Clarifying charter school funding amid budget cuts
Your recent article describing Newport’s effort to cut $2.2 million from its school budget highlights the real financial strain facing many New Hampshire districts. The loss of staff and programs hurts everyone, especially the most vulnerable families. Communities are right to demand that the state meet its constitutional responsibility to adequately fund public education.
While the article accurately depicts New Hampshire’s funding crisis, it notes that rather than increasing state funding, the state has approved the growth of charter schools and Education Freedom Accounts. That framing may unintentionally suggest the two function in the same way. They do not.
Charter schools in New Hampshire are public schools established under RSA 194-B. They are tuition-free, non-sectarian, and open to all students. They are governed by public boards and subject to state oversight, accountability requirements, and financial audits.
Public charter schools are funded through the same state adequacy aid that supports district schools. That funding remains within the public school system and supports a publicly accountable school.
Education Freedom Accounts operate differently. EFAs allow state adequacy funds to be directed toward private schools, religious schools, homeschooling, and other services outside the public system. They are not public schools and are not governed under the same accountability structure.
Charter schools are not a departure from public education. They are part of it. They strengthen the system by helping ensure that more students find a public school setting where they can succeed.
If we are to have an honest conversation about school funding in New Hampshire, we must clearly distinguish between policies inside the public system and those that are not, and ensure the state meets its obligation to fund public education adequately for all students.
Lynne Howard, Lyme
Howard is executive director of Cornerstone Chartered Public School.