The past 30 years have witnessed significant changes in the way we educate our kids. Many of today’s parents are not familiar with the way charter schools work because these schools weren’t a viable option when they were children. It’s understandable that parents have questions. Frequently voiced questions are: How are they funded? Who pays for a charter school education?
Let’s take a look at how this is done. We’ll zoom in on three specific questions:
- Do charter schools charge tuition?
- Does the dollar follow the student from school to school?
- How much money is spent per student in charter schools?
Charter School Funding
Beginning in 1994, the Legislature of Arizona established charter schools to offer parents and students an alternate approach to education than traditional public schools. Charter schools emerged to provide students with diverse insights, to match distinct learning styles, and to offer more in-depth courses of study than those already existing in district schools. Examples include Montessori schools, classical education schools, and STEM-based learning.
Because charter schools and district schools both receive their funding from federal and state governments, charter schools do not charge tuition, and are free of cost for students to attend.
Charter schools are subject to the governing policies of the Arizona Department of Education. They are defined as public schools under Arizona law (A.R.S. §15-101(3)). As with district schools, they are legal entities with legal responsibilities, independent of their operators.
Some differences in school funding do exist, however. At the local level, charter schools miss out on the 16.2% local property taxes that district schools receive. Additionally, they’re denied the opportunity to procure operating and building funds via local elections. To offset this disparity, Arizona legislature provides charter schools up to $2,000 more per pupil in “equalization dollars”.
In both types of schools, the amount of government funds they receive is dependent upon the number of students enrolled, with the greatest portion of finances coming from the state. Our federal government also provides money for individuals with disabilities, language learning for students from non-English speaking homes, and funding for families with low incomes such as the free lunch program.
Further financial assistance is provided by:
- Charter Additional Assistance (CAA), for capital needs and supplies.
- The Arizona Community Foundation for after-school activities, literacy programs, and community engagement.
- The Walton Family Foundation grants for school startups and facilities.
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for student achievement programs.
- Local businesses, community organizations, and corporate sponsorships.
Does the Dollar Follow the Student?
Traditional district schools and charter schools receive government funds based on the number of students enrolled in their schools. Thus, when students move out of district schools and into charter schools, the money that supports them follows them.
Parents have expressed concern that the move to charter schools causes district schools to lose money. However, it’s worth remembering that traditional schools may raise the money they receive from local voting, whereas charter schools may not. With votes, school districts can raise money for construction and operational expenditures, but charter schools cannot.
In 2023, on average, charter schools received $0.81 cents on every dollar that a district school received from public funding. While the amount of money received by each school isn’t equal, the model does show us that “the dollar follows the student”. In this way, we can be assured that our children are receiving the funds they need for a quality education.
Amount of Money Spent per Student in Charter Schools
We’ve seen how both charter and district schools are funded by our government based on the enrollment in each school. Now let’s take a look at school spending comparisons.
Expenditures made, per pupil, in the school year 2021-2022 by Arizona’s unified school districts and charter schools are shown below:
| Unified Districts | Charter Schools | |
| Classroom instruction: | $5,962 | $4,649 |
| Classroom supplies: | $301 | $389 |
| *Administration: | $1,076 | $2,050 |
| Student Support Services: | $980 | $570 |
| Other Services: | $2,742 | $1,837 |
| **Total Expenditures: | $11,062 | $9,495 |
*Total administrative expenditures for unified districts is 22.7% more than for charter schools. However, the ADM (average daily member) of charter school students is only 40% of unified schools. Thus, the breakdown of administrative expenditures per student is more for charter schools. (Details can be found on page 47 of the Arizona Department of Education Annual Report). Administrative expenditures include funds for the district office, superintendents, CFO, principals, clerical staff, directors of departments, counseling, and record maintenance.
**Despite having less funding per student, Arizona’s charter schools surpassingly outperform the state’s average graduation rate: 77% is the state average, while 84.5% is the average for charter schools.
A Brighter Future
Despite the similarities and differences between funding methods for charter and district school education, the bottom line is you do not have to pay tuition for your children’s education in Arizona’s K-12 charter schools.
As parents today, you can enjoy the luxury of choosing the type of school that best suits your scholar’s needs and aptitudes. In this way, our students have the opportunity for optimal learning, which in turn, grants us all with a well-educated future society.