From The Providence Journal

The Rhode Island Board of Regents recently approved its 2010-11 budget, which includes an additional $7.3 million in aid for public charter schools.

That action, along with numerous stories in the print and broadcast media detailing the education opportunities offered at any one of Rhode Island’s 13 public charter schools, have once again resurrected myths about public charter schools — how they are financed and who they serve. Public charter schools are an integral and important part of the public-education system in Rhode Island, providing necessary public-school choice options for students and their families.

Public charter schools show much promise for the future of education — they are here to stay! It is important for all Rhode Island’s students, educators, policy makers and families that we move beyond myth to fact.

Here are the facts:

Fact: Public charter schools do not “drain” money from the district public schools. First and foremost, public charter schools are public schools, open to the public, funded by the public and accountable to the public. The total amount of money spent on public education in communities with public charter schools or with students attending public charter schools in another district does not change.

In Rhode Island, while local and state aid for public charter school students does go to the public charter school, the state aid part also goes to the traditional school district where the student resides, resulting in a “double” payment of the state share! While the public charter school educates the student, the sending district still gets the state aid part of the per-student allotment! Our charter funding formula is “flawed” in favor of traditional school districts. A true, “money follows the student” education-aid formula would end that double payment.

Fact: Public charter schools do not “cream” the best students. Public charter schools are open to any student who resides in the city or town identified in the school’s target population. Public charter schools have “open admissions” and to apply, families need only to fill out a short application requesting basic information. Public charter schools are open to every student regardless of race, religion, disability or academic ability. They are open to all students on a space-available basis and cannot select students on the basis of skills, ability or past performance.

By statute, if the total number of students who apply to a public charter school is greater than the number of openings available, the public charter school must conduct a blind lottery to determine which students are admitted. The lottery and overall charter-admission process are conducted under the authority of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Fact: Public charter schools are held accountable for performance. While public charter schools do operate independently of the local school system, they are held to even higher standards by the Board of Regents and state Department of Education. The state’s rigorous charter-application process results in only strong, viable applications being approved. Public charter schools must follow all state educational standards, participate in all mandated assessments, and comply with federal No Child Left Behind requirements. Public charter schools must demonstrate fiscal responsibility by providing and participating in all financial reporting requirements, which include all revenue/expenditure reports as well as providing quarterly budget reports to the auditor general and the Department of Administration’s Office of Municipal Affairs. Rhode Island public charter schools provide an annual report to the Board of Regents and are comprehensively reviewed and renewed after an initial five-year period and in successive five-year periods thereafter.

If the charter public school fails to meet objectives outlined in its charter, the charter can be revoked and the school closed.

Fact: Every one of Rhode Island’s children deserves a good educational experience. Public charter schools are an important part of building and sustaining a public education system that works for all of our state’s families. The demand continues to be high — with just over 3,400 enrolled in public charter schools and another 3,600 on waiting lists, public charter schools are a school-choice option that Rhode Islanders have embraced. It is time for us to put aside the “us against them” mindset, focus on the facts, and work together to improve the state’s overall public-education system.

Stephen A. Nardelli is executive director of the Rhode Island League of Charter Schools.