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Board approves charter‑school pass‑through for Prop A funds after debate over oversight and distribution
Summary
Trustees approved a contract authorizing the San Francisco charter‑school group to act as a pass‑through for Proposition A funds to authorized charter schools, after legal and procedural debate and public objections about local revenue flowing through a statewide association; the charter representative said no fee would be taken and distribution terms are in the contract.
The San Francisco Unified School District Board voted to authorize a contract under which a charter‑school organization would serve as a pass‑through for Proposition A parcel‑tax funds to eligible charter schools, after a contested debate about oversight and local control.
Commissioner Winns and other trustees objected to routing local Prop A revenue through a state-authorized charter‑school association, arguing it would be inappropriate for what they described as a statewide group to administer local funds. Winns said she was “surprised” the contract resurfaced and urged the board not to pass an agreement that delegates distribution authority outside the district.
Nick Driver, representing the charter group, told trustees the charter schools themselves requested the arrangement and that the organization would act only as a pass-through and would not take a fee. “We are merely a pass through… We’re not taking a fee. That would be inappropriate use of funds,” Driver said, adding that distribution procedures are specified in the contract and subject to oversight mechanisms established by the Proposition A agreement.
Board members asked detailed questions about how funds would be distributed (equal shares, formulaic distribution or other method) and whether the charter organization would charge for administrative handling; legal counsel and the representative responded that the contract sets procedures and that no fee would be charged. The board then conducted a roll-call vote and approved the contract, recording individual votes in the minutes.
