Fiscal Impacts of Charter Schools: Lessons from New York

Robert Bifulco () and Randall Reback ()
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Robert Bifulco: Center for Policy Research, Syracuse University

Education Finance and Policy, 2014, vol. 9, issue 1, 86-107

Abstract: This brief argues that charter school programs can have direct fiscal impacts on school districts for two reasons. First, operating two systems of public schools under separate governance arrangements can create excess costs. Second, charter school financing policies can distribute resources to or away from districts. Using the city school districts of Albany and Buffalo in New York, we demonstrate how fiscal impacts on local school districts can be estimated. We find that charter schools have had fiscal impacts on these two school districts. Finally, we argue that charter schools policies should seek to minimize any avoidable excess costs created by charter schools and ensure that the burden of any unavoidable excess costs is equitably distributed across traditional public schools, charter schools, and the state. We offer concrete policy recommendations that may help to achieve these objectives. © 2014 Association for Education Finance and Policy

Keywords: charter schools; fiscal policy; New York (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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