Arizona lawmakers tried to warn Senate President Andy Biggs that changes in language related to small schools within the recently passed Fiscal Year 2016 budget would severely impact funding for certain charter schools and charter school networks, but he pushed Ducey’s agenda forward.
The issue stems from language designed to adjust what is known as the Small School Weight (SSW), which is a weight in the charter school funding formula that increases funding for eligible small schools.
The impact of the changes was initially estimated at $6.5 million, but will actually be closer to $15 million based on the technical language in the underlying law.
Schools that previously received the SSW may no longer be eligible or their weight may be phased out over a three-year period based on several factors, including school size and organizational structure.
Small charter schools have been successful for rural communities. The effort to alter the funding came in response to corporations taking advantage of the small school funding. One large charter organization first raised eyebrows when it claimed small school status by breaking one large campus into three small schools in order to take advantage of the old funding scheme.
| % Decrease | Fiscal Year | Estimated Fiscal Impact |
| 33% | 2016 | ($14,619,005) |
| 67% | 2017 | ($23,631,088) |
| 100% | 2018 | ($32,643,171) |