Charter School Finance 101: Comparing Charter Schools to Their Host District

Education, Policy — By on February 9, 2012 at 9:33 AM

by Mark ‘Jay’ Williams, Economics Fellow

When New Jersey first authorized charter public schools in the 1990’s, the public was told the charters would operate at 90% of the cost of the host district, saving taxpayer dollars with each family that freely chose this newly-available public education option. Nearly 20 years into this grand experiment, it is clear that the advertised figure is bogus, but not in a way charter critics can use.

In 2010, there were 66 charter schools operating in New Jersey, with many of them operating more than three years. Although the press has covered various aspects of charter school facts, the research comparing charter-per-pupil-expenditure in relation to their host district(s) is lacking.

By statute, charter schools receive funding at 90% of the foundation aid of their host district(s), a percent level that has long been disputed by charter school operators as insufficient and unfair. Recently, the New Jersey Department of Education has been including charter school expenditures in their Taxpayer Guide to Education Spending (formerly Comparative Spending Guide), which forms the financial basis for this simple analysis.

Below is a simple analysis of charter school ‘Total Spending’ and comparative ‘Budget Cost’ data. The ‘Total Spending’ variable, as computed by the New Jersey Department of Education, for the first time includes all expenditures paid by both the school district and the state, including costly pension and health care contributions. Meanwhile, the Budget Cost’ variable includes only those expenditures common to all districts, excluding items such as debt, transportation and other non-comparative expenditures.

At question is whether the charter schools ‘Total Spending’ is much less than their host regular public school districts? Taxpayers and policy makers should consider this analysis as the charter experiment expands. The program is expected to add an additional 15+ schools already approved but not opened, and many more in the review pipeline.

From the 2011Taxpayers Guide to Education Spending, utilizing the 2010 actual numbers for Total Spending and Budgetary Cost, the chart below compares individual charter schools spending levels to their host district. Some charter schools receive a majority of their funding from multiple districts, making a direct comparison impossible.

Key Findings

This analysis is not intended to be comprehensive, but it raises serious questions regarding the range of charter school spending, and the reasons they almost universally receive less than the statute-guaranteed funding levels. The key findings of the analysis are:

• For the former Abbott districts, charter schools receive approximately 65% ‘Total Spending’ funding level compared to their host district, much less than the 90% ‘foundation aid’ level;

• For non-Abbott districts, the funding level range is 56% to 89%, a significant difference in funding level, which reflects large expenditure differences due to student weighting factors and local contribution variation;

• The range of charter per-pupil expenditures for the former Abbott districts range from $10.244 (Camden Institute of Excellence) to $22,222(Camden Promise), requiring further investigation into reasons for large variation across former-Abbott districts;

• The variation of charter school funding within a host district can be significant, requiring further investigation into reasons for large variation;

The analysis for the selected districts is intended to identify basic funding levels, and does not identify productivity, performance or even reasons for funding variation in- and between- districts.

Camden

Camden had eight charter schools in 2010, with Total Spending ranging from $10,244 to $22,222, a difference of $11,978 per pupil. In comparison, the Camden Public School District had a Total Spending of $23,770, with a charter school funding level range of 43% to 93%. The large variation in Camden’s charter school spending is significant, and requires further investigation.

Jersey City

Jersey City identified nine charter schools in operation in 2010, with a Total Spending range of $11,525 to $18,818, a difference of $7,293 per pupil. In comparison, the Jersey City School District had a Total Spending of $21,824, with a charter school funding level range of 53% to 86%. The large variation in Jersey City’s charter school spending is significant, and requires further investigation

Newark

Newark had 13 charter schools operating in 2010,with a Total Spending range of $12,423 to $17,915, a difference of $5,492 per pupil. In comparison, the Newark Public Schools had a Total Spending of $22,992, with a charter school funding level range of 54%to 78%. Although Newark’s variation was less than other former-Abbott districts, it still is significant to require further investigation.

Paterson

Paterson’s two charter schools in 2010 had a Total Spending range of $12,606 to $13,031, a difference of only $425 per pupil. In comparison, the Paterson School District had a Total Spending of $20,229, with a charter school funding level range of 62% to 64%. Paterson funds their charter schools at similar levels.

Plainfield

Plainfield’s three charter schools in 2010 had a Total Spending range of $13,039 to $13,620, a difference of only $581 per pupil. In comparison, the Plainfield School District had a Total Spending of $19,572, with a charter school funding level range of 67% to70%. Plainfield funds their charter schools at similar levels.

Trenton

There were six charter schools operating in Trenton in 2010, which had a Total Spending range of $13,559 to $18,674, a difference of $5,115 per pupil. In comparison, the Trenton Public School District had a Total Spending of $21,038, with a charter school funding level range of 64% to 89%. The large variation in Trenton’s charter school spending is significant, and requires further investigation

Conclusion

There is still much more we need to learn about charter schools, and this quick analysis highlights the large range of funding levels between charter schools and their host districts. Although all charter schools have a Total Spending less than their host districts, there are still many questions on whether this constitutes actual taxpayer savings (since former-Abbott districts receive a SFRA-language 2% annual increase in funding) and whether the addition of 100 new charter schools on an already large fragmented system will have long term consequences.

But on the surface, many charter schools spend only 65% of what it costs for the public schools, making this education option taxpayer-friendly.

Comparing Charter Schools Per-Pupil Costs

MunicipalityCharter School NameTotal SpendingBudgeted CostsHost District Total SpendingHost District Budgeted CostsCharter Funding %
Asbury ParkHope Academy CS$16,546 $11,743 $29,819 22,09055%
Atlantic CityOceanside CSn/a$24,142 18,248n/a
BlairstownRidge and Valley CS$14,774 $11,821 multiple districts
CamdenCamden Academy Charter HS$19,724 $12,388 $23,770 19,11883%
CamdenCamden's Pride Charter School$11,784 $8,846 50%
CamdenCamden's Promise CS$22,222 $14,142 93%
CamdenD.U.E. Season CS$13,990 $10,759 59%
CamdenEnvironment Community CS$12,525 $9,243 53%
CamdenFreedom Academy CS$18,173 $15,402 76%
CamdenInstitute of Excellence Charter$10,244 $9,139 43%
CamdenLEAP Academy University CS$15,884 $11,153 67%
CliftonClassical Academy CS of Clifton$8,383 $7,213 $15,007 11,41756%
East OrangeEast Orange Community CS$14,885 $12,197 $23,811 18,35863%
East OrangePride Academy Charter School$15,322 $11,649 64%
EnglewoodEnglewood on the Palisades CS$16,096 $14,072 $22,435 16,19772%
GallowayGalloway Community CS$15,080 $12,113 $17,037 12,83489%
GarfieldBergen Arts and Sciences CS$11,184 $9,895 $18,629 13,70686%
HamiltonPace CS of Hamilton$12,763 $10,219 $14,777 9,89886%
HobokenElysian CS of Hoboken$15,721 $13,750 $24,092 15,58665%
HobokenHoboken CS$17,118 $15,293 $24,092 15,58671%
IrvingtonBurch Charter School of Excellence$14,213 $11,806 $22,855 17,33762%
Jersey CityC.R.E.A.T.E. CSn/a$21,824 17,303n/a
Jersey CityJersey City Comm. CS$14,287 $11,025 65%
Jersey CityJersey City Golden Door CS$13,018 $10,061 60%
Jersey CityLearning Community CS$11,525 $8,294 53%
Jersey CityLiberty Academy CS$16,453 $13,466 75%
Jersey CitySchomburg CS$18,818 $11,957 86%
Jersey CitySoaring Heights CS$14,029 $10,042 64%
Jersey CityThe Ethical Community Chartern/an/a
Jersey CityUniversity Academy HS CS$13,260 $11,046 61%
Lake ComoAcademy Charter High School$18,691 $16,461 multiple districts
Morris TwpUnity CS$15,979 $13,236 multiple districts
New BrunswickGreater Brunswick CS$14,831 $11,491 $21,076 15,71970%
NewarkAdelaide L. Sandford CS$13,795 $11,689 $22,992 18,08860%
NewarkDiscovery CS$14,745 $11,583 64%
NewarkGray CS$15,995 $13,651 70%
NewarkGreater Newark CS$16,072 $12,761 70%
NewarkLady Liberty Academy CS$16,747 $12,783 73%
NewarkMaria L. Varisco-Rogers CS$12,423 $10,655 54%
NewarkMarion P. Thomas CS$16,098 $13,522 70%
NewarkNew Horizons Comm. CS$14,489 $10,909 63%
NewarkNewark Educators Charter Schooln/an/a
NewarkNorth Star Acad. CS of Newark$16,723 $13,310 73%
NewarkRobert Treat Academy CS$16,193 $13,306 70%
NewarkTEAM Academy Charter School$17,915 $14,987 78%
NewarkUniversity Heights CS$17,240 $13,620 75%
PatersonCommunity Charter School of Paterson$12,606 $10,124 $20,229 15,40962%
PatersonPaterson CS for Sci/Tech$13,031 $11,654 64%
PlainfieldCentral Jersey Arts CS$13,039 $11,336 $19,572 16,15567%
PlainfieldQueen City Academy CS$13,480 $11,474 69%
PlainfieldUnion County TEAMS CS$13,620 $11,426 70%
PleasantvillePleasanTech Academy CS$14,732 $11,569 $20,753 16,10071%
PrincetonPrinceton CS$14,396 $11,843 $22,536 16,86564%
Red BankThe Red Bank CS$15,911 $12,487 $19,934 14,21480%
RoeblingRiverbank Charter School of Ex$14,146 $9,500 multiple districts
Somers PointchARTer~TECH HIGH SCHOOL$16,594 $14,324 multiple districts
SomersetCentral Jersey College Prep CS$15,762 $13,629 multiple districts
SpartaSussex County CS for Technology$13,848 $12,526 multiple districts
TeaneckTeaneck Community CS$16,614 $14,138 $22,942 17,32572%
TrentonEmily Fisher CS of Adv. Studies$18,674 $15,215 $21,038 16,25989%
TrentonFoundation Academy CS$14,424 $12,113 69%
TrentonInternational CS of Trenton$17,391 $14,088 83%
TrentonPaul Robeson Humanities CS$13,559 $11,161 64%
TrentonTrenton Community CS$16,502 $13,257 78%
TrentonVillage CS$15,754 $12,756 75%
VinelandVineland Public Charter School$10,710 $7,386 $17,843 14,01460%

 

This article was first published by InTheLobby.net. To download a copy, click here.

 

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Trackbacks

Leave a Trackback