BuckeyeBlog

Public charter schools have been under attack in Ohio since their creation in the ’90s. People and organizations who benefit from the status quo have worked overtime to either regulate or intimidate charters out of business. With the new anti-freedom, big government candidates that voters swept into office in Ohio and nationwide, expect the attacks against charter schools to increase with fervor.

In light of this expected negative climate for school choice, a new and timely report from the Buckeye Institute was unveiled last Friday. Matthew Carr and I have researched the numbers from the Ohio Department of Education’s own documents and found that, contrary to opponents’ claims, charters are INCREASING per pupil funding in each of the Big 8 schools. Additionally, if anti-school choicers succeed at their ultimate goal, eliminating charters altogether, property owners can expect substantial tax increases in Ohio’s urban districts.

The report includes data showing:

• Local property tax dollars do NOT fund charter schools;
• Each of the big 8 districts gain in per pupil funding for each child who leaves for a charter because while the state dollars go to the charters, the local dollars that remain are higher than the state dollars they lose, resulting in net per pupil gains;
• Property owners in the Big 8 districts can expect to see attempts to raise their taxes in order to maintain current per pupil funding levels if charters fail and kids return to the public schools; and
• Tax increases just to maintain funding would range from $300 to over $3,000 a year for a $100,000 home.

To see the complete report, look here.