In one NC county, concern about charter school growth has become a reality | Opinion
In 1997, North Carolina allowed the opening of publicly funded charter schools in hopes that the less-regulated schools would be laboratories of innovation that would find more effective ways to teach children.
Three decades later, some charter schools are doing just that. But much of the spirit of innovation that drove the charter school movement has been dissipated by a lack of state oversight and an unbalanced approach to where and how charter schools open.
In 2011, the Republican-controlled General Assembly lifted a 100-school cap on charter schools. There are now more than 200 of the publicly funded elementary and secondary schools run by nonprofit organizations. Charter schools, some of which partner with for-profit groups, are exempt from statutes and rules required of school districts, such as providing students with transportation or free or reduced lunches, or being staffed by certified teachers.
Rather than enhancing public education, the proliferation of charter schools is undermining traditional district schools by diverting their funding. Durham Public Schools are a dramatic example.
Durham County has more than a dozen charter schools, plus more in the greater metro area and virtual charters that serve students statewide. As charter school enrollment has increased in Durham, the number of students attending district schools has declined. Charter schools are not solely responsible for the decline. Falling birth rates, reduced immigration and more students choosing private schools or homeschooling also contribute, but the movement to charter schools is still the main drain.
This year, the district expected 21%, or 8,288, of Durham public school students to attend charter schools. Instead, the share rose to 23%, or 8,945. The increase means the district must send an additional $4.7 million in local funds to charter schools while still carrying the fixed costs related to operating its school buildings and providing food and transportation.
School boards should have control over how many charter schools are set up in a district or have access to local students. So many Durham children are attending physical or virtual charter schools that the district must transfer the state per-student funding for those students to dozens of charter schools. Overall, Durham Public Schools anticipates that for this school year it will pay $51 million in local funds to 56 charter schools that enroll children who are Durham County residents.
At a Durham school board meeting last month, board member Natalie Beyer expressed exasperation at yet again having to boost the funding that is diverted to charter schools. She noted that Durham city and county schools merged in 1992 to combine resources for education. Now those resources are being scattered.
“We merged separate-but-unequal school systems in Durham because we believe in the rich diversity of schools and children coming together to learn, and we believe in equity, and we believe that we do better together,” Beyer said.
Anthony Lewis, Durham’s superintendent of schools, said the district will seek to bring more charter students back to district schools by “dispelling the myth that charter equals better.” He said 89% of Durham’s district schools met or exceeded growth goals, compared to 71% of charter schools serving Durham residents.
Meanwhile, a new report from the advocacy group Public Schools First NC says many charter schools are not generating improved student results. “Despite their claims and despite enjoying a comparatively loose regulatory regime, charter schools are generally no more likely to be ‘high performing’ than regular public schools,” the report says.
At the same time, the report adds, many charter schools are prone to financial mismanagement and abruptly shutting down. Since North Carolina started allowing charter schools, it said, nearly a third have closed. The report calls for the state to conduct closer scrutiny of the viability and performance of charter schools, which collectively received more than $1.1 billion is state funds in 2024-25.
Rhonda Dillingham, executive director the NC Association for Public Charter Schools, said that charter schools are public schools, and their increase reflects public demand for alternatives to district schools. The Trump administration in September awarded more than $50 million to her group to expand the number of charter school seats in North Carolina.
“As long as there is interest and desire on the part of the community, and parents in particular, we need to be responsive to that,” she said. “Students don’t all learn the same.”
But Dillingham said it would be better if district schools and charter schools cooperated instead of competed. “There needs to be a spirit of collaboration between districts and charters that focuses on the best interests of the students rather than pitting the two against each other,” she said.
That’s a fine sentiment, and that’s what was originally intended. Parents want more options for their children’s education, but creating those options shouldn’t weaken traditional public schools.
Republican lawmakers took the lid off charter schools. Now they need to put more controls on the quality of those schools and their impact on school districts. School choice shouldn’t diminish the choice that parents make most for their children – a district public school.
Associate opinion editor Ned Barnett can be reached at 919-404-7583, or nbarnett@newsobserver.com
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