“The Independent Budget Office’s (IBO) new study puts to rest charges that charter schools pull a disproportionate share of funding away from other public schools. The reverse is actually true. Charters located in public school buildings receive $300 to $900 less per student per year than district schools, and charters located in private space receive $3,000 less per student than district schools.
“The IBO study validates the City’s policy of offering public space to charter schools in an attempt to provide charter school students with the same resources as their peers in other public schools. Until the state’s funding formula is revised and charter schools are eligible for capital dollars like other schools, we will continue to work with communities and parents across the City to find space for new charters when it is available and presents the right fit with other schools in a building.
“All of our public school students, whether they attend charter schools or district schools, deserve a high-quality education. Despite the financial handicaps detailed in the IBO study, charter schools in New York City have been exceptionally effective. Charter school students outperform students in district schools by seven points in both reading and math, and, in one of two recent studies establishing the effectiveness of City charters, researchers found that the longer students remain in our charter schools, the higher their achievement is compared to similar students in district schools.
“I thank the Independent Budget Office for its analysis of this complicated and contested issue.”
**A copy of Chancellor Klein’s detailed response to the IBO report, including a discussion of areas where the DOE’s findings differed from the IBO’s, is attached. The IBO report may be accessed at http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/charterschoolsfeb2010.pdf.