Georgia State University: Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

When the International Community School needed furniture moved this year, principal Laurent Ditmann rolled up his sleeves and helped.

Public money covers about 80 percent of the budget for the International Community School’s two campuses in DeKalb County, says Ditmann. “For everything else, we fundraise, just like a private school.”

Administrators at Georgia’s independent charter schools have got to be willing to sweat and get creative to make ends meet. While Georgia’s charter schools are performing well academically, many struggling financially. More than 40 percent of start-up charter schools in Georgia operated in the red during the 2006-2007 school year, according to an analysis by Georgia State University researcher Cynthia S. Searcy.

Publicly funded charter schools get less per-pupil and are smaller and less able to take advantage of economics of scale. Searcy's study for the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies found that charter start-ups spend $1 out of every $8 on management costs, compared to $1 of every $16 spend by public schools overall.

Charter school administrators say they overcome financial challenges by finding outside funding, enlisting volunteer help or just working harder. David Jernigan, executive director of KIPP Metro Atlanta, which manages three metro Atlanta charter schools, says he furnished an entire school for less than $10,000 with surplus furniture and donations from businesses.

 “You get creative in a charter,” says Jernigan. “You start to really ask yourself what is really important.”

As long as they meet certain academic performance standards, charter schools are free from many state regulations. They can hire uncertified teachers, exceed maximum class sizes, vary the school day or school year, or make other changes. Most charter schools are in metro Atlanta.

Two-thirds of charter schools perform better academically than the two nearest schools in their district says Andrew W. Broy, an Associate Superintendent of Policy and Charter Schools with the Georgia Department of Education. Charter schools serve more low-income and minority students than traditional public schools, according to the state. The Georgia Charter Schools Association says that 83 percent (82.9) of independent charter schools made AYP in 2009 compared to 79.1 percent of all public schools.

The Drew Charter School facility, in the same building as the East Lake YMCA in Atlanta, was built by the East Lake Foundation, which has also contributed financially to the school. The foundation’s long-term, low-cost lease allows the school to operate debt-free, says Cynthia Kuhlman, chairman of the school’s board.

The Neighborhood Charter School in Grant Park spends on programs rather than administrators, says principal and executive director Jill Kaechele. Parent volunteers make up the difference: they clean the school and installed a new playground. That’s part of the school’s mission, to help build community support.

“You couldn’t put a dollar sign on the value of our parents,” says Kaechele.

“Given the budget crisis all schools are facing, we need to have more conversations on how to help charter schools reduce costs or enhance revenues if we expect to use them as vehicles for educational innovation,” said Searcy.

Georgia state charter school study

- by Diane Loupe, Atlanta Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Diane Loupe

A resident of Decatur, Ga., and a native of New Orleans, Diane has a M.A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri. She has worked for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Associated Press, the New Orleans Times-Picayune and Yale Medical School. A freelance writer and editor, her work has appeared in The Sunday Paper, Women's eNews, the Agnes Scott College alumni magazine, eSchool News, and PTO Today.