(The Center Square) — Maine’s charter schools cost less money and have higher academic standards than traditional public schools, according to a new report by a conservative fiscal watchdog, which calls on the state to lift a cap on the taxpayer-funded private schools.
The report by the Maine Policy Institute, released Monday, found that the state’s charter schools perform “as well or better” than traditional public schools on academic and operational standards, despite receiving far less funding and serving greater rates of disadvantaged students.
“Charter schools are playing by a much stricter rulebook,” Matt Gagnon, CEO of Maine Policy Institute said in a statement. “If we applied those same standards across the board, a large number of Maine’s traditional public schools would be considered failing.
“That’s a double standard that deprives Maine families of educational opportunities and reduces fairness in public education,” Gagnon added.
The report surveyed more than 500 public schools using nine accountability metrics used by the Maine Charter School Commission to gauge their academic standards. It found more than 60% of traditional public schools fail at least one charter school performance standard, while roughly 14% fail three or more standards.
Meanwhile, traditional public schools spend more than $10,000 more per pupil, on average, than charter schools, with student outcomes not markedly better in these learning environments, according to the report.
Nearly 30% of traditional public high schools fail to graduate enough students to meet the standards of charter schools, the report’s authors found.
Maine has a cap allowing up to 10 state-approved, publicly-funded charter schools and Democrats who control the state Legislature have been reluctant to increase that number, despite repeated efforts by education reformers to lift the restrictions. Gov. Janet Mills, a second-term Democrat, has opposed efforts to lift the cap on charter schools.
Supporters of expanding charter schools argue that the schools are performing well and deserve to grow to meet demand. Critics say they siphon scarce education funds and cherry-pick the best students from regular schools, some of which are struggling academically. The schools get an annual allocation from the state, and some have agreements with local governments to get a portion of property tax revenue to fund their operations.
The report’s authors urged state leaders to lift the “arbitrary” cap on the number of charter schools, lift the enrollment cap on attendance at virtual charter schools, and apply “fair standards” to all public schools, among other recommendations.
“This isn’t about picking sides, or winners and losers in public education,” Harris Van Pate, Maine Policy Institute’s policy analyst and primary author of the report, said in a statement. “It’s about fairness, transparency, and giving every Maine student the best shot at success, whether their school is a charter or not.”
