OPINION

Opinion: Charter schools should be funded equally

Erin Mihulka and Paulette Hansen

Charter public schools are not funded fairly in Colorado. This is a problem that has long deserved the attention of our state legislators. Now they have the chance to vote for fairness.

I’m a taxpayer and a parent. When taxpayers go to the ballot and agree to support their local school district through a mill levy override (MLO), there’s an expectation that this money will be shared equally with all schools — and all students — in the community. MLOs are voter-approved property tax increases that fund school operational expenses such as personnel or programming.

The reality in Colorado, though, is that only 12 school districts equally share the funding they receive from MLOs with the charter public schools in their district, according to the Colorado League of Charter Schools. As a result, charter public school students receive, in aggregate, about $20 million less in MLO funding than children in traditional public schools across the state.

Poudre School District received funds from a MLO during the 2015-16 academic year. However, the district shared less than half of what children in its four charter public schools should have received based on the percentage of district students they serve. This means that charter public school students received an estimated $1.4 million less than children in traditional public schools in the district.

My sons attend Liberty Common Elementary and Liberty Common High School, which are charter public schools in Fort Collins. All children are different; we consider ourselves fortunate to be able to parent our children by selecting the school and curriculum we feel best suits our family.

Liberty Common’s philosophy, curriculum, character education and community have enriched our children’s lives and helped form respectable, bright boys who we are so proud of. This is very meaningful to our family — to be able to send our children to one of the most successful schools in the state and be of an average income. Yet there is always the reminder that the Liberty community has to search for ways to supplement the funding for our brilliant teachers and children because of the inequitable funding for charter public schools.

Fort Collins claims to be a choice district and supportive of parental involvement in children’s education. If that is the case, why are all public schools in the district not equally funded? Are my children less important simply because we chose Liberty Common, a charter public school, over our neighborhood school?

Paulette Hansen

Very soon, the Colorado Senate will vote on Senate Bill 61. This legislation states that if an MLO is passed for a specific program or operational need that a district charter public school offers, then the revenue generated by that MLO should go to charter public school children in that district on an equal per-child basis.

I know that funding for public education in Colorado is limited. But children like mine whose families have chosen to send to a charter public school shouldn’t be doubly punished.

Sharing MLO money equally should be automatic.That’s what is best for all Colorado public school students.

Erin Mihulka is a Fort Collins resident and Liberty Common Parent. Paulette Hansen is the chairman of the Liberty Common Board of Directors.