Giving Compass' Take: 

• Christy Wolfe states that the key barriers for charter schools are the maintenance of school buildings. She suggests that the government can help by altering their funding to charter schools. 

• According to Wolfe, charter schools must operate in any space they can find which are frequently expensive and sub-optimal. Can private organizations or public libraries help remedy this issue by offering up space at a minimal price? Who else can help charter schools get access to quality learning spaces? 

• Although some charter schools are seeking more funding and space, there are some that are expanding widely throughout districts. 

Charter schooling is often described in terms of the charter bargain: increased accountability in exchange for high-level autonomy. Unfortunately, in most places around the country, that bargain doesn’t include a building or funding for building expenses.

Consequently, school facilities are one of the biggest obstacles to expanding charter school options. Given that charter schools are public schools, and the federal government plays a key role in providing funds to startup charters, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has examined how federal programs and the public sector can assist charter schools with their funding and financing needs in a new paper, Strengthening Federal Investments in Charter School Facilities. Some key findings:

  • Inequitable access: Charter schools face steeper challenges in acquiring facilities than do district schools, which typically own or control their facilities and can issue tax-exempt bonds to support new construction or renovations.
  • Higher costs: Charter schools, despite being public schools, lack the options available to districts for accessing buildings and financing new ones. When a charter school wants to open or expand, it is generally on its own to find appropriate space. And once a charter school has a building, most states do not provide per-pupil funding to cover operating expenses.

But the federal government can help to remove this significant barrier to school choice and charter school growth through two key strategies:

  • Leverage federal funds to incentivize state support for charter school facilities and access public buildings
  • Reduce the cost of acquiring capital to access charter school buildings

Reforms like those above can equalize that access, enhancing what is already working well and creating new, efficient programs to ensure that all charter schools are able to access financing to meet the demands of today’s and tomorrow’s students.

Read the full article about charter school funding by Christy Wolfe at The 74.