“We Have No Choice”: Contracting Processes for Turnaround Charter Partnerships in Austin Independent School District

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 1:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: District Administration, Capacity, and Culture (Table 4)

Abstract

This paper employs contract theory and multimodal discourse analysis to examine one Texas school district’s turnaround partnership contracting process. Analysis of school board meetings, state policies, and district and partner communications revealed three findings. First, the state’s inflexible accountability system weakened the district’s contracting position by forcing it to choose between entering a partnership or accepting state takeover. Second, shallow turnaround provider markets undermined potential competition effects. Third, insufficient opportunities for community input and truncated state timelines created a sense of urgency that undermined democratic transparency and compromised the district’s ability to thoroughly evaluate proposals. Our findings have implications for districts facing disproportionate pressure to contract for turnaround, particularly majority Black and Latine/a/o districts facing historical financial disadvantage.

Authors

• Daniel Dawer, University of Texas at Austin

• Alejandro Madrigal, University of Texas at Austin