Abstract
Are New Jersey charter schools underfunded relative to district schools? Advocates’ claims that charter schools are receiving almost 50% less than they should convinced the Christie Administration and the New Jersey Legislature to shift an additional $107.6 million from school districts to charter schools for the combined 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years. However, claims of dramatic underfunding of charter schools are based on faulty comparisons and are not accurate. The reality of charter school funding is much more complicated than advocates suggest. There are differences in the per-pupil funding levels of individual charter schools, just as there are differences in funding levels among school districts. However, all New Jersey charter schools are receiving at least what they should under the state’s charter school law. And, some charter schools are actually funded at higher levels than their sending school districts, particularly when considering their much less expensive to educate student populations. The confusion surrounding charter school funding is understandable given the complexity of the charter school funding formula and the fact that the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) does not make charter school funding information easily accessible to the public. For example, there is no charter equivalent of the User Friendly Budget Summaries, which the NJDOE makes available for each school district. The NJDOE also does not make public the charter aid summaries, which show the amount of funding that each charter school receives from each sending school district and how that amount is calculated. In contrast, the NJDOE publishes detailed aid summaries for all school districts. This report helps dispel the confusion around charter school funding by providing a detailed explanation of the mechanics of that funding. The report does so in part by examining several specific school districts. The first district—Jersey City—was selected because it is home to a large number of charter schools. Jersey City also is frequently singled out as having particularly inequitable charter school funding. Several Jersey City charter schools have even filed a lawsuit challenging the amount of funding that they receive from the district. The second district—Red Bank—was selected because it is home to a charter school that draws students only from that school district and serves the same grade span as the district, facilitating a more direct comparison of district and charter school funding. The Red Bank case study helps highlight some of the methodological challenges of such comparisons. This report also examines trends related to charter and district student demographic composition in the nine districts with the largest charter school enrollments. Appendixes A, B, and C to the report provide additional specifics about New Jersey’s charter school funding, including facility funding. The report concludes with policy and research recommendations.