By Kathryn Hickok
Charter schools are public schools, but students attending Oregon charter schools receive a fraction of the public education funding allocated to regular district school students. According to the Oregon Coalition of Community Charter Schools, charter school funding works out to about 48% of regular district schools’ per-pupil funding. It’s time to address this disparity so that charter schools—which successfully meet the academic and social needs of so many children—have the wherewithal to serve their students well.
House Bill 3444, which received a hearing in the House Committee on Education March 12, would allow charter students to receive 95% of the ADMw (per-pupil funding) provided by the State School Fund. It also would permit charter schools to have access to other forms of funding currently restricted to district public schools, and help charters provide transportation services to their students. These changes would allow education funding to better “follow the child” to the schools of their choice and expand education options available to Oregon families.
Charter schools play an important role in Oregon’s education landscape. They offer local communities more diversity among their public school options and give educators opportunities to use their talents in innovative learning environments. Oregon education policies should value all options that empower students to achieve academic proficiency and reach their personal best, including Oregon charter schools.
Kathryn Hickok is Executive Vice President at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization, and Director of Cascade’s Children’s Scholarship Fund-Oregon program.
