A Bigger Slice of the Money Pie: Charters in Colorado and Florida Win Share of Local Tax Dollars

Charter schools now educate nearly 3 million students in 43 states and the District of Columbia--more than 6 percent of the total K-12 public-school enrollment. Yet some 25 years after the first charter school opened in Minnesota, the merits of charters still incite debate among educators and the public. What is not often debated is that charter schools, which are independently run but publicly funded, generally receive less public funding per student than district-run schools. Although charters usually get equal funding from the state, they rarely have access to local supplemental funds collected by districts. After working for more than two decades to close the charter-school funding gap, charter advocates celebrated two victories in 2017 when Colorado and Florida both passed laws--the first in the country--mandating equitable access to certain local tax revenues for charter schools. It is too soon to tell whether other states will follow the lead of Colorado and Florida, but the stories of how the laws were passed in the two states remind us that across the country, the politics of charter schools and charter funding vary greatly. As these different stories demonstrate, growth doesn't necessarily lead to acceptance. In states like Colorado, where charters are perceived as public schools serving local students, advocates may find they can build bipartisan support, especially in light of traditional conservative support for charter schools and the sector's continued focus on serving disadvantaged, urban students, which appeals to liberals. But in states like Florida, where charters are perceived by many as vehicles for privatization and profiteering, even as they grow in popularity with families, charter advocates are likely to face continued controversy and conflict.