New Jersey Devises Formula to Kill Charters--Act Like General Motors Would Like To Act

New Jersey's school funding formula includes a brilliant and creative notion--the School Funding Reform Act. This act gives additional funding to districts with greater needs. This makes sense, right?

Well, that's unless you are a charter school in the same district and the same location. Charter schools do not receive any of the "reform" funding. So, while we commonly hear that charters are effectively funded between 75% and 80% of non-charter schools, in some areas of New Jersey charter schools are effectively funded at about 65% of their non-charter counter-parts--talk about killing off the competition.

Wouldn't it have been nice thirty years ago if you were General Motors and you could have handicapped Toyota? General Motors might not be in the position it is today. Of course, Americans would be buying crappy cars equivalent to a Lada.

In the same way Americans believe that our corporations should have to compete fairly to bring us the best products, public education should be forced to bring Americans the best product. We don't have it. Charter Schools bring us one possible way to change and improve our education. If nothing else they allow us to choose a new path. We won't know if the new path is successful unless we allow it to work side by side with non-charter schools equally funded and allowing each to use the best in education to achieve a quality product for their customers.