The funding disparity between charter and traditional public schools around the nation appears to be growing over time, according to a new report.
On average, charter schools during FY2011 received $3,509 less per pupil than traditional public schools – a 28.4 percent gap, found the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas. Worse, that gap grew by 54 percent between FY03 and FY11.
Note: the researchers used a “weighted” per pupil formula that takes into account that charter schools, which now educate more than 2 million students, are more likely to be centered in urban/metro areas. They write that the “weighting adjusts statewide per pupil district enrollment proportions to match the same proportion experienced by charter schools statewide.” Basically, the weighted formula recognizes that urban areas tend to spend more on their student population and this calculation prevents the lower spending rural/suburban districts from distorting (and dropping) the statewide average. This allows a more fair comparison with the more urban/metro-oriented charter schools.
The funding gap varies widely between states. Tennessee leads the nation by giving an extra $15 per pupil to charter schools, followed by Texas ($-362) and New Mexico (-$365).
The biggest gap is surprisingly in Louisiana, but it may deserve a big caveat. The next biggest comes from another big charter school area, Washington D.C., with a whopping -$12,736 per pupil funding gap with charter schools. Of course, D.C. is also the nation’s biggest education spender per pupil. On a percentage basis, Maryland had the largest charter-public gap with a 38.8 percent difference (-$7,347).
*ABBA – Money, Money, Money (the obvious “show me the money” reference was already used and we like to be original at redefinED).
Now on to that Louisiana caveat. On an un-weighted basis, the funding difference between a charter school and district school in Louisiana is -$1,086. But most charter schools are located in urban areas, especially in New Orleans, where the bulk of public school students are now taught in charters. On a weighted per-pupil basis, the gap balloons to -$15,600. New Orleans, where district schools receive substantial support post-Katrina, is driving the district weighted formula up and creating that massive gap. It is worth noting that despite it, the city’s charter schools are doing a brilliant job with the students.
According to the authors, the largest source for the funding gap appears to be from local support taxes. Charters receive, on average, just $1,780 from local government sources while traditional public schools receive $5,230.
And don’t think charters are able to make up the difference through private philanthropy either. Surprisingly, the researchers discovered a gap there, too. Districts earn $571 per pupil from non-public sources, compared to $552 per pupil for charter schools.
Unlike the rest of the nation, the gap in Florida has narrowed, down to $2,129 per pupil in FY2011. That difference is better than the national average, but still not very good. Lawmakers are proposing to spend $75 million on charter capital funding this year, down from last year’s record-setting $91 million. Meanwhile, they’re proposing to give $100 million in state capital funding to school districts, which raised $2.5 billion for capital last year.
Overall, researchers found state funding mechanisms are “excessively complex” and that when equity issues arise “years of legislative and administrative tweaking often ensue, adding complexity with little commensurate improvement in equity.”
Other causes of funding disparities include a lack of central data collecting and monitoring; a lack of access to capital funds; and statutory requirements that ensure charter funding is always lower than district funding.
Politics, poor government accounting practices and cumbersome funding mechanisms all play significant roles in education spending. For the time being, it is unlikely any of this will change and significant funding gaps will remain. Of course, when the legislative process breaks down, charter schools can always turn to the courts to seek relief.
