Four years ago, the Independent Budget Office released a controversial study finding charter schools co-located in city school buildings received more money per pupil than their neighbors. The difference was $649 on average, a result of not paying for classroom furniture, utilities and other costs picked up by the district schools.
After crunching the numbers for the latest school year, the budget watchdog's new report released Thursday said the financial advantage was lost for co-located charters. They received $29 less per student. The Department of Education spent more money on its own students and its teachers which, in turn, flipped the spending difference.
“Spending per general education student in traditional public schools has grown at a faster pace over the past five years than the basic allocation for charter schools, which is set by the state," said I.B.O. spokesman Doug Turetsky.
The increase in city spending largely was due to pensions and last year's contract with the teachers union, which raised salaries. Traditional public schools received $17,928 on average for each general education student in 2014-15 (the study left out special education spending).
Department of Education spokeswoman Devora Kaye said this was an encouraging sign.
"It’s our goal is to invest in all public schools, both district and charter, to ensure every student has the resources they need to thrive," she said, adding that the agency is "committed to providing all our schools with the funding they deserve."
But the report found a very different story for charters that rented their own space. They wound up with $2,914 less per pupil than students in the traditional public schools, because they did not get facilities aid from the state to help cover expenses. The I.B.O. found that gap in per pupil spending grew by 16 percent since its last analysis in 2010.
Supporters of charter schools said this discrepancy proved their schools deserved more public money.
"Not only has no progress been made in closing the overall funding gap between charter schools and traditional district schools, it has increased," said James Merriman, C.E.O. of the New York City Charter School Center.
"A kid is a kid is a kid," added Jenny Sedlis, executive director of the group StudentsFirstNY. "All public school students deserve equal funding, but today's I.B.O. report reveals an inequity that must be addressed."
Not surprisingly, the teachers union took an entirely different view. Spokeswoman Alison Gendar said the study itself noted that it left out private fundraising by charters. And she said some raised "millions of dollars in politically motivated private contributions." She called this "the elephant in the room."
As charter advocates gear up to lobby for more financial aid next year, they are sure to face intense opposition.
A new state law requires the city to house new and growing charters in public school buildings or pay rent for them to go elsewhere. The maximum per pupil will be $2,805; the city estimated it would spend over $30 million renting space for charters between 2014 and 2016.