June 29, 2010

Press Release:

Reasons for school funding gap add up

Charter Schools receive less because traditional schools must offer more

Policy Brief:

Equal or Fair? A Study of Revenues and Expenditures in American Charter Schools

Gary Miron and Jessica L. Urschel Western Michigan University

This report is the most comprehensive to date on the question of whether charter schools are inadequately funded compared with traditional public schools. Miron and Urschel find that though charter schools typically do get less funding than traditional public schools, this is primarily because traditional schools have additional obligations including special education, student support services, food and transportation services which charter schools do not provide (or spend less on).

Executive Summary
Policy Brief