Some charter schools get millions in donations; others, almost nothing
Eight of the District’s 60 public charter schools raised nearly 75 percent of all charitable funds that went to such schools in the city between 2012 and 2014, highlighting a serious inequity between schools that raised millions of dollars and many that raised little or none.
Just three public charter schools — KIPP DC, Maya Angelou and E.L. Haynes — reported nearly half of all fundraising dollars that went to the city’s charter schools over the three-year period, according to the D.C. Public Charter Board’s most recent financial audit. In total, those three schools combined averaged $14.5 million in donations each year from 2012 to 2014; the average annual donations for all 60 charter schools over that time frame was $29 million.
Many charter school leaders see fundraising as an important way to advance their missions. Charitable dollars are seen as a key way to bolster their budgets as they work to build adequate school facilities and offer competitive teacher salaries. But records show a significant inequity in how much money the city’s charters receive from donors.
Although seven schools reported at least $1 million in donations in fiscal 2014, at least 20 schools reported less than $100,000. The charter schools reporting income range from small, individual schools to large networks serving thousands of students. Some charter organizations have senior leadership positions or entire teams dedicated to fundraising.
Ramona Edelin, executive director of the DC Association of Chartered Public Schools, said there is a limited number of national funders investing in charter schools, and they tend to prefer a certain kind of school with a strong focus on college preparation.
“It’s ironic that the rallying cry is that one size doesn’t fit all and that’s why we need charter schools, but funders are interested in one kind of school,” Edelin said.
A University of Arkansas study found a “highly skewed distribution” of charter school funding more broadly, with 95 percent of all recorded charter school philanthropy in 15 states going to schools that enrolled just one-third of all charter students. At the same time, more than a third of charter schools reported no philanthropic support of any kind.
Charter schools, which serve 44 percent of public school students in the Some charter schools get millions in donations; others, almost nothing - The Washington Post: