Short Changed: New York’s public charter school students face

tremendous funding inequality.

Charter students in private space receive 75 cents on the dollar compared to their friends

in district schools.

$10,000$0 $20,000 $30,000

DISTRICT STUDENTS$21,152

CHARTER STUDENTS$15,920

DISPARITY $5,232

District StudentCharter Student

That amounts to a gap of $5,232 per student, for charter students in private space.

Statewide funding amount adjusted to ensure direct comparison between charters and districts that serve similar populations.

Note: the above compares charters, virtually all of which serve high-needs, high-poverty populations, to all schools statewide regardless of their populations. When adjusted to compare charters to districts that serve similar populations, the funding gap grows to $7,290 per student, or 31.4%.

Source: University of Arkansas, Larry Maloney, Meagan Batdorff, Jay May. Charter School Funding: Inequity Expands, April 30, 2014.

VS

For children who live in cities, the inequality is even greater.

$9,811Less $23,524

$7,623 Less $24,044

$5,379Less $22,259

NYC’s charter students receive only 68 cents for every dollar their friends in city-run public schools receive, resulting in $7,623 less per pupil.

Buffalo charter students receiveonly about 60 cents for every dollar their friends in city-run public schools receive, resulting in $9,811 less per pupil.

Albany’s charter students receive only 76 cents on the dollar, resulting in $5,379 less per pupil.

Making matters worse, nearly half of all NY charter students are in private space, so funding meant for their education must

go toward paying the rent.

Recent changes to charter school funding do not begin to address this fundamental inequality.

$10,000$0 $20,000 $30,000

DISTRICT STUDENTS$21,152

CHARTER STUDENTS$16,420

DISPARITY

$4,732

ADDITIONAL $500

BUFFALO NYC Albany

$1,650 per pupil $2,250 per pupil $2,020 per pupil

Average facility-related spending for SY 2011-12

*Capital Region Average (includes charter schools in Troy).*Western New York Regional Average.

*Recent changes increase charter school funding by $500 by SY 2016-2017.

How can we fix this broken system?

The state will now help pay for buildings for all public schools except charter schools in private space. That means half the

charters in New York State get zero facilities help. A bipartisan proposal to grant charters access to the state building aid program died during the 2014 state budget negotiations.

Access to building aid would be a game-changer for nearly half of all New York charter school students and would be a strong

step toward addressing the inequality in charter funding.

Want to learn more?915 Broadway, Suite 110, Albany, NY 12207 (518) 694-3110 necharters.org info@necharters.org @necharters /necharters

Source: University of Arkansas, Larry Maloney, Meagan Batdorff, Jay May. Charter School Funding: Inequity Expands, April 30, 2014.New York City Charter School Center, Northeast Charter Schools Network, Charter School Facilities Initiative, Colorado League of Charter Schools. Build-ing Inequality: How the Lack of Facility Funding Hurts New York’s Public Charter School Students. June 2013.