Why Some Schools Really Become Charters

January 6, 2014

By Sarah Butrymowicz

The Hechinger Report


But in some states, charter schools have increasingly become associated with something more basic yet elusive: money.

In California _ a state besieged by budget cuts, where per-pupil spending is among the lowest in the nation _ dozens of schools converted to charters in the 1990s and 2000s in search of a funding boost.

Across the country, charter schools have access to hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal startup grants. In California, up until recently, charters were given the state's average per-pupil allotment; that meant schools in districts with below-average funding could receive additional money by chartering.


Experts say many of these new charters haven't changed much about their day-to-day operations after making the switch: for instance, by making use of the autonomy over calendar and curriculum that charter schools are afforded. The experience in California has led some experts to question whether schools should be allowed to charter solely for financial gain.

"If a charter ... is just a way of infusing a school or a group of schools with additional resources, that's just a money grab," said Margaret Raymond, the director of Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes. "The charter movement doesn't accept that as a legitimate charter."





In some cases, the change is part of an effort to create a decentralized system with largely autonomous schools. But in other cases, including some California communities, charter proponents such as Stanford University's Raymond worry that when schools convert solely for the money it might muddle the definition of charters and ultimately weaken the movement. They've even taken to calling some of the conversions Chinos, for "charters in name only."

"There's a subset of these conversions that aren't charters, and we shouldn't think of them as charters," said Bryan Hassel, a co-director of Public Impact, an education reform group that works with policymakers, districts and charters. "It dilutes the concept, and so it makes it less clear what a charter school really is."


The Georgia Charter Schools Association, however, doesn't consider any of the conversion schools true charters under its definition, Executive Vice President Andrew Lewis said.

The California Charter Schools Association doesn't take so strong a stance. Wallace said he didn't view conversion schools as a "grave problem ... but it's certainly something we're watching closely."



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