The Board has included below answers to questions that are frequently asked by prospective, current and former school employees. The answers will guide you to further information on our website or the websites of other entities. Additionally, the Arizona Department of Education’s website includes frequently asked questions related to a variety of subjects.
You can report your concerns regarding non-payment to the Labor Department of the Industrial Commission of Arizona at (602) 542-4515. Learn more on submitting a complaint.
Classroom Site Fund
Pursuant to A.R.S. §15-977, Classroom Site Fund (CSF) monies must be used for teacher base salary increases, teacher compensation increases based on performance and maintenance and operation purposes, which are defined as class size reduction, teacher compensation increases, AIMS intervention programs, teacher development, dropout prevention programs and teacher liability insurance premiums.
While the law specifies how schools must use CSF monies, it does not require schools to expend all of the monies they receive in any given year. The law also does not establish timeframes that the school must follow for distributing CSF monies or require the school to give CSF monies to each teacher. If a school does not expend all of the CSF monies received, then it must have enough cash at year end to cover the unspent portion.
Each charter holder is subject to an annual audit, which is conducted by an independent CPA. Compliance with CSF requirements is reviewed annually as part of the audit.
Information about the amount of Classroom Site Fund monies received by a charter holder and when those monies were received during the fiscal year may be reviewed on the Arizona Department of Education’s website. Once on this website, select the charter holder of your choice from the dropdown and press “Go”. Then click on “Reports/Data” (gray box). If you change the “Fiscal Year” to “All Fiscal Years” and change the “System” to “Classroom Site Fund”, you will be able to review the Classroom Site Fund reports for several years.
Employment
Pursuant to A.R.S. §15-187, a charter school is eligible to participate in ASRS, but not all charter schools choose to participate. The ASRS maintains a list of employers on its website.
With matters regarding personnel decisions, the Board advises that you seek your own legal counsel.
School Funding
Information about the amount of state equalization assistance received by a charter holder and when those monies were received during the fiscal year may be reviewed on the Arizona Department of Education(link is external)’s website. Once on this website, select the charter holder of your choice from the dropdown and press “Go”. Then click on “Reports/Data” (gray box). If you change the “Fiscal Year” to “All Fiscal Years” and change the “System” to “CHAR”, you will be able to review reports for several years. The report you want to review is the “Charter Payments Report (CHAR64-1).
Grants Management at the Arizona Department of Education provides public access to information for certain federal grants, including budgets and details for each grant. To access this information, please select the “Fiscal Year” and “Entity” and then click on “Show Projects”. Please note that this site does not include monies a charter school may receive through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program.
Educational Program
All issues and complaints relating to special education services provided at a charter school must be submitted to Arizona Department of Education’s (ADE) Exceptional Student Services (ESS) Dispute Resolution Unit. For more information about addressing concerns about special education, please visit Dispute Resolution’s website. Submit a complaint online.
For issues regarding services to English language learners, contact the Arizona Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition Services at (602)542-0753 or [email protected].