States are as different as charters schools are from one another. In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin School Board Association has been a strong supporter since the inception of Charter School law in 1993. In fact, they partnered with former Governor Tommy Thomas (Health & Soc. Serv. Secretary) to pass charter law. Relative to the financial issue,
I conducted telephone interviews with 25 Wisconsin administratrors and asked the question, what would it take for a charter school to be approved in your district? Overwhelmingly, administrators said, planners need to present a sound proposal with a financial plan that addresses sustainability and the impact of the charter on the school district. The reality is that the greatest impact of charters on school districts is financial (Horn & Miron, 1999). Addressing the concern that a new charter school will hurt current programs while presenting a plan demonstrating that the new charter school can sustain itself appeared to be a strong suggestion for petition success. One superintendent shared:
Make sure that the cost for start up can [be] incorporated into the district without having to take something away. Something that we can accommodate within our budget and that the [new charter school] can maintain itself within the budget developed.
We are planning to bring authorizers together to look at allocation of existing resources. School administrators use the receipt of federal charter school grant funds through the Department of Public Instruction to leverage the approval of a charter. We have multiple district charters in rural areas to make them fiscally viable. We plan to bring together those districts with multiple charters with those who have never chartered to talk about how those who chartered school managed it financially. School administrators are using charters to increase membership, through open enrollment, and by attracting homeschoolers back into the public school fray. School administrators are leading the charter school movement in our state and making use of federal charter school grant funds to pay for programming they would not otherwise be able to offer as an option to parents and children
Posted as a reply to:
In Maine...One of the last states by Cheryl Saliwanchik-Brown
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