Caffeinated Politics

I strongly support our public school system. I am not a proponent of charter schools, as they undermine our public schools. So, I am concerned about the news this week that an independent charter school, One City Schools, is seeking to be absorbed by the Madison School District. I trust that the School Board members are feigning interest and making a PR move when they say they are interested enough to request more details.

Under the plan, One City would switch sponsors from the University of Wisconsin System’s Office of Educational Opportunity to the School District, starting with the 2028-29 school year. While I understand that Madison schools gained more than half a billion dollars from the 2024 referendums, I truly do not want tax dollars diverted to a charter school in our district.

One City Schools is a half-wrecked train, and I do not want MMSD to be involved with them. One City has faced significant financial pressures and public funding battles, prompting budget reductions to the point that it needs to partner with our school district for long-term sustainability. Their most recent budget makes the point. One City’s board approved a $12.34 million operating budget for the 2026–2027 school year, a $1.48 million (10.7%) reduction from the previous year. But that budget news isn’t the first embarrassing headline they have had to own.

In 2023, due to severe staffing shortages and pandemic-related challenges, One City abruptly closed its existing 9th- and 10th-grade classrooms mid-semester. The students had to relocate to other public or private area high schools. The school initially aimed to relaunch its high school program by 2025. However, in early 2025, the board voted to delay the high school program yet again, citing facility needs, low 8th-grade enrollment, and funding uncertainties.

CEO Kaleem Caire noted that without more state aid, high school plans would continue to be postponed. He can line up with neighboring public school districts facing similar concerns and wanting a fairer, more appropriate funding formula from a state legislature dominated by conservative Republicans. (I thought the Republican-led Legislature was his ally.)

While I understand the need to better serve young students of color and those who are economically disadvantaged by instilling the foundations of reading and math, I would argue that investing in the public school system is the most equitable way to advance learning in Madison. If Caire and his staff have found the magic formula to successfully catch kids up who started out far behind their grade level, then demonstrate that skill set to the Madison schools and let us all reap the benefits. After all, isn’t the good of the children the only thing that matters?

But please do not ask Madison taxpayers to fund or assist in any way with this charter school, which takes money out of the Madison school district. We should not be asked to subsidize this need from One City in any fashion.