Figure 1
Figure 1 is a flow-chart comparing the funding models for a typical public school district and the Alliance College-Ready Public Schools (Alliance). The graphic shows that the typical school district receives public funding from federal, state and local resources and private funding sources and then distributes those funds to the schools within its district. In contrast, each of the 25 Alliance charter schools receives public and private funding directly.
Figure 2
Figure2 is a timeline of the recent unionization efforts at the Alliance College-Ready Public Schools (Alliance). The timeline chronicles that in March 2015 a group of 67 Alliance teachers and counselors announced their decision to unionize and join United Teachers Los Angles (UTLA). The timeline also shows that in that same month, Alliance began to take action in response to these unionization efforts, including creating flyers and other information documents for parents and teachers detailing its position on the unionization efforts. In addition, Alliance’s accounting department created a special account to record and track private donations and expenses for its response to the unionization efforts. Then in April 2015, UTAL filed charges with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) against Alliance and its charter schools alleging violations of the Education Employment Relations Act—the State’s collective bargaining law pertaining to teachers and other school employees. Further, in June 2016, the PERB judge issued a proposed decision and UTLA filed exceptions to that decision, and in September 2016 Alliance filed its response to UTLA’s exceptions.1
1 An appeal of an administrative law judge’s proposed decision in this circumstance is called a statement of exceptions.
Figure 3
Figure 3 is a pie chart describing the Alliance College-Ready Public Schools (Alliance) home office’s expenditures for its response to the unionization efforts for fiscal years 2014-15 and 2015-16 combined. As of June 2016, the Alliance home office had spent a total of $914,759 is response to the unionization efforts at its charter schools. The largest expenditure was $426,120 for consulting costs, which included payments to communications consultants for messaging, public relations and outreach.2 The Alliance home office also spent $106,880 to fund legal and litigation-related expenditures—this did not include $2.2 million Alliance received in pro bono legal services. In addition, the Alliance home office spent $30,976 on printing and distribution costs to create flyers and other informational documents for parents and teachers detailing its position on the unionization efforts. The Alliance home office also spent $204,540 on reimbursement to schools, $141,165 on home office personnel time, and $5,078 on miscellaneous costs—including, travel expenses, bank charges, and office expenses, among others.3
2 We noted that not all of the consulting costs reported in the special account were related to unionization efforts. Specifically, we identified that some of the consulting contracts existed before the unionization efforts and we excluded invoices for which the consultant’s summary of work did not include unionization work.
3 Reimbursement to schools are payments to the school accounts for expenses related to the time spent by school personnel in response to the unionization efforts and a $3,000 grant to each school for any future response to unionization efforts.
Figure 4
Figure 4 is a line graph that shows the per-pupil classroom expenditures at three Alliance charter schools—Alliance Gertz-Ressler High School (Gertz-Ressler), Alliance Renee and Meyer Luskin Academy High School (Luskin High School), and Alliance Susan and Eric Smidt Technology High School (Smidt Technology High School—for fiscal years 2013-14 through 2015-16. The graphic shows that in fiscal year 2013-14—the year before the unionization efforts at Alliance charter schools—per-pupil classroom expenditures at the three high schools were between $9,000 and $11,900. Although per-pupil classroom expenditures decreased slightly at Luskin High School and Smidt High School during fiscal year 2014-15, the year unionization efforts began, they increase at Gertz-Ressler High School. Further, in fiscal year 2015-16, per-pupil classroom expenditures rose at all three schools between $12,600 and $14,100.