From: lessgovt@gmail.com   
      
   The Inequity of Public School Funding   
   By The Editorial Board, Aug. 16, 2023, WSJ   
   Few things illustrate the mixed-up priorities of public education more than   
   funding. Traditional public schools continue to get increases in tax dollars   
   even as people are fleeing them. But charter schools continue to get less even   
   though their    
   enrollment is increasing.   
      
   That’s the finding of a new study by the Department of Education Reform at   
   the University of Arkansas, “Charter School Funding: Little Progress Towards   
   Equity in the City.” The team has studied charter funding since 2002-2003.   
   This study, based on    
   18 cities, found that on average charter schools “receive about 30 percent   
   or $7,147 less funding per pupil” than traditional public schools, in 2020   
   dollars.   
      
   This gap has been remarkably persistent for 20 years. In 2002-2003 the average   
   per-pupil funding gap was 27%. It rose to 31.4% in 2010-2011, dropped to 20.7%   
   in 2013-2014 before hitting 33% in 2017-2018. The dollar gap was greatest in   
   Camden, N.J. ($19,   
   711) and smallest in Houston, where charters receive about ($417) more than   
   the traditional public schools.   
      
   The report also explodes some common myths. Notwithstanding the belief that   
   charters are flush with cash from supporters, traditional public schools have   
   an average advantage of $16 per pupil in private funding. Student demographics   
   don’t explain the    
   funding gap. Detroit’s charters, for example, receive an average 35.3% less   
   than their traditional counterparts—though the charter students have a   
   higher poverty rate and nearly identical proportion of special-ed and   
   English-as-a-second-language    
   learners.   
      
   What makes this so frustrating is that the funding gap remained constant   
   despite striking gains in charter performance. A report in June from   
   Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes found that most   
   charters “produce superior student    
   gains despite enrolling a more challenging student population.” Parents know   
   this, which is why charters are attracting more children while traditional   
   public schools are losing them.   
      
   The funding formulas haven’t kept up with this reality. The reason is   
   political power. Teachers unions have it, while charter schools don’t.   
   Progressives like to invoke “equity.” Given that charters are public   
   schools every bit as much as union    
   schools, isn’t it time public education brought some equity to its funding?   
      
   https://www.wsj.com/articles/charter-school-funding-university-o   
   -arkansas-department-of-education-reform-study-public-schools-79555d1e   
      
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