Charter Closures Raises Questions As Lawmakers Debate Funding Increase

As the debate begins over legislation to increase funding for charter schools, some are questioning the academic progress of charters after Ball State University decided to close to Indianapolis schools.

Should Indiana charter schools receive an additional $1,500 per student? It depends who you ask.

Skeptics of increasing taxpayer support to help charter schools pay for buildings and transportation are pointing to new examples of academic failure.

This week Ball State chose not to renew the charters for two Indianapolis schools -- Fall Creek Academy and University Heights Preparatory Academy. Both, the university said, suffer from “chronic underperformance.”

"Would money have helped that? Yes, maybe," says Charlie Schlegel, superintendent of the schools Ball State is closing.

Unlike traditional public schools, charters do not get property taxes to pay for transportation or buildings.

And that, Schlegel says, leads to less money for the classroom.

But the schools’ failures just can’t be blamed on a lack of funding. He says the schools struggled to find the right teachers and staff to support students that needed a lot of help.

“Doesn't matter, for instance, what you can pay someone, if the job is so difficult and they are not ready for it," Schlegel says. "Then money is not going to make that same difference.”

Last year Fall Creek got its third consecutive F and University Heights got its third consecutive D in the state’s A-to-F school grading system.

Schlegel said students were showing improvements, but just he needed more time.

“We asked them for an extension of our current charter. We felt like if they were to afford us two years we would be able to prove the impact," Schlegel says. "We’d have data to support the impact we believe we are making this year.”

Instead, the schools will close June 12.

Gov. Mike Pence is asking lawmakers to include an additional $41 million for charter schools in the next budget. During a visit to Thursday to Manual High School in Indianapolis, Pence said he is confident in the oversight of charters.

“I don’t think there is any question that charter schools in Indiana are making a difference in the lives of our kids. As in any endeavor there is success and failure," Pence says. "And I think it is important that we have held public charter schools accountable for their performance.”

During a General Assembly budget hearing Thursday, some were critical of Pence's plan to increase funding for charters by $1,500 per student. 

State Superintendent Glenda Ritz says charter schools can tap into federal and state funding, just as traditional public schools do.

A U.S. Department of Education grant offers costs associated with opening a charter school that are not covered by local or state sources.

“I know the conversation is about the $1,500 increase to charters schools, and I know that one of the reasons is for the capital piece but I have not heard the $1,500 added to that would just be for capital,” Ritz says. “I don’t feel the data shows that public charters should receive more tuition dollars to use as they wish.”

Expect debate on school funding to continue all session.

Contact WFYI education reporter Eric Weddle at eweddle@wfyi.org or call (317) 614-0470. Follow on Twitter: @ericweddle.