January 4, 2021 New & Noteworthy Advocacy in Action Hello Charter School Stakeholders and Advocates! Our Funding Equity campaign has begun and we need your leadership and support. Here are some sample messages and tips to share with your school community. Please feel free to tailor and personalize your message to fit your school's needs and voice. You'll be receiving a toolkit with graphics and shareable materials as well in the coming weeks. Yard signs-everyone's favorite way to show support-coming too! For questions, contact Christy Moreno. Funding Equity for charter public school students is a critical issue the charter school community has been working to fix with the Missouri legislature. THE IMPACT: Our students are not receiving their fair share of public funding, which means our school is not getting all the dollars we need, and are entitled to receive, to educate and support our students’ academic and non-academic learning experience. This funding is needed to provide a variety of resources to students and families such as school staffing needs, technology, facility renovations, bus routes, support for Special Education and English Language Learning students. THE PROBLEM: There’s an unintended glitch in the public-school funding formula that needs to be fixed by the legislature, and they’ll only fix it if they hear from us as a unified & collective voice – that includes parents, caregivers, students, teachers, school leaders, all charter public school advocates and allies! WE KNOW from previous experience that when lawmakers hear from their constituents, whether it’s through letters, calls, social media messages, in-person/virtual visits, it works! We’re asking for your support on this very important initiative by:
Sample message: “I am a Kansas City/St. Louis resident and taxpayer, and my child is a charter public-school student. It is unfair that my child's education is underfunded because of a glitch in how Missouri's law calculates Charter school funding. I urge you to support House Bill 137 which will #FixtheGlitch and ensure that all public school students are equitably funded. Thank you for your service to Missouri and our community.”
Worth Sharing Worth Repeating Missouri Charter School Board Chairs |