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The 21st Century Charter Schools Initiative

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Although charter advocates recommend the schools control all per-pupil funds, charter<br />

advocates claim that their schools rarely receive as much funding as other public schools. In<br />

reality, this is not necessarily the case in the complex world of school funding. <strong>Charter</strong> schools<br />

in California were guaranteed a set amount of district funding that in some districts amounted<br />

to $800 per student per year more than traditional public schools received until a new law was<br />

passed that took effect in fall 2006. <strong>Charter</strong> advocates claim that their schools generally lack<br />

access to funding for facilities and special program funds distributed on a district basis.<br />

Congress and the President allocated $80 million to support charter-school activities in fiscal<br />

year 1998, up from $51 million in 1997. Despite the possibility of additional private and nondistrict<br />

funding, a government study showed that charter school may still lag behind traditional<br />

public school achievement.<br />

Although charter schools may receive less public funding than traditional public schools, a<br />

portion of charter schools' operating costs can come from sources outside public funding (such<br />

as private funding in the form of donations). A study funded by the American Federation of<br />

Teachers found that in DC charter schools, private funding accounted for $780 per pupil on<br />

average and, combined with a higher level of public funding in some charters (mostly due to<br />

non-district funding), resulted in considerably higher funding when compared to comparable<br />

public schools. Without federal funding, private funding, and "other income", D.C. charter<br />

schools received slightly more on average ($8,725 versus $8,676 per pupil), but that funding<br />

was more concentrated in the better funded charter schools (as seen by the median DC charter<br />

school funding of $7,940 per pupil). With federal, private, and "other income", charter school<br />

funding shot up to an average of $11,644 versus the district $10,384 per pupil. <strong>The</strong> median here<br />

showed an even more unequal distribution of the funds with a median of $10,333. Other<br />

research, using different funding data for DC schools and including funding for school facilities,<br />

finds conflicting results.<br />

<strong>Charter</strong>s sometimes face opposition from local boards, state education agencies, and unions.<br />

Many educators are concerned that charter schools might siphon off badly needed funds for<br />

regular schools, as well as students. In addition, public-school advocates assert that charter<br />

schools are designed to compete with public schools in a destructive and harmful manner<br />

rather than work in harmony with them. To minimize these harmful effects, the American<br />

Federation of Teachers urges that charter schools adopt high standards, hire only certified<br />

teachers, and maintain teachers' collective-bargaining rights.<br />

According to a recent study published in December 2011 by <strong>The</strong> Center for Education Reform,<br />

the national percentage of charter closures were as follows: 42% of charter schools close as a<br />

direct result of financial issues, whereas only 19% of charter schools closed due to academic<br />

problems. Congress and the President allocated $80 million to support charter-school activities<br />

in fiscal year 1998, up from $51 million in 1997. Despite the possibility of additional private and<br />

non-district funding, a government study showed that charter school may still lag behind<br />

traditional public school achievement.<br />

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