Lee Teague: Charter school realities

In your Feb. 1 editorial “Sorry teachers – again,” you repeated a myth that charter schools “drain” money from conventional schools.

Charter school funding does come from the same pots as traditional schools. But they also “drain” 82,000 students in our state. Since charters are funded per pupil, simple math tells us that per pupil funding in conventional schools would stay the same.

Conventional students do not lose funding for their own education because their friends choose to go to public charters. They might even gain some because not all local money is shared with charters, and charters get no money for buildings.

I have heard many leaders and advocates of conventional schools espouse this myth with earnest faces. They are wrong. But, more importantly, it reflects an “us” versus “them” attitude that must change because it is hurting the education of our children.

The parents who choose to send their children to charter schools do so not because they hate conventional schools, but because they saw a better option for their child.

Improving education is a goal we all share. Most studies show charters help with that. Holding us back are the attitudes reflected in the myth you repeated.

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Lee Teague: Charter school realities."