Dive Brief:
- An Ohio education activist group, the Greater Cincinnati School Advocacy Network, is fighting back against the state’s support for and expansion of charter schools.
- The group, which includes school administrators, says the schools are siphoning money away from traditional schools while lacking adequate oversight or accountability.
- School districts in the Cincinnati area have lost numerous kids to charter schools in recent years, with Mason City Schools reportedly losing 77 this year.
Dive Insight:
Ohio’s charter providers have received national attention for gaps in state oversight and for the low performance of the rapidly expanding online sector. The increased scrutiny comes on the heels of 14 years of expansion, which GCSAN says has had devastating impacts on traditional schools and districts. For example, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Mason City Schools handed over an extra $432,317 to charters for the 77 students previously mentioned, but only received $192,577 in state funding for them, forcing the district to make up the difference.
Other states with growing charter sectors are tackling similar questions as schools originally intended as testing grounds for new ideas now compete with other public schools for students. In Denver, parent groups and local teacher unions have argued against the city’s charter growth, saying it takes students and funds away from traditional options. But it’s not clear that those objections have done much to slow the spread as many parents continue to select the schools for their children.