Long shortchanged in state and local
funding, a majority of New Jersey's charter schools stand to see
double-digit gains under Gov. Jon Corzine's new funding plan,
according to state figures.
Payments to the 56 existing charter
schools from state and local funds are expected to rise 20 percent
overall under the plan, or about $39.6 million over last year,
according to the state.
The news had been anxiously awaited
by charter schools after their figures had been left out of previous
aid projections for Corzine's funding plan.
Under the plan's complex rules,
not all charter schools are benefiting, and some worry about potential
cuts in their programs. But for some fast-growing charters, especially
in urban districts, the additional money will be a windfall and
help make up for years of underfunding, state and school officials
said.
A chief complaint has been that
charter schools in urban areas did not receive state money that
went to districts under the Abbott v. Burke school-equity rulings.
"For years, they have not been
getting this aid that others have been receiving," Assistant Education
Commissioner Katie Attwood said. "This is money that they were
due."
The figures are based on projected
enrollments and won't be final until the fall.
TEAM Academy in Newark is expected
to get an additional $5 million, or a nearly 80 percent increase,
to help pay for the nearly 270 students the school plans to add
next year.
"This is substantially more favorable
funding for us," said Ryan Hill, director of the school that now
encompasses three different campuses. "Although we're not there
yet, it brings us closer to equity with the Newark district schools."
But the release also brought deep
worry to a handful of schools that had expected big increases
under the plan but will see far less. Several are in Hudson County,
where five of 10 charters schools will see no increases at all.
"Most of us aren't feeling the
20 percent increase, that's for sure," said Shelley Skinner, development
director for the Learning Community Charter School in Jersey City.
"We're all just flabbergasted. What does the future hold?"
The leader of the state's charter
school association said aid for many charters will not keep up
with increased enrollments, essentially leading to reduced funding
for their programs. The association's analysis showed more than
20 schools may see cuts in their per-pupil amounts.
"When there is any sort of grow
ing enrollment like they have in Jersey City, they are getting
so much less per pupil," said Jessani Gordon, director of the
New Jersey Charter Public School Association. "This is really
putting the brakes on their ability to expand."