Release the Student Hostages

The anti-charter school campaign in MA maintains that voting for the ballot initiative and increasing the number of charter schools will drain $400 million from public schools.  First point: charter schools ARE public schools.

The Department of Ed website specifies how school districts with students who leave and go to charters are given state aid to offset the cost of sending that student to a charter.

When a student leaves a district for a charter school the state reimburses that district for 100% of the tuition cost charged to the district by the charter school for that one student in the first year the student leaves.  So in that first year the losing district does not have a student to educate but the districts gets every penny it has to send to the student's new charter school for his/her tuition.  In year 2 of the student's move to the charter the district that lost the student gets a reimbursement from the state of 25% of the tuition cost.  To be clear: in year 2 the losing district no longer has to educated the student who has gone to the charter school yet the district gets 25% of the tuition that the district has to pay to the charter; no student to educate, 25% of the money that leaves the district paid back to the district by the state.  

This continues for 5 years after the student departs.  100% reimbursement to the district in year 1, 25% reimbursement in years 2-6.  At the end of 6 years the legislation assumes the district who lost the student 6 years ago will have adjusted their costs to accommodate the lower enrollment brought on by students leaving to go to charters.  At that point the district losing students does not have to pay any money to educate the students who are gone yet the district is collecting taxes from its residents to educated students it does not have enrolled in its system.  It is that money that the district sends to the charter school who is now educating students who live in the district but are not going to the districts' schools.

So, will increasing the number of charter schools drain $400 million from public schools?  Yes, probably, but it will not drain any money away from well-functioning school districts where students' parents believe the education is worthy, where kids are not leaving in droves for better charter schools.  It will affect failing school districts with horrible teachers and poorly managed administrations.   And the money it "drains" away is money a district gets in taxes but does not need for students it no longer educates.

Since the teachers union won't give up tenure and let taxpayers (via their district administrations) fire bad teachers, charter schools are the counterpunch.  You don't get to have guaranteed employment disconnected from your performance AND guaranteed revenue flowing into your failing, horrible school.  You have to pick:  no tenure & better district schools where good teacher stay and bad teachers go, OR keep your tenure and release your student hostages.