States

States Rework Policies on Charter Buildings

By Katie Ash — July 25, 2013 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Several states have been working to change policies and budgeting practices to help charter schools identify and pay for better facilities.

In Idaho, education officials representing both traditional district schools and charter schools came together this year to work on a plan for equitable facilities funding for charter schools.

After a series of compromises by both district and charter groups, the final recommendation was for the state to provide 20 percent of facilities costs for charters in its per-pupil allocation the first year of the program and 30 percent the next year; after that, the funding would increase or decrease in increments of 10 percentage points, with a cap at 50 percent and a minimum of 20 percent, depending on fluctuations in the overall state education budget, said Jason Hancock, the deputy chief of staff at the Idaho education department.

“It was important to administrators that future increases in that equivalency percentage would be tied to the budget,” he said. “If charter schools were getting more money for facilities, it was because all schools were receiving more money.”

The proposal passed the legislature with minimal changes and was signed into law in April.

Meanwhile, in Tennessee’s state-run Achievement School District—which was created with $22 million from the $500 million Race to the Top grant awarded to the state in 2010—education officials are aiming to move the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools in the state into the top 25 percent of student achievement within five years.

To do so, the achievement district has relied largely on conversion charters in the low-performing schools.

Conversion charters are those that were previously a traditional public school before becoming a charter.

To cut back on the competition between charters and regular schools, the conversion charters can only pull students from schools in the Achievement School District. In exchange, the charters operate in district facilities rent-free.

“We don’t want this to be a financially adverse situation for the home district,” explained Malika Anderson, the chief portfolio officer for the 1,600-student Achievement School District.

Ballots and Bonds

In California, a series of lawsuits stemming from a 2000 ballot measure has put the state in the limelight for the charter school facility movement. The measure, Proposition 39, requires that public school facilities be “shared fairly and equally among all public schools, including those in charter schools.”

Proposition 39 has been critical in helping charters find adequate facilities, said Ricardo Soto, the senior vice president for legal advocacy and general counsel for the California Charter Schools Association. But even with the law in place, the state’s charters face challenges in securing space and paying for it, he said.

For starters, the law applies only to charter schools with more than 80 students, which not all startup charters may have, he said. Second, while Proposition 39 helps charters access facilities, it doesn’t help those charters finance the buildings.

In some California districts, such as San Diego and Los Angeles, charters have responded to that challenge by working with districts to be included in local bond measures, said Mr. Soto.

Miles Durfee, the Southern California managing regional director for the California Charter Schools Association, is helping oversee the distribution of funds to charters from a facilities bond passed in the San Diego school district last November.

“We absolutely would like to see this model explode or become bigger as we look through different local bonds,” he said. “The political nexus occurs when the voters vote for the bond. They want to vote for all students, and they have kids at charter schools.”

A version of this article appeared in the August 07, 2013 edition of Education Week as States, Districts Set Policies to Give Charters Financing for Facilities

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

States What's Behind a Legislative Push for Prayer and Bible Study in Public Schools
A Texas bill would allow schools to set aside time for students to pray and study the Bible or other religious texts.
6 min read
A Black middle or elementary student sharing her open bible with a female Asian student
E+
States What Happened to Oklahoma's Effort to Count Undocumented Students?
State leaders ended the possibility of a rule change that would have required proof of citizenship in school enrollment.
3 min read
State Superintendent Ryan Walters, right, listens during public comment at the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Oklahoma City.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters, right, listens during public comment at the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Oklahoma City.
Nick Oxford/AP Images for Human Rights Campaign
States What States Can Learn from Tennessee’s Fight Over Undocumented Students
Legislative action challenging undocumented students' right to a free, public education hit a snag in Tennessee.
3 min read
Rev. Eric Mayle, center, yells at lawmakers as a bill that would deny illegal immigrants access to education is passed in a House Education Committee hearing in Nashville, Tenn., March 26, 2025.
Rev. Eric Mayle, center, yells at lawmakers as a bill that would deny illegal immigrants access to education is passed in a House Education Committee hearing in Nashville, Tenn., March 26, 2025. The bill in question is now pending until the legislature returns to session in January 2026.
George Walker IV/AP
States Oklahoma Will Cut Funding to Districts That Don't Sign Trump's Anti-DEI Pledge
The state says it will withhold federal funds from districts that don't sign a Trump administration DEI pledge.
8 min read
Ryan Walters, Republican state superintendent candidate, speaks, June 28, 2022, in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters is pictured on June 28, 2022, in Oklahoma City when he was a candidate for the position he now holds. Walters this week told districts he would halt federal funding beginning Friday, April 25, if they don't certify they're not using diversity, equity, and inclusion programming in schools.
Sue Ogrocki/AP