Testimony Before the DC Council Committee of the Whole at the Public Hearing on the Board of Trustees Training Amendment Act of 2025

By Ariel Johnson, Executive Director

Good afternoon, Chairman Mendelson and members of the Committee. My name is Ariel Johnson, and I am the Executive Director at the DC Charter School Alliance, the local non-profit that advocates on behalf of public charter schools to ensure that every student can choose high-quality public schools that prepare them for lifelong success. I’m pleased to be here today to discuss how we can partner with PCSB to support the more than 700 public charter school board members–dedicated volunteers, at least half of whom live in the District. 

The Role of Charter School Boards

Charter school boards play a pivotal role in supporting both the schools they oversee and their Chief Executive Officers. Their responsibilities encompass strategic planning, financial oversight, academic accountability, and leadership development. Effective boards help ensure that schools meet their mission, remain financially sustainable, and operate in compliance with local and federal regulations.

I want to express support for this bill’s intent—to standardize the training provided to board members and ensure that each person has competencies in governance, personnel management, fiscal oversight, and operations. As the Council considers this legislation, I offer a few suggestions that will make the implementation of this legislation both effective and practical.

During my nearly fifteen years advocating for public charter schools across this country, I have had the opportunity to work with a number of public charter school boards, ranging from single sites to small and large networks. While I have somewhat different expertise than others on this panel may have, as a practicing education attorney, I’ve conducted a number of trainings on the role of a strong board, the Open Meetings Act, state and federal regulatory and statutory requirements, as well as authorizer compliance. 

In 2018, I had the opportunity to draft legislation requiring Board training to strengthen financial and academic oversight for the nearly 154 public charter schools across the state of Illinois. Those who completed the requirements and were high-performing were also eligible for longer renewal terms. This training passed through the Illinois General Assembly and ensured flexibility for completion, options for Board members to work asynchronously, and the ability for multiple providers to account for capacity challenges. In order to implement this legislation, we looked at a variety of research, including a study analyzing Massachusetts charter schools that found that donor presence on boards correlated with improved financial performance and higher student achievement, highlighting the importance of strategic board composition.

While not perfect, over time, through authorizer and association tracking, we saw a significant increase in the number of Board members who utilized the offered trainings and engaged in stronger, more compliant Board meetings. 

Here in the District, training happens across the charter sector. For example, of the LEAs surveyed, almost 80% offer some type of board training. These trainings cover a wide array of topics such as succession planning, financial oversight, and effective governance. While many LEAs conduct these trainings internally, over 40% also engage external partners and experts to provide training.

While strong governance is essential to the success of public charter schools, maintaining a comprehensive board is not without challenges. CEOs are tasked with finding individuals with the right mix of expertise, commitment, and passion for education. These candidates must be willing to invest their time in meetings, training, and engaging in school oversight while filling gaps in financial, legal, educational, and governance expertise.

Given the student populations District charters serve, LEA leaders also work to ensure diverse representation, ensuring that boards reflect the demographics of the students they serve.

However, strong boards and CEOs overcome these challenges by creating boards with clear roles and responsibilities, open communication, and regular evaluations. These boards tend to have stronger academic outcomes and longevity. 

We’ve often seen Boards aid seasoned and new CEOs by offering resources and toolkits designed to address the challenges of their role. The Charter School Growth Fund’s New CEO Strong Start Kit, for example, provides tactical tools and insights from experienced charter CEOs to assist new leaders during their initial phase. Several DC leaders have availed themselves of this toolkit with Board support. 

Recommendations: 

While we support this legislation, we hope that the Council will consider the following supports: 

• Training must be flexible to accommodate board members’ professional and personal obligations. We strongly recommend including asynchronous online modules that allow board members to complete training in a timely manner. Additionally, multiple training providers should be available to ensure capacity and quality.

• Board members do not need training in classroom instruction, but they must have a clear understanding of school performance metrics, PCSB’s accountability framework, and compliance requirements for both nonprofit organizations and schools.

• PCSB should tailor training based on board members’ experience and school needs. New board members should receive comprehensive initial training, while annual refresher training should be streamlined to avoid redundancy.

• Finally, we have consistently seen that when PCSB and OSSE collaborate with school leaders when developing or refining processes, there are positive outcomes. We recommend replicating that success by creating an advisory group of school leaders that can inform the training content and help ensure the material is relevant and practical. School leaders are well positioned to provide insight into the unique needs of different schools—whether large multi-campus networks or smaller, single-site schools. 

Conclusion

In closing, the public charter school community supports efforts to strengthen training requirements for board members. These refinements will help make this legislation more effective while maintaining the autonomy and strength of D.C.’s charter sector.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I am happy to answer any questions.