ll put it in the appropriate Outlook folder, at least – more likely to be readily accessible thanthe black hole that my brain seems to be these days … This is good information to have. I had a question from a Farmington parent the other nightregarding what to do when ALL of the district schools are SINOI and there’s no practicable transferoption. That scenario may be playing out more and more statewide, as AYP targets are ever-‐increasingly missed. Everyone to Red River! Oh, wait – the district is refusing transportation. Sigh. From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 2:20 PMTo: [email protected]: transportation FYI – just thought you could store this in your brain somewhere. It seems to be coming up a lot. PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Ornelas, Sam V., PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 2:03 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: parent phone call Here is a question from their non-‐regulatory guidance that comes as close as any other questiondoes to this issue: E-11. May an LEA provide eligible students with an option to transfer to schools
outside of the LEA?
Yes. In fact, the law states that if all public schools within an LEA to which a student maytransfer are identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring, the LEAmust, to the extent practicable, establish a cooperative agreement with other LEAs in thearea that are willing to accept its students as transfers [Section 1116(b)(11)]. In addition, LEAsthat are not in this situation may want to include inter-‐district transfers in their plans inorder to broaden the range of student choices or mitigate capacity concerns in the LEA orboth. Further, an SEA that has an inter-‐district open enrollment policy should use thatpolicy to make choices available to students in LEAs that do not have any schools to whichstudents can transfer under the public school choice provisions.
I have spoken with USDE Title I staff about this language and they indicated that the phrase ‘to theextent practicable’ provides districts with some flexibility in this area. They indicated that districtsare not required to enter into these agreements.
As part of the school choice Q&A we provide districts we developed this guidance: How must school districts with no choice available address the school choicerequirements?A - School districts might not have choice available either because the district hasonly a single school per grade span or because all schools for a given grade spanhave been identified for school improvement. Those school districts must, to theextent practicable, enter into cooperative agreements with other school districts inthe area (or with charter or “virtual schools”).There may be situations in which choice is not practicable. The distance toanother school with the appropriate grade span, for example, may be excessive.School districts must, however, make good faith efforts to determine whethersuch choice is practicable. Factors considered should include travel distance,existing transportation boundary agreements, available grade spans, and otherappropriate factors. From: Matthews, Patricia, PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 1:41 PMTo: Ornelas, Sam V., PEDSubject: RE: parent phone call Do you know the statutory reference to the transfer provision. This sounds right, but I’d like tolook at it. Thanks, Patty PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Ornelas, Sam V., PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 1:20 PMTo: Williams, Ruth, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Emslie, Julia Rosa, PED; Carothers, Cathie, PEDSubject: parent phone call Hi – I received a voice mail message from a parent in Albuquerque today regarding school choice. Thestudent is transferring from an APS school to a state-‐chartered charter school located inAlbuquerque. The parent is requesting information regarding mileage reimbursement through theNCLB school choice provision. My response will be that this is considered a transfer between districts and not a within districttransfer. The sending district in this case is not obligated to provide mileage reimbursement. However, if APS and the receiving charter LEA want to enter into agreement to send and receivestudents they may. As there is no financial incentive for APS to do this though, it is not likely thiswill occur. This is how we have communicated the rules around this in the past. If anyone has thoughts orconcerns please let me know. I’ll wait and call the parent back sometime late afternoon.
Thanks, Sam
From: [email protected]: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: transportationDate: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 3:44:54 PM
Well, I’ll put it in the appropriate Outlook folder, at least – more likely to be readily accessible thanthe black hole that my brain seems to be these days … This is good information to have. I had a question from a Farmington parent the other nightregarding what to do when ALL of the district schools are SINOI and there’s no practicable transferoption. That scenario may be playing out more and more statewide, as AYP targets are ever-‐increasingly missed. Everyone to Red River! Oh, wait – the district is refusing transportation. Sigh. From: Matthews, Patricia, PED [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 2:20 PMTo: [email protected]: transportation FYI – just thought you could store this in your brain somewhere. It seems to be coming up a lot. PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Ornelas, Sam V., PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 2:03 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: parent phone call Here is a question from their non-‐regulatory guidance that comes as close as any other questiondoes to this issue: E-11. May an LEA provide eligible students with an option to transfer to schools
outside of the LEA?
Yes. In fact, the law states that if all public schools within an LEA to which a student maytransfer are identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring, the LEAmust, to the extent practicable, establish a cooperative agreement with other LEAs in thearea that are willing to accept its students as transfers [Section 1116(b)(11)]. In addition, LEAsthat are not in this situation may want to include inter-‐district transfers in their plans inorder to broaden the range of student choices or mitigate capacity concerns in the LEA orboth. Further, an SEA that has an inter-‐district open enrollment policy should use thatpolicy to make choices available to students in LEAs that do not have any schools to whichstudents can transfer under the public school choice provisions.
I have spoken with USDE Title I staff about this language and they indicated that the phrase ‘to theextent practicable’ provides districts with some flexibility in this area. They indicated that districtsare not required to enter into these agreements.
As part of the school choice Q&A we provide districts we developed this guidance: How must school districts with no choice available address the school choicerequirements?A - School districts might not have choice available either because the district hasonly a single school per grade span or because all schools for a given grade spanhave been identified for school improvement. Those school districts must, to theextent practicable, enter into cooperative agreements with other school districts inthe area (or with charter or “virtual schools”).There may be situations in which choice is not practicable. The distance toanother school with the appropriate grade span, for example, may be excessive.School districts must, however, make good faith efforts to determine whethersuch choice is practicable. Factors considered should include travel distance,existing transportation boundary agreements, available grade spans, and otherappropriate factors. From: Matthews, Patricia, PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 1:41 PMTo: Ornelas, Sam V., PEDSubject: RE: parent phone call Do you know the statutory reference to the transfer provision. This sounds right, but I’d like tolook at it. Thanks, Patty PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Ornelas, Sam V., PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 1:20 PMTo: Williams, Ruth, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Emslie, Julia Rosa, PED; Carothers, Cathie, PEDSubject: parent phone call Hi – I received a voice mail message from a parent in Albuquerque today regarding school choice. Thestudent is transferring from an APS school to a state-‐chartered charter school located inAlbuquerque. The parent is requesting information regarding mileage reimbursement through theNCLB school choice provision. My response will be that this is considered a transfer between districts and not a within districttransfer. The sending district in this case is not obligated to provide mileage reimbursement. However, if APS and the receiving charter LEA want to enter into agreement to send and receivestudents they may. As there is no financial incentive for APS to do this though, it is not likely thiswill occur. This is how we have communicated the rules around this in the past. If anyone has thoughts orconcerns please let me know. I’ll wait and call the parent back sometime late afternoon.
Thanks, Sam
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: "[email protected]"Subject: transportationDate: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 2:20:00 PM
FYI – just thought you could store this in your brain somewhere. It seems to be coming up a lot. PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Ornelas, Sam V., PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 2:03 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: parent phone call Here is a question from their non-‐regulatory guidance that comes as close as any other questiondoes to this issue: E-11. May an LEA provide eligible students with an option to transfer to schools
outside of the LEA?
Yes. In fact, the law states that if all public schools within an LEA to which a student maytransfer are identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring, the LEAmust, to the extent practicable, establish a cooperative agreement with other LEAs in thearea that are willing to accept its students as transfers [Section 1116(b)(11)]. In addition, LEAsthat are not in this situation may want to include inter-‐district transfers in their plans inorder to broaden the range of student choices or mitigate capacity concerns in the LEA orboth. Further, an SEA that has an inter-‐district open enrollment policy should use thatpolicy to make choices available to students in LEAs that do not have any schools to whichstudents can transfer under the public school choice provisions.
I have spoken with USDE Title I staff about this language and they indicated that the phrase ‘to theextent practicable’ provides districts with some flexibility in this area. They indicated that districtsare not required to enter into these agreements. As part of the school choice Q&A we provide districts we developed this guidance: How must school districts with no choice available address the school choicerequirements?A - School districts might not have choice available either because the district hasonly a single school per grade span or because all schools for a given grade spanhave been identified for school improvement. Those school districts must, to theextent practicable, enter into cooperative agreements with other school districts inthe area (or with charter or “virtual schools”).There may be situations in which choice is not practicable. The distance toanother school with the appropriate grade span, for example, may be excessive.School districts must, however, make good faith efforts to determine whethersuch choice is practicable. Factors considered should include travel distance,existing transportation boundary agreements, available grade spans, and other
appropriate factors. From: Matthews, Patricia, PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 1:41 PMTo: Ornelas, Sam V., PEDSubject: RE: parent phone call Do you know the statutory reference to the transfer provision. This sounds right, but I’d like tolook at it. Thanks, Patty PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Ornelas, Sam V., PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 1:20 PMTo: Williams, Ruth, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Emslie, Julia Rosa, PED; Carothers, Cathie, PEDSubject: parent phone call Hi – I received a voice mail message from a parent in Albuquerque today regarding school choice. Thestudent is transferring from an APS school to a state-‐chartered charter school located inAlbuquerque. The parent is requesting information regarding mileage reimbursement through theNCLB school choice provision. My response will be that this is considered a transfer between districts and not a within districttransfer. The sending district in this case is not obligated to provide mileage reimbursement. However, if APS and the receiving charter LEA want to enter into agreement to send and receivestudents they may. As there is no financial incentive for APS to do this though, it is not likely thiswill occur. This is how we have communicated the rules around this in the past. If anyone has thoughts orconcerns please let me know. I’ll wait and call the parent back sometime late afternoon. Thanks, Sam
From: Matthews, Patricia, PEDTo: "[email protected]"Subject: transportationDate: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 2:20:00 PM
FYI – just thought you could store this in your brain somewhere. It seems to be coming up a lot. PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Ornelas, Sam V., PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 2:03 PMTo: Matthews, Patricia, PEDSubject: RE: parent phone call Here is a question from their non-‐regulatory guidance that comes as close as any other questiondoes to this issue: E-11. May an LEA provide eligible students with an option to transfer to schools
outside of the LEA?
Yes. In fact, the law states that if all public schools within an LEA to which a student maytransfer are identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring, the LEAmust, to the extent practicable, establish a cooperative agreement with other LEAs in thearea that are willing to accept its students as transfers [Section 1116(b)(11)]. In addition, LEAsthat are not in this situation may want to include inter-‐district transfers in their plans inorder to broaden the range of student choices or mitigate capacity concerns in the LEA orboth. Further, an SEA that has an inter-‐district open enrollment policy should use thatpolicy to make choices available to students in LEAs that do not have any schools to whichstudents can transfer under the public school choice provisions.
I have spoken with USDE Title I staff about this language and they indicated that the phrase ‘to theextent practicable’ provides districts with some flexibility in this area. They indicated that districtsare not required to enter into these agreements. As part of the school choice Q&A we provide districts we developed this guidance: How must school districts with no choice available address the school choicerequirements?A - School districts might not have choice available either because the district hasonly a single school per grade span or because all schools for a given grade spanhave been identified for school improvement. Those school districts must, to theextent practicable, enter into cooperative agreements with other school districts inthe area (or with charter or “virtual schools”).There may be situations in which choice is not practicable. The distance toanother school with the appropriate grade span, for example, may be excessive.School districts must, however, make good faith efforts to determine whethersuch choice is practicable. Factors considered should include travel distance,existing transportation boundary agreements, available grade spans, and other
appropriate factors. From: Matthews, Patricia, PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 1:41 PMTo: Ornelas, Sam V., PEDSubject: RE: parent phone call Do you know the statutory reference to the transfer provision. This sounds right, but I’d like tolook at it. Thanks, Patty PATRICIA MATTHEWS(505) 827-6576 From: Ornelas, Sam V., PED Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 1:20 PMTo: Williams, Ruth, PED; Matthews, Patricia, PEDCc: Emslie, Julia Rosa, PED; Carothers, Cathie, PEDSubject: parent phone call Hi – I received a voice mail message from a parent in Albuquerque today regarding school choice. Thestudent is transferring from an APS school to a state-‐chartered charter school located inAlbuquerque. The parent is requesting information regarding mileage reimbursement through theNCLB school choice provision. My response will be that this is considered a transfer between districts and not a within districttransfer. The sending district in this case is not obligated to provide mileage reimbursement. However, if APS and the receiving charter LEA want to enter into agreement to send and receivestudents they may. As there is no financial incentive for APS to do this though, it is not likely thiswill occur. This is how we have communicated the rules around this in the past. If anyone has thoughts orconcerns please let me know. I’ll wait and call the parent back sometime late afternoon. Thanks, Sam