Charter Schools vs. Public Schools
Are they being funded equally? What do you think?
The history of Alberta’s Charter School Journey:
Charter schools were set up as experimental schools. They were to trial programs that would potentially be able to be integrated into public schools. When they were first envisioned, they were capped at fifteen in the province. Many people see them as public schools as they are fully funded for tuition.
Different school jurisdictions chose to deal with this in various ways. CBE chose to let them be a separate entity. At the same time, EPSB integrated them into their programming. Charter schools have a specific focus: sports, dance, arts, music, science, technology, special needs programs, and agriculture etc.
They can pick and choose who they allow to enroll. Often, there is a criterion to be able to participate in these programs; academic, talent, and behavior are the big three. They have strong parental participation requirements, including fundraising. They can also charge extra fees for the programming they offer.
Charter schools offer many advantages to families. They often have smaller class sizes and more resources. In the past, they would be housed in closed public schools; now, the government is building Charter Schools as part of its School Building Acceleration Plan.
Their staff is certified but is not part of the ATA. They would be paid less potentially to allow the schools to offer smaller class sizes, more perks for the families, such as clubs etc.
Today, there are 37 charter schools in Alberta. In 2023-24, there were 12,807 students enrolled in Charter schools.
Let’s compare a Charter School to a Public School in Edmonton.
Suzuki Charter School
https://www.suzukischool.ca/
https://www.suzukischool.ca/download/512692
If they are unable to provide adequate programming for a student because of behavior or physical/medical/learning needs, they can choose not to enrol a student in their program.
They received $4,243,364 in funding from the Alberta Government last year. They had 343 students enrolled last year in Grades 1 -9 and 50 kindergarten students. They are allowed to cap their enrollment. $4,234,364/343 + 25 (the kinders are ½ day students so 50 kinders would = 25 full time students) = $11,530
Hardisty School
https://hardisty.epsb.ca/
https://files.epsb.ca/budgets/0512.pdf
They have to accept everyone in their catchment area and provide instruction for any student who comes through their door. They have a LOGOS program, Extensions, Interactions, and Individual Support programs. They had a total of 476 students (weighted 687 because they receive more funding for special needs program students) but let’s just work with the 476 students to simplify things.
They received $4,158,342 in funding from EPSB, who are funded by the Alberta Government. $4,158,342/476 students = $8,736/student
So how does that work out? Suzuki School $11,530 - Hardisty School $8,736 = $2,793 less per public school student. Much less than what the Alberta Government says they pay $13,494/student in Alberta. What do you think?
This is from the United States and shows some of the advantages and drawbacks of Charter Schools
https://finanssenteret.as/en/charter-schools-how-do-they-raise-money/
This Economic Note was prepared by Krystle Wittevrongel, Director of Research at the MEI, and Emmanuelle B. Faubert, Economist at the MEI. The MEI’s Education Series aims to explore the extent to which greater institutional autonomy and freedom of choice for students and parents lead to improvements in the quality of educational services.
https://www.iedm.org/more-choice-better-results-building-on-charter-school-success-in-alberta/
Alberta Views article on Charter schools:
This is a good analysis of Charter and Private Schools.
https://www.supportourstudents.ca/privatization-and-charter-schools.html
PDF article re: Charter Schools from the Fraser Institute.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_x2MdFeuad01GryoM436kC8EsutegytM/view?usp=drivesdk
Here is the information from Alberta Education.
https://www.alberta.ca/public-charter-schools
# of charter schools in Alberta
# of students in charter schools in Alberta
Agreed, this could be avoided, but she is determined to undermine public institutions to privatize and enrich the elites as quickly as possible. We need to work together to let the people know.
I hear you, that's why we have to keep pointing it out so that we collectively can demand better and support our public systems.