Idahoans for Choice in Education

Expanding Educational Choice for Idaho Families

Some have suggested that charter schools are superfunded. This conclusion is valid only if you pretend there is no such thing as property taxes. Taxpayers in Idaho support public schools in two ways: state-tax funding and local property-tax funding. To ignore property-tax funding is to tell only half the story.

According to the Financial Summaries for Idaho School Districts 2002-2003 published by the Department of Education, public charter schools received $288 more per student than district schools in terms of state funding. However, charters received no local property tax funding. District schools on average received $1,940 in local property tax funding per student. The bottom line is that district schools receive $1,652, or 36 percent more, per student than charter schools when local property taxes are considered.

If charter students had attended district schools, taxpayers would have saved $897,447 in state taxes, however the same taxpayers would have paid $6,045,888 more in property taxes. The net effect is that by attending charter schools, these students saved Idaho taxpayers $5,148,441.
The next time someone claims that charter schools are superfunded, ask him to explain how saving taxpayers over $5 mi 11 ion is superfunding.

Gale Pooley, co-founder and chairman, North Star Charter School, Star

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