SURVEY OF CHARTER SCHOOLS 1998-1999

CHARTER SCHOOL'S GREATEST CHALLENGE -- FUNDING

        Nearly all charter schools report funding among their top challenges, and 39 percent cite funding as a significant challenge. Specific funding challenges include operating with inadequate funding and not receiving their fair allocation of dollars from the district. 

        While all public schools are funded in similar ways, funding systems vary from state to state. For example, Arizona and California have highly centralized school funding systems, whereas Michigan has a reliance on both state and property taxes.

        In addition, funding for charter schools usually takes a different path from funding for traditional public schools (Figure 6). While only 48 percent of traditional public school operational funding comes from the state, charter schools report that 73 percent of their operational funds come directly from the state. 

        The implications of these data may not be immediately apparent. Some portion of district funding for traditional public schools actually comes from the state; if it flows through the district, it is considered district funding. Thus, even though charter schools report a higher percentage of state funds, one can’t conclude that charter schools are getting more state money than traditional public schools. Funding for charter schools simply follows a different path: money flows directly from the state to the charter school without first going through the district. (More info about the path money takes is explained in CER’s Charter School Laws Across the States).

        In fact, at both the state and district levels, charter schools often have to seek out their fair funding allocation. Funding for traditional public schools usually is automatic. (See The Obstacles and Opposition to Charter Schools, Chapter 2 for examples of charter schools that had to fight for funding because of the new-ness of their schools and various operational hurdles.)

Figure 6: The Path of Charter School Funding
Operational   funding     Charter schools     Traditional  public schools
District funding     19%     45%
State funding     73%     48%
Federal funding     6%     6%
Private funding     3%     N/A

For further details of funding see Figures 6a-6c in the Appendices.

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Link to Excerpts of Charter Schools Today Report, including:

  • Table of Contents

  • Chapter 5: Survey of Charter Schools 1998-1999

Also: Selected Response From Individual Charter Schools:
        Successes
        Challenges
        Growth and Future Plans
        Academic and Other Programs
        Additional Comments

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Survey of Charter Schools 1998-1999 is part of Charter Schools Today: Changing the Face of American Education. The entire report is available for $19.95 + $3.00 shipping and handling. Order your copy on our publications page, or by calling CER at (202) 822-9000.

Charter Schools Today: Changing the Face of American Education is published by The Center for Education Reform [CER] a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization founded in 1993 to provide support and guidance to individuals, community and civic groups, policymakers and others who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. For more information on charter school efforts, call CER at (202) 822-9000, or visit our Charter School Library.