Study: Charter schools don't burden districts

Charter schools do not unduly burden local school districts from which they draw students and state dollars, according to the Civic Federation in a report released Monday.

That counters a widely-held concern that charter schools -- or public schools of choice, as they often are called -- financially weaken local school districts.

The findings of the Chicago-based nonpartisan research group come after more than a year of study.

Prairie Crossing Charter School board President Linda Wiens said she was pleased to hear about the Civic Federation's report. She said she wishes her school had more money to spend on its students.

"There are two universals with schools (in general)," Wiens said. "They all have board problems and they all have financial problems."

When students transfer to a charter school, their allotment of the state's per-pupil funding transfers with them. Public school districts believe that hurts them financially.

A study of three charter schools, including Prairie Crossing, point to a different conclusion.

"They don't create an undue burden," Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said.

The study's authors considered Prairie Crossing and the financial toll it took on area schools, in addition to the downstate Springfield Ball Charter School and Robertson Charter School in Decatur.

Prairie Crossing receives students who would have attended Woodland Elementary District 50 or Fremont Elementary District 79. Prairie Crossing gets state money for those students.

"It points to a narrative of how, especially in the case of Prairie Crossing, how challenging it is to establish a charter school," Msall said. "Now the results indicate Prairie Crossing is not a drag on the finances of the other districts."

District 50 board members have previously stated the district is hurt because of the loss of state funding due to Prairie Crossing.

However, Superintendent Joyce Swoboda would not say whether she agreed or disagreed with the report.

"Charter schools provide an educational alternative for those families who wish to take advantage of those opportunities for their children," Swoboda said. "As a superintendent in Lake County, I am very proud of our public schools and the opportunities they offer children."

Prairie Crossing is one of the few charter schools authorized by the state.

The Illinois State Board of Education in 2003 renewed the school's charter for five more years. In the process, it required the school address recruitment of minority and low-income students, and take several administrative steps, including public access to information.