The Maryland State Board of Education voted unanimously yesterday to issue revised charter school funding regulations that will siphon an estimated $19 million from Baltimore City’s traditional public schools and shift an unfair share of costs away from charter operators and onto the students who need the most support.
The state’s revised proposal, now entering a 90-day public comment period, contradicts a decision of the State Board from last year that ensured both traditional and charter schools contributed fairly to the cost of serving vulnerable students with special needs, as well as to basic administrative functions such as payroll, legal services, and retirement funding. These longstanding rules protected equitable funding for all students; the proposed revision would eliminate that balance.
Baltimore City Public Schools has more charter schools than all the other school districts in Maryland combined, making these changes especially damaging. The revised proposal arbitrarily allows charter school operators to avoid paying their fair share to support young people in our city.
This action by the State Board will have serious and debilitating funding consequences for traditional schools. Under the proposal, traditional schools will lose $323 per pupil, while charter students stand to gain $1,283 per pupil. The impact is stark. When comparing two schools with 800 students, the traditional school stands to lose 2.5 classroom teachers while the charter school will gain 10.
Yesterday’s decision is incredibly disappointing. We participated in the State Board’s process in good faith; however, today’s action represents arbitrary compromises rather than thoughtful policymaking. This decision would create untenable inequities for our traditional school students.
To learn more or to contact the Maryland State Board of Education, visit its website.