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Review Report
DC Bilingual
Public Charter School
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
School Overview
DC Bilingual PCS began operation in 2004 under authorization from PCSB to serve students in prekindergarten through fifth grade. 2 Its mission is as follows.
1
2
SRA 38-1802.12(a)(3).
DC Bilingual PCS charter agreement, dated July 8, 2004, attached to this report as Appendix A.
DC Bilingual PCS is a learning community that ensures high academic achievement for all students in
both Spanish and English, develops leadership, and values all cultures.
DC Bilingual PCS es una comunidad de aprendizaje que asegura un alto rendimiento acadmico para
todos los estudiantes en espaol e ingles, desarrolla el liderazgo y valora todas las culturas.
65.8% of the schools students are classified as English Language Learners (ELLs), one of the highest
rates in the DC charter sector. CentroNa, a nonprofit organization focused on bilingual communitybased education, manages the school. The school implements a dual language program, with students
receiving 50% of their instruction in English and 50% in Spanish.
The schools elementary school performance has shown annual consistent improvement on its
Performance Management Framework (PMF) score since the 2010-11 school year, with the school
achieving Tier 1 status in the 2012-13 school year. Information about the school and an overview of its
performance data are summarized in the table below.
Grade
Levels
PK3-2
3-5
Ward
Year
Opened
2004
2013-14
Student
Enrollment
216
169
2010-11
PMF
2011-12
PMF
2012-13
PMF
2 of 6
targets
56.8%
5 of 7
targets
60.3%
3 of 7
targets
65.2%
Charter Amendments
Since the 2009-10 school year, DC Bilingual has executed three charter amendments.
3
4
In June 2009, the PCSB Board approved the schools request to amend its charter to also serve
grades six through eight starting in the 2010-11 school year (however, DC Bilingual PCS
currently serves students through the fifth grade).
In June 2013, the PCSB Board conditionally approved a charter amendment request from the
school to join a consortium of charter schools in creating the District of Columbia International
School, which will serve students in grades six through twelve, and focus on language
immersion. 3
In March 2014, the PCSB Board approved an amendment to the schools charter agreement for it
to adopt the Early Childhood and Elementary/Middle School PMFs as its goals and academic
expectations. 4
See DCI Charter Amendment Request Board Memorandum, attached to this report as Appendix B.
See 2014 charter amendment board memorandum, March 17, 2014, attached to this report as Appendix C.
See DC Bilingual 5-Year Review, Executive Summary, p. 1-2, attached to this report as Appendix D.
See Appendix D, p. 6; PCSB Board Meeting Minutes, dated January 26, 2009, attached to this report as Appendix E; PCSB
Decision Memorandum, DC Bilingual Public Charter School: Candidacy for Charter Warning Based Upon Preliminary
Charter Review Findings, dated Jan. 21, 2009, attached to this report as Appendix F.
7
See PCSB Board Meeting Minutes, dated Jan. 25, 2010 at http://www.dcpcsb.org/agenda/?id=39.
8
SRA 38-1802.12(a)(3).
9
SRA 38-1802.12(c).
6
Early childhood PMF indicators as the goals and academic expectations for its pre-kindergarten
through second grades; and
Elementary/middle school PMF as the goals and academic expectations for its third through fifth
grades. 10
Consistent with PCSB policy, when a school adopts the PMF as its goals and academic expectations,
PCSB will assess whether a school has met its goals and academic expectations starting in the school
year that the respective PMF was formally adopted by the PCSB Board. As such, the Elementary/Middle
School PMF is considered to be DC Bilingual PCS goals and academic expectations for its third
through fifth grades starting in school year 2010-11. Per PCSB policy and the schools 2014
amendment, these grade levels will be deemed to have met their goals and academic expectations at the
schools tenth-year review if it:
(a) Demonstrates annual consistent improvement in performance on the PMF, with no PMF score
below 40% in school years 2011-12 and 2012-13; and/or
(b) Earns a PMF score of 45% or more in 2011-12 and 2012-13, the two academic years prior to the
review assessment. 11
Per the schools 2014 amendment, it adopted the Early Childhood PMF indicators as its goals academic
expectations for its early childhood grades. However, consistent with PCSB policy, because the Early
Childhood PMF was in pilot status at the time the 2014 amendment was approved, the amendment
details that the school will be deemed to have met its early childhood goals and expectations in its tenyear review based on:
10
See Appendix C.
See Appendix PCSB Policy on Adopting the PMF as Goals and Academic Expectations, attached to this report as
Appendix G.
11
(a) Attainment of the targets outlined in the schools Early Childhood Accountability Plans for
school years 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12; and
(b) Attainment of at least the floor of each indicator in the Early Childhood Pilot PMF for school
years 2012-13 and 2013-14. 12
Additionally, per PCSB policy, when a school adopts the PMF as its goals and expectations, PCSB may,
at it its discretion, determine that the school has met its goals and expectations if the school
demonstrates consistent annual improvement.
The school did not have targets in place in 2009-10, and the 2013-14 school year is still in progress. As
such, the following determinations are based on the schools performance in the 2010-11, 2011-12, and
2012-13 school year.
The chart below summarizes PCSBs determinations of whether each academic program met their
respective goals and academic expectations. These determinations are further detailed in the body of this
report.
Goals and Academic Expectations
Early Childhood
1
Literacy Progress
Partially
Literacy Achievement
No
Math Progress
No
Math Achievement
Partially
Attendance
Third through Fifth Grades
DC Bilingual PCS third-fifth grade program will
demonstrate annual consistent improvement on the PMF,
with no PMF score below 40% in school years 2011-12 and
2012-13; and/or earn a PMF score of 45% or more in 201112 and 2012-13.
Mission-Specific Goal
To measure Spanish language acquisition, 70% of students
will score proficient on the DC CAS science test, as science
is taught only in Spanish at the school.
Yes
12
Met?
Yes
Yes
See DC Bilingual 2014 charter agreement amendment, attached to this report as Appendix H.
PK3
PK4
% ELL
57.9%
81.0%
61.5%
40.5%
75%
All EC
grades
63.3%
As early childhood students progress through DC Bilingual PCS education program, many of them exit
their ELL status. For example, the table below details how many early childhood students in 2009-10
exited ELL status over the course of the next four academic years.
Grades
# of ELL
students in
2009-10
Exited
2009-10
Exited
2010-11
Exited
2011-12
Exited
2012-13
27
101
11
25
62
25
16
K2
Total
190
13
38
43
Total
Exited
10
(37.0%)
44
(43.6%)
41
(66.1%)
95
(50.0%)
Standard of Review
Per the schools 2014 charter amendment, it adopted the Early Childhood PMF indicators as its goals
and academic expectations for its early childhood grades. However, consistent with PCSB policy,
because the Early Childhood PMF was in pilot status at the time the 2014 amendment was approved, the
amendment details that the school will be deemed to have met its early childhood goals and expectations
in its ten-year review based on:
(a) Attainment of the targets outlined in the schools Early Childhood Accountability Plans for
school years 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12; and
(b) Attainment of at least the floor of each indicator in the Early Childhood Pilot PMF for school
years 2012-13 and 2013-14. 13
Additionally, per PCSB policy, when a school adopts the PMF as its goals and expectations, PCSB may,
at it its discretion, determine that the school has met its goals and expectations if the school
demonstrates consistent annual improvement.
The school did not have targets in place in 2009-10, and the 2013-14 school year is still in progress. As
such, the following determinations are based on the schools performance in the 2010-11, 2011-12, and
2012-13 school year.
Target Met? 14
Target
2010-11
70% of pre-kindergarten-3 and 80% of prekindergarten-4 students will master 70% and
80%, respectively of the pre-kindergarten
benchmarks by the spring administration on
The Creative Curriculum [Gold]
Assessment
2011-12
Yes
77.3% of students
demonstrated improvement
on non-mastered standards.
2012-13
Yes
97.2% of students met this
goal.
No
50% and 51% of students
scored at least 70% or
80%, respectively on the
assessment
See Appendix H.
In 2010-11, all early childhood results were rounded to the nearest whole number. In 2011-12 and 2012-13, early
childhood results were rounded to the nearest tenth decimal.
14
Year
Target
2010-11
2011-12
2012-3
Target Met?
No
56% of students
demonstrated at least a
year of growth.
Yes
62.4% of students
demonstrated at least one
year of growth.
No
46.0% of students met this
goal.
Target
2010-11
2011-12
2012-3
Target Met?
No
35% of students
scored at 50 NCE or
higher.
No
37.8% of students
scored at the 50th
percentile.
No
52.0% of students met
this goal.
Target
2010-11
2011-12
Target Met?
No 15
68% of students
demonstrated at least a
year of growth.
Yes
64.0% of students
demonstrated at least one
year of growth.
2012-3
No
47.0% of students met this
goal.
2011-12
15
Target
70% of first- and second-grade students will
score at or above 50 NCE in mathematics on
the Terra Nova assessment.
50% of first and second-grade students will
score at the 50th percentile or higher in math
on the Terra Nova assessment.
Target Met?
No
39% of students scored
at 50 NCE or higher.
No
42.9% of students
scored at the 50th
percentile.
If the school were using the same target (60%) as in subsequent years, the school would have met this.
10
2012-3
No
48.0% of students met
this goal.
2011-12
2012-13
Target
On average, preschool and prekindergarten students will
attend school 88% of the days.
On average, pre-kindergarten-3
and pre-kindergarten-4 students
will attend school 88% of the
days.
On average, pre-kindergarten-3
and pre-kindergarten-4 students
will attend school 88% of the
days.
Target Met?
Yes
The average daily
attendance was 92%.
Yes
The average daily
attendance was 91.2%.
Yes
The average daily
attendance was 93.7%.
2011-12
2012-13
Target
On average, kindergarten
through second-grade students
will attend school 92% of the
days.
On average, kindergarten
through second-grade students
will attend school 92% of the
days.
On average, kindergarten
through second-grade students
will attend school 92% of the
days.
Target Met?
Yes
The average daily
attendance was 96%.
Yes
The average daily
attendance was 94.0%.
Yes
The average daily
attendance was 94.8%.
11
Qualitative Evidence
PCSBs Qualitative Site Review of DC Bilingual PCS, conducted in November 2013, supports that the
school has a strong early childhood program. Overall, 97% of the teaching staff for grades PK through
5th grade scored proficient or advanced in climate and 87% in instructional strategies. Reviewers
recorded many instances of early childhood teachers challenging students to think critically and teaching
Common Core State Standards in both English and Spanish:
Teachers taught Common Core State Standards across all grade levels and
promoted critical thinking through questioning and discussion techniques.
Teachers asked open-ended, challenging questions for students to grapple
with as they worked through assignments. In one class, the teacher asked
first grade students to complete a thinking bubble to show what a
character in a short, silent movie was thinking. The assignment required
students to define thinking and to figure out someones thoughts from
facial expressions. Students enjoyed using small white boards at their
tables to display the assignment and the teacher gave critical, specific
feedback to elicit evidence of understanding. 16
Observers saw teachers teaching the Common Core State Standards in both
languages and preparing students to move to increasingly higher levels of
reading. In Spanish reading, a first grade teacher asked students to analyze
text by asking specific exploratory questions. 17
Additionally, PCSB reviewers observed teachers employing techniques to maximize learning in early
childhood classrooms:
In the pre-kindergarten classrooms, teachers took every opportunity to
increase pre-literacy skills by talking with students about their interests and
reading books to them, even during transitions. Starting with prekindergarten-3, teachers asked higher level thinking questions about texts
read and teachers asked students to explain their answers across all
grades. 18
16
See PCSB November 2013 QSR report, pp. 2-3, attached to this report as Appendix I.
See Appendix I, p. 3.
18
See Appendix I, p. 4.
17
12
CLASS Performance
All DC charter early childhood programs that participated in PCSBs Early Childhood PMF Pilot,
including DC Bilingual PCS, were assessed by independent reviewers using the Classroom Assessment
Scoring System (CLASS) tool, which focuses on classroom interactions that boost student learning.
The CLASS tool measures emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. Each
indicator is scored on a scale from 1-7, where 1-2 is low, 3-5 is medium, and 6-7 is high.
DC Bilingual PCS demonstrated charter-sector average or medium performance according to the
CLASS tool in Emotional Support and Classroom Organization and scored well above the sector
average on Instructional Strategies, as detailed in the table below.
Average Performance on CLASS
DC
Bilingual
PCS
All
Participating
DC Charter
Schools
Emotional Support
5.04
5.56
Positive Climate
Negative Climate 21
Teacher Sensitivity
Regard for Student
Perspectives
Classroom Organization
5.10
1.45
4.50
5.65
1.28
5.29
4.00
4.61
5.15
5.24
19
See Appendix I, p. 7.
See Appendix I, p. 9.
21
This indicator is scored inversely, with a 1 being the best score, and the 7 the lowest score.
20
13
Behavior Management
5.35
5.60
Productivity
Instructional Learning
5.75
5.54
4.35
4.60
4.08
2.50
3.65
2.27
4.00
4.60
2.68
2.62
Formats
Instructional Support
Concept Development
Quality of Feedback
Language Modeling
14
15
16
17
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Third through Fifth Grades
6.
Goal: DC Bilingual PCS third-fifth grade program will demonstrate annual consistent
improvement in performance on the PMF, with no PMF score below 40% in school years 2011-12
and 2012-13; and/or earn a PMF score of 45% or more in 2011-12 and 2012-13.
Assessment: DC Bilingual PCS elementary school has met its goals and academic expectations.
Standard to meet Elementary/Middle School PMF Goals and Academic Expectations
Per the schools March 2014 charter amendment, 22 DC Bilingual PCS third through fifth grade program
will be deemed to have met its goals and academic expectations if it fulfills either or both of the two
following conditions:
(a) Demonstrates annual consistent improvement in performance on the PMF, with no PMF score
below 40% in school years 2011-12 and 2012-13; and/or
(b) Earns a PMF score of 45% or more in 2011-12 and 2012-13, the two academic years prior to the
review assessment.
DC Bilingual PCS elementary school has met its goals and expectations it fulfilled both of the above
two review standards. The schools elementary school PMF Scorecards are detailed in full on the
following pages of this report.
2011-12
2012-13
56.8%
60.3%
65.2%
Tier 2
Tier 2
Tier 1
Qualitative Evidence
PCSBs Qualitative Site Review of DC Bilingual PCS, conducted in November 2013, supports that the
school has a strong elementary program. Below are some excerpts from this review.
The review team observed students reading texts in both languages and
teachers challenged students with in depth questioning and analysis to
increase understanding of the passages. One class was analyzing a novel,
22
See Appendix H.
18
explaining vocabulary line by line. The teacher also asked the students to
support their opinions of issues raised in the novel. 23
In over 95% of the observations, teachers stated a clear purpose for the
lesson and checked for understanding through questions or hand signals. A
high level of student comprehension was evident by students responses
and the ability of students to complete the assigned tasks. Teachers pointed
out possible areas for misunderstanding and gave clear explanations of
concepts. All teachers observed used rich, age appropriate language to
introduce students to a wide range of vocabulary terms and explained the
definitions. 25
23
See Appendix I, p. 4.
See Appendix I, p. 5.
25
See Appendix I, p. 8.
24
19
20
21
22
DC Bilingual PCS science proficiency rate has increased each year, with 80.6% of students proficient
in 2012-13.
80.6%
61.1%
30%
20%
42.1%
44.7%
10%
0%
2009-10
2010-11
DC Bilingual PCS
2011-12
2012-13
State Average (Grades 5 and 8)
23
The SRA requires PCSB to determine at least every five years whether a school has committed a
material violation of applicable laws or a material violation of the conditions, terms, standards, or
procedures set forth in its charter, including violations relating to the education of children with
disabilities. 26 The SRA contains a non-exhaustive list of applicable laws, and PCSB also monitors
charter schools for compliance with additional laws in annual compliance reviews. Since 2009-10,
PCSB has found in its annual compliance reviews that DC Bilingual PCS has been in substantial
compliance with all applicable laws detailed in the table below.
Compliance Item
Description
Fair enrollment
process
SRA 38-1802.06
26
SRA 38.1802.12(c).
See DC Bilingual PCS 2011-12 Compliance Review, attached to this report as Appendix J.
28
See Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565 (1975).
29
SRA 38.1802.04 (c)(4)(A).
30
See November 22, 2010 from Brian Jones, PCSB Chair, to Gretchen Ellsworth, DC Bilingual PCS Board Chair; see also
PCSB board memorandum, dated December 20, 2010, attached to this report as Appendix K.
31
See Appendix J.
27
24
Equal employment
SRA 381802(c)(5)
Insurance
As required by the
schools charter
Facility licenses
DC code 472851.03(d); DC
regulation 14-1401
Highly Qualified
DC charter schools receiving Title I
Teachers
Elementary and
funding must employ Highly Qualified
Secondary Education Teachers as defined by ESEA.
Act (ESEA)
Proper composition
of board of trustees
SRA 38-1802.05
Accreditation
Status
SRA 381802.02(16)
32
See 2010 Notice of Concern, and letter lifting this Notice, both attached to this report as Appendix L.
See Appendix L.
34
See Appendix J.
33
25
Procurement Contracts
SRA 38-1802.04(c)(1) requires DC charter schools to utilize a competitive bidding process for any
procurement contract valued at $25,000 or more, and within three days of awarding such a contract, to
submit to PCSB all bids received, the contractor selected, and the rationale for which contractor was
selected. To ensure compliance with this law, PCSB requires schools to submit a Determinations and
Findings form to detail any qualifying procurement contract that the school has executed.
In the schools 2009-10 fiscal audit, the school was found to have not consistently engaged in
competitive bidding for contracts valued at $25,000 or more, which the auditor classified as a
significant deficiency. 35 In each subsequent audit FY2011, FY2012, and FY2013 the auditor
found that the school was not consistently engaging in competitive bidding for qualifying contracts. 36
Year
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
Qualifying
contracts
executed by
DC Bilingual
PCS
6
4
1
2
Corresponding
documentation
submitted to
PCSB
0
1
0
0
26
education compliance indicators, and publishes these findings in an Annual Determination report. 38
Each years report is based on compliance data collected several years earlier. As such, OSSE does not
require schools to cure any compliance issues detailed in these reports. In 2012, OSSE published its
2010 Annual Determination reports (based on the schools 2009-10 performance).
In 2011, OSSE found that DC Bilingual PCS was 71% compliant with special education requirements,
with OSSE noting that the school Needs Assistance in fulfilling all applicable federal and local special
education regulations. 39 In 2010, OSSE found that DC Bilingual PCS was 75% compliant, and again
designating the school as Need[ing] Assistance with special education compliance. 40
On-Site Monitoring Report
OSSE periodically conducts an on-site assessment of an LEAs special education compliance with
student-level and LEA-level indicators, and publishes its findings in an On-Site Monitoring Report. At
the time, if a school was less than 80% compliant with a student-level and/or LEA-level indicator, it was
required to implement corrections and report these corrections to OSSE. (Beginning in 2013, LEAs are
responsible for being 100% compliant with student-level indicators and LEA-level indicators on On-Site
Monitoring Reports.) 41
In 2013, OSSE published an on-site Compliance Monitoring Report of DC Bilingual PCS based on the
schools performance in 2012-13. 42 The school was required to implement corrections in the following
areas:
38
27
Student-Level Compliance
LEA-Level Compliance
Compliance Area
Number of
indicators where
school was less than
80% compliant
Compliance Area
Number of
indicators
where school
was less than
100% compliant
Initial Evaluations
and Reevaluations
3 out of 6
Data Verification
0 out of 1
IEP Development
6 out of 10
Dispute Resolution
0 out of 3
Least Restrictive
Environment
1 out of 2
Access to Instructional
Materials
0 out of 1
Discipline
0 out of 2
Fiscal Requirements
0 out of 21
Data Verification
4 out of 8
Total
14 out of 28
Total
0 out of 26
OSSE has since verified that DC Bilingual PCS has implemented corrections for all identified student
level findings.
Special Conditions Quarterly Reports
OSSE submits quarterly reports to the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Special Education
Programs detailing District of Columbia LEAs compliance in three areas: (1) Initial and Reevaluation
Timelines; (2) Early Childhood Transition Timelines; and (3) Secondary Transition Requirements.
In recent special conditions reporting on OSSEs DC Corrective Action Tracking System Database
(DCCATS), DC Bilingual PCS was found to be noncompliant for Initial Evaluation Timelines during
the span of October 1, 2012- December 31, 2012 and then again from January 1, 2013- March 31, 2013
(FFY 2012 Quarter 3 and 4). According to OSSE, the LEA has since corrected this issue of
noncompliance. 43
During FFY 2013 Quarter 1, DC Bilingual PCS was found to be noncompliant for Reevaluation
Timeliness during April 2, 2013-June 31, 2013. 44 OSSE has since verified that the LEA has
implemented corrections for all identified findings.
Blackman Jones Implementation Review
With compliance requirements pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and
the 2006 Blackman Jones Consent Decree, OSSE manages and oversees the Blackman Jones database
43
44
28
that tracks each LEAs timely implementation of Hearing Officer Determinations (HODs) and
Settlement Agreements (SAs).
As of April 2014, the Blackman Jones Database shows DC Bilingual PCS has no HODs or SAs.
29
SECTION THREE:
FISCAL MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMIC VIABILITY
Separate and apart from the standard for charter renewal, the SRA requires that PCSB Board shall
revoke a schools charter if PCSB determines that the school:
In the following section, PCSB has analyzed DC Bilingual PCS financial record in these areas. For the
last three fiscal years, the school has been identified as a fiscally low performing school. While the
school has recently established fiscal stability, consecutive operating deficits, poor cash liquidity, and
declining net assets over the past fiscal years remain as trends dangerous to the schools economic
viability. While there has been no pattern of fiscal mismanagement, auditors findings indicated that
improvements in internal controls were necessary. DC Bilingual PCS has no pattern of nonadherence to
GAAP.
Adherence to Accounting Principles and Fiscal Mismanagement
Audits of DC Bilingual PCS federal funds establish that the school adhered to generally accepted
accounting principles. Unqualified opinions on the financial statements in the past four audits were
issued. However, material weaknesses 45 and significant deficiencies 46 were identified for internal
control over financial reporting. Over the past three years, FY2013 was the first year with no material
weakness and significant deficiency identified.
Internal Control over Financial
Reporting
Material Significant
Fiscal
Weakness Deficiency
Year
Identified Identified
2009-10
No
No
2010-11
Yes
Yes
2011-12
Yes
Yes
2012-13
No
No
45
A material weakness is defined as a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in in internal control, such that there is
a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entitys financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and
corrected on a timely basis.
46
A significant deficiency is identified as existing when the design or operation of a control does not allow management
or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, misstatements on
a timely basis.
30
Also, in FY2011 and FY2012 the school had qualified opinions in its single audits, 47 with both material
weaknesses and significant deficiencies identified. In FY2011, the school did not appropriately maintain
employees timesheets, resulting in a questioned cost of $2,028. In addition, there were findings about
financial statement closing process and reporting of each federal program, nonadherence to its revenue
recognition policies of federal grants, and lack of cost or price analysis for goods and services for federal
programs. In FY2012, the same findings were not fully addressed. Also, the establishment of appropriate
procurement contract bidding and documentation continues to be an unresolved finding for DC
Bilingual PCS over the last four years.
Internal Control over Major
Programs
Material Significant
Fiscal
Weakness Deficiency
Year
Identified Identified
2009-10
N/A
N/A
2010-11
Yes
Yes
2011-12
Yes
Yes
2012-13
No
Yes
Related Party
DC Bilingual was established under the auspices of CentroNa, Inc., an education organization that
provides education, professional development and family-support services. CentroNa appoints three
members of the schools board of trustees. CentroNa provides management services to DC Bilingual
and pays personnel costs and certain direct expenses on the schools behalf. In FY2013, DC Bilingual
paid a management fee of $962,185 to CentroNia. Also, the school paid CentroNa about $4.6 million to
reimburse personnel and other direct costs paid by CentroNa on behalf of the school, compared to about
$5.5 million in FY2012. DC Bilingual leases office space with CentroNa and in the most recent fiscal
year had a rent expense of $931,669, including a proportionate share of taxes. CentroNas financial
position has followed a downward trend similar to DC Bilingual, with total net assets of $2.4 million in
FY2012 (December 31) from $4.1 million in FY2010. The primary driver for the consecutive operating
deficits from FY2010 to FY2012 has been increased program service expenses.
Economic Viability
DC Bilingual PCS has been in danger of being not economically viable from FY2010 to FY2012. In
FY2013, the school exhibited some early sign of fiscal stability based on the schools financial
performance, sustainability, liquidity, and debt burden, as described below. The schools fiscal health
remains a concern, which will continue to require routine monitoring.
47
Per the federal Single Audit Act of 1984, as amended by the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996, any entity that
receives $500,000 or more in federal funding is required to undergo a Single Audit conducted by an independent, external
auditor, in accordance with the Office of Management and Budgets Circular A-133 (OMB A-133).
31
Financial Performance
PCSB assesses a schools financial performance with two key indicators. The first indicator is a schools
operating result how much its total annual revenues exceed its total annual expenditures. In general,
PCSB recommends that a schools annual operating results equal at least zero. Another indicator of a
schools financial performance is its earnings before depreciation (EBAD), 48 a financial performance
measure that eliminates the effects of financing and accounting decisions.
DC Bilingual PCS financial performance according to these two indicators weakened in FY2011 and
has not full recovered as of June 30, 2013. The school has produced three consecutive operating deficits
since FY2011, most recently with a $83,417 deficit in FY2013. DC Bilingual PCS management
attributed the past operating deficits to increased costs of operating a bilingual model and serving special
education students with greater needs. The school experienced a similar trend with its earnings before
depreciation in the past four years, with a positive EBAD only in FY2010.
Fiscal
Period
Operating
Result
EBAD
2010
2011
2012
2013
$681,917
$(308,791)
$(667,456)
$(83,417)
$778,468
$(212,895)
$(568,023)
$(3,824)
Expenditures
DC Bilingual PCS spending decisions, illustrated in the graph below, are aligned with PCSBs financial
metrics for general education public charter schools. 49
DC Bilingual PCS:
Expenditures as % of Revenues (FY2010 - FY2013
averages)
Personnel expenses
Direct student costs
57%
9%
15%
21%
Occupany expenses
Office and General
expenses
0%
48
49
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
32
Sustainability
A schools net assets 50 and primary reserve ratio demonstrate its sustainability. 51 PCSB recommends
that schools accrue net asset reserves equal to three to six months of operating expenditures, and PCSB
would be concerned with net assets reserves below zero. Over the past four years, the schools net asset
position has remained positive, but the rapid decline from $1.5 million in FY2010 to $456,334 in
FY2013 is a concern. The schools FY2013 primary reserve ratio was 0.06, meaning that its net asset
reserves equal 6% of its annual expenditures, a modest decline from FY2012. PCSB recommends that a
schools primary reserve ratio be at least between 0.2 and 0.3. The table below details the schools net
assets and primary reserve ratios over the past four years.
Fiscal Period
Net Assets
Primary
Reserve Ratio
2010
$1,515,998
2011
$1,207,207
2012
$539,751
2013
$456,334
0.24
0.17
0.07
0.06
Liquidity
Two indicators of a schools short-term economic viability are its current ratio 52 and its days of cash on
hand. 53 A current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities) greater than one indicates a schools
ability to satisfy its immediate financial obligations. Since FY2010, DC Bilingual PCSs current ratio
has remained strong, though it has steadily declined since 2011. It stands at 1.96 in FY2013, indicating
that the school can meet its short-term financial obligations with current assets.
Typically, 90 days or more of cash on hand indicates a school can satisfy immediate obligations with
cash. Fewer than 30 days of cash on hand is a liquidity concern. DC Bilingual PCS days of cash on
hand has been weak over the last three fiscal years, with the schools days of cash on hand decreasing
from 19 days in FY2011 to 16 days in FY2013. The days of cash on hand remains a concern. The
schools current ratio and days of cash on hand trends are detailed in the table below.
Fiscal Period
Current Ratio
Days of Cash on
Hand 54
2010
4.05
2011
6.35
2012
2.90
2013
1.96
68
19
16
50
33
Cash flow from operations indicates whether a school produces adequate cash flow to meet its operating
needs. Since FY2009, DC Bilingual PCS has maintained positive cash flow from operations for two of
the past four years, as detailed in the below table.
Fiscal Period
Cash Flow from
Operations
2010
2011
2012
2013
$821,322
$(758,541)
$(230,377)
$222,449
Debt Burden
A schools debt ratio 55 indicates the extent to which a school relies on borrowed funds to finance its
operations. PCSB recommends that a schools debt ratio equal 0.6 or less. DC Bilingual PCSs debt
burden has steadily increased over the past three years from 0.17 in FY2010 to 0.47 in FY2013 due to
primarily declining total assets and increased account payables, but remains below the threshold of
concern.
Fiscal Period
Debt Ratio
55
2010
0.23
2011 2012
0.17 0.34
2013
0.47
34