"We know that under the five-year plan, predictability is critical, it's life-and-death," SRC Chairman Pedro Ramos said after the meeting. "We want to be able to negotiate mutually agreed-upon enrollment plans for charter schools."
A 2008 amendment to the charter-school law bans enrollment caps but the district has been involved in legal cases surrounding those limits.
Predictability went out the window when Freire Charter School in Center City agreed to an enrollment limit in 2008, but then exceeded it. The state Commonwealth Court ruled in June that the district, which has to pay charter schools per student they enroll, would have to pay $400,000 for the extra students.
In April, Commonwealth Court upheld a state decision to award $1.3 million to the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partners Charter in North Philadelphia in an enrollment-cap dispute with the district.
The district has previously suspended parts of the code "as a precautionary measure," including the building-closing process, Ramos said. He said the SRC wants to maintain flexibility during the school-closing process. The district is expected to announce the closure of several schools as it reorganizes.
The vote was taken without discussion among board members or explanation to the members of the public in attendance.
" @ReginaMedina
