With many states being forced to slash education budgets because of the overall economic downturn, opponents of charter schools are trying to seize the opportunity to kill new charter laws, to put a moratorium on the granting of new charters, and to reduce funding for already cash-strapped existing charter schools. Their argument is that the experiment with charters is a luxury that we cannot afford when economic times are tough. Of course, proponents have long argued that charters are not a luxury, but rather are central to efforts to introduce competition and choice into our traditional public school system--and most charter schools are funded at lower levels than traditional district schools, anyway, thus saving money for the state.
"Charter laws are targeted in fiscal tilts," by Caroline Hendrie, Education Week, March 5, 2003