It’s time to fix Missouri’s charter school funding system

The title of this column may give some readers a sense of déjà vu.

After all, it was only a few years ago that Missouri legislators tried to close the longstanding funding gap between the state’s charter and traditional public schools by passing House Bill 1552, which boosted funding for charters by nearly $4,000 per pupil.

That was a big win for charters – public schools that are run by non-profits rather than the government. As we document in a new study, the extra money allowed charter schools to hire more teachers and support staff and appears to have boosted teacher experience and students’ year-to-year growth in math.

Yet, despite HB 1552’s passage, our analysis shows that Missouri’s charter schools still receive about roughly 20 percent – or about $5,500 – less in total revenue per pupil than traditional public schools in the same city.

Importantly, this gap is not attributable to differences in the number of low-income students, English learners, or special education students – all groups that are typically associated with more funding. Nor is it attributable to post-pandemic differences in emergency funding from the federal government.

Rather, the biggest reason for its persistence is that traditional school districts have little to no legal obligation to share the local revenues they receive with charters, which now educate nearly half of Kansas City and St. Louis students.

Missouri’s school finance system is designed to provide public schools with a mix of local and state revenues, in addition to federal payments. However, because they aren’t taxing bodies, charters don’t receive local property tax revenue. And because enrollment in traditional public schools is declining, local funding per district pupil is increasing.

Consequently, the state must make ever larger payments to charters just to keep pace with districts like SLPS and KCPS.When HB 1552 was passed, the anticipated cost was $2,400 to $2,700 per pupil. The real cost is double that amount – and rising.

Essentially, every local tax dollar that goes to traditional public schools in Missouri’s two big cities is now matched by a state dollar that goes to charters. Simple arithmetic implies that the state’s “match rate” will increase if, as has been the case, the share of students who enroll in charters rises and the same local dollars are divided between ever fewer district students.

That’s unsustainable, given the state of Missouri’s finances.

It’s also unfair. After all, schools should be funded based on the number of students they serve, even if that means schools that are serving fewer students get less money. And of course, kids in charter schools should have the same resources and opportunities as students in traditional public schools.

As far as we can tell, only one solution accomplishes all those things simultaneously: Insist that all schools get their fair share of state and local revenues by pooling those funds. Treat every student as equally worthy of public investment. Let public dollars follow kids to the public schools of their families’ choosing.