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Chesapeake Public Charter School presents 2025 self-assessment; state funding rule changes flagged
Summary
CPCS leaders told the Board the charter serves about 540 students with 65 MSDE-credentialed staff, reported steady academic performance and low attrition, and staff flagged state proposals (administrative fee and special-education adjustment) that could affect charter and district finances.
Representatives of the Chesapeake Public Charter School presented their annual self-assessment and the district's performance report to the Board on Jan. 21, 2026.
Presenters described CPCS as a public charter serving roughly 540 students with about 65 MSDE-credentialed staff and small class sizes (approximately 22:1). The school said it has three classes per grade level, a wait list of roughly 375 students, and 471 lottery applications for the 2026-27 school year. Presenters said attendance year-to-date is about 94% (their goal is 96%) and that student achievement data shows the school performing at or above county and state averages in some measured areas.
Alisa Volz, chair of the Chesapeake Charter School Alliance, described the Alliance as the nonprofit governing the charter and noted the Alliance owns and maintains the school facility on Great Mills Road. District staff summarized a financial audit conducted by ASCII Associates that found no fiduciary concerns but did include one restatement related to an incorrectly amortized asset and one minor internal control deficiency (an unsigned invoice) that presenters said had been corrected.
District staff also alerted the Board to proposed state-level changes under consideration by the Maryland State Board of Education: a proposed administrative fee change (from 2% to 5% for comment) and an updated special-education adjustment increase (to 10% following public comment). Staff said they are evaluating the potential fiscal implications for both the district and the charter school and are engaging with MSDE for clarification.
Board members thanked the presenters and congratulated the charter on nearly 20 years of operation. No Board action on renewal or contract changes was taken at the meeting.
