Charter School Funding: A Decade of Inadequacy

• In Event: Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: Charter School Funding, Funding Applications, and Teacher Retention

Abstract

This study seeks to generate the most accurate detail of district school and charter school revenues from 30 states and the District of Columbia in order to determine if public charter schools are underfunded relative to traditional public schools in serving a similar population of students. The research will evaluate the funding trends between FY03 and FY11. For the first time, we will use the results of the revenue analysis and a productivity analysis to calculate a Return on Investment for public charter schools, again state-by-state combined with a weighted average nationally. Finally, separate from the research tasks undertaken above, the research team will analyze the impact of conversion charter schools on the funding landscape.

Authors

• Larry Maloney

• Patrick J. Wolf, University of Arkansas

• Meagan Batdorff

• Jay May

• Albert Cheng, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville