Charter School Funding Presentation

Charter School Funding InequityIn Oregon
Northwest Center for Educational Options
Fifth Annual Charter School Conference
March 11, 2011
Presented by Vanessa Wilkins, Seed Strategies, LLC

Charters get 55% or worse
Vast differences by district
Districts have access to resources not available to charters
New legislation levels the playing field
Key Take-away’s
©2011 Seed Strategies, LLC
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“Some charters say they’re getting half the funding their district counterparts get, not the 80% or 95% stipulated by law. We can’t address the problem if we don’t know what they’re really getting.”
KaarenHeikes Executive Director Northwest Center for Educational Options
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How much public funding per student do charters receive compared to Districts?
$’s per District Student
$’s per Charter Student
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Our Answer

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Unfortunately….
Our Answer
It’s complicated

Oregon Dept. of Education
2008/2009
No Private Donations
No start-up grants
Fall Enrollment
192/197 districts
about The data
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Charterseducate more than 2.7% of Oregon’s public school students, but receive only 1.5% of the funding.
the Results are shocking
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Charters receive 55% of the funding of their district counterparts

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Charters receive $4,591 less per student
$12,000
$10,374
$10,000
$8,000
$5,783
$6,000
$4,000
$2,000
$0
District
Charter

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Surprisingly, facilities make up only a small part of the difference
$12,000
$10,374
$10,000
$8,000
$5,783
$6,000
$4,000
$2,000
$0
District
Charter

The actual amount varies widely by district
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$14,000
$13,000
$12,000
$10,900
$9,500
$10,000
$9,200
$8,000
$6,000
$5,100
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$0
North Bend SD1
Sheridan SD 48J
Gresham Barlow
District
Charter

But most districts pay far less than 80%
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Districts
Revenue Per Charter Student as a percentage of District Student Revenue

Small districts that convert to charters fare better
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Districts
Revenue Per Charter Student as a percentage of District Student Revenue

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Segmenting these out shows the problem is even worse for most charters
$18,000
Public Funding Per Student
$15,350
$16,000
$14,000
$13,120
$12,000
$10,475
100%
$10,000
$8,000
$5,182
$6,000
$4,000
55%
$2,000
$0
Charter
District
Charter
District
Charters Within Larger Districts
Small Districts (75-250 students)

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Leaving charter schools in larger districts less than half (49%) their district counterparts
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Why the disparity?
The law says...
K-8 schoolsreceive at least 80% 9-12 schools receiveat least 95%of district’s General Purpose GrantSo why aren’t they getting this much?
How much funding do charter schools receive?

Why the disparity?
Districts stuck as middlemen
Lack of $’s
Declining enrollment amplifies issue
Patchwork funding – some unavailable to charters
Wide latitude for interpretation
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$’s follow the student…but they go through the district first
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Charter School
Federal, State and
Local Funds
District

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“You mean you’re taking 50 of my students AND you want me to pay you for them?”
One Superintendent’s explanation of the issue
Districts are stuck in the middle

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No middleman is main difference for single-school-charter-districts
Federal, State and
Local Funds
Charter Public School

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Districts have access to public resources not available to charters
Other
Funding
State SchoolFunding

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Some funding is still based on headcount that includes charters
Other Funding
31%
And, only 9% is facilities

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“We have a really good relationships with charters in our district – a lot of that is because of goodwill they (the charters) put out – following the laws, making payments, taking care of schools.” District Administrator who pays 80% of ALL funding streams, including the local option, to charters
What determineswhether funds get passed through to charters?

“We have schools in 6 different districts and each one treats us uniquely.”
Charter School Administrator
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There iswide latitude for interpretation

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Anecdotally, relationship may matter more than anything else
Charter School
Federal, State and
Local Funds
District

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HB3397 would mandate charters receive 95% of all funding based on headcount
What could you do with 25% more money?

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Choose your district wisely
Build/Maintain relationship with your district
Advocate
PS – you have 16,000 activist families to help you
Follow the money
Focus on the quality and TELL that story
Final thoughts for charter school managers

Charters get 55% or worse
Vast differences by district
Districts have access to resources not available to charters
New legislation levels the playing field
Key Take-away’s
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Thank you!

Charter School Funding Presentation

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