Charter schools have 15% of state enrollment but take 26% of the K-12 education budget
Charter schools are taking an ever -increasing proportion of the state education budget. Charter schools made up 7% of enrollment in 2003 and accounted for 10% of the state education budget. Charter schools now serve 15% of students in Arizona but take over 26% of the state budget.
The increase in charter school students since 2002 has put a huge burden on the state education budget – a budget that provides the second lowest per pupil spending in the country. If Arizona had capped the number of charter students at the 2003 level of 66,000 students, the state would have $360,000,000 more to spend on public education in Arizona.
| Related: |
| Arizona Charter Schools Are Draining the State Budget Report |
Charters are funded equally regardless of the local neighborhood. Charters schools receive that same per pupil funding as districts and receive the same additional funds for students with special needs. Since charter schools cannot have bonds paid for by local taxpayers to make capital purchases and build schools, they receive additional funds – $1752/pupil for K-8 students and $2042/pupil for 9-12 students. This additional assistance automatically increases for inflation every year. The charter additional assistance has increased 19% since 2008 while district capital allocations were reduced by 85% over the same time period. No property taxes are used to fund charter schools; their revenue comes strictly from the state general fund.
Public districts are funded by the state based on the wealth of the community. Public districts must beg their property owners, the majority of which do not have children in school, to increase their taxes so schools can be adequately funded, make repairs, and build facilities. Poor districts already plagued by high property taxes are less likely to receive needed funds.
Beginning in 2009, the Arizona Legislature drastically cut district funding for capital expenses for computers, buses, and building repairs. Public districts received about $450/pupil for capital expenses in 2008. Today, districts receive about $60/pupil – a reduction of 85%. A lawsuit has been recently filed by the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest to address the issue.
The capital reduction, combined with the failure of the Legislature to fund inflation increases over the years, has forced districts to resort to override measures that shift the burden of funding schools to local property owners. Since 2003, public districts have seen the percentage of their budget provided by the state drop from 44% to 39% with the local community forced to make up the difference.
Charter schools have been spared from such reductions. State spending for charter schools increased by 36% from $5482/pupil in 2003 to $7454/pupil in 2016. State funds provided to districts rose just $7.00/pupil 2003-2016, an increase of .19%. In 2016 the state contributed an average of $7,454/pupil to charter schools and average of $3,777/pupil to districts -$3677/pupil less than charters receive.
Jim Hall, founder of Arizonans for Charter School Accountability, noted, “The Governor and the Legislature need to be held responsible for undermining public education for the benefit of their fascination with charter schools in the name of choice”. Hall continued, “If the Governor and Legislature would like to keep this expensive program, perhaps they should look for a new revenue stream to pay for it, rather than stealing funds from public districts.