Charters drain funds from other students, board chairwoman says
Charter schools are expected to siphon about $40 million from the Metro Nashville school budget next year, school board Chairwoman Cheryl Mayes said, leaving the district with a shortfall close to $30 million.
The Metro school board spent several hours Tuesday discussing charter schools in two separate meetings, and the discussion in both centered on the financial impact. Much of the talk took place with one eye on the state legislature, which is weighing a measure to bypass local school districts in authorizing charter schools.
Board members expressed concern about the anticipated shortfall that will be created by the growth of existing charter schools and the opening of several more in the next school year. Each Nashville student is allocated $9,100 in educational funding from a combination of state and local money, but that money follows a student from a traditional public school to a charter school.
While the funding moves with the student, expenses in the traditional school he or she left remain about the same, board