Charter/District budget battle

by David Safier

The Rs planned to cut $144 million in soft capital funding from district schools. The snafu Thursday only delayed the move.

But now some legislators are asking, Why aren't charter schools feeling the budget ax as well?

Here is among the lamest reasons imaginable for not making cuts to charters.

Crandall said after speaking with the governor’s office and House leadership Thursday about the cuts, staff assured him there would be plenty of cuts coming around to all schools.

“They said it was easier to do it this way right now,” he said. “Whoever didn’t get cut now will be cut in January or February.”

Easier. Right. If they wanted equal cuts to charters, they could have written it in without much trouble. If "easier" means "easier to get R votes without even more of a struggle," that I can understand. But it makes me think charters will be spared some of the pain, even later on.

I've been trying to wrap my head around school financing, and it isn't easy. Here's what I understand, both from the Guardian article and my own attempts to learn more about the byzantine art of school financing.

"Soft capital" is for stuff like computers and textbooks and other supply-type items. Charters don't get soft capital money specifically. But written into charter financing is something called "additional assistance" money, a lump sum which is roughly equivalent to what district schools get in a number of designated areas. So it's true, charters don't get "soft capital" dollars by that name, but they get the money.

The argument will continue, of course, including the favorite Goldwater Institute canard about district schools getting $9,500 per student while charters get $7,500. We'll see how it all plays out.