Anne Chapman, Betsy Mueller and Rob Henken:

Because enrollment is the primary driver of Wisconsin’s system of funding K-12 schools, a shrinking student population is one of the foremost financial challenges MPS faces. In a 2012 analysis of MPS’ fiscal condition,3 we noted that one of the strategies MPS had adopted to help stabilize its enrollment – and the revenue streams attached to it – was to increase the pace at which it was establishing its own charter schools. Since that time, however, the district’s efforts to establish or expand charter schools have faced occasional opposition from both internal and external MPS stakeholders. This resistance has stemmed, in part, from perceptions regarding the manner in which MPS funds its charter schools.
In this report, we intend to provide clarity and lend an objective voice to the facts surrounding the financial relationship between Milwaukee’s charter schools and their authorizers. Specifically, we seek to answer the following questions:

What is the process and methodology under which schools chartered by MPS receive their funding, and how does this compare to the process employed by Milwaukee’s two other charter school authorizers – University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM) and the City of Milwaukee?

What are the financial impacts for both MPS and its charter schools when they elect to contract with each other?

What are the legal, fiscal, and administrative frameworks surrounding charter schools in comparable states and school districts?

What potential policy changes should policymakers in Milwaukee and Madison consider to improve charter school funding policies?

Will Flanders:

Excellent work by @WisPolicyForum highlights $16 million @MilwaukeeMPS withholds from non-instr. #CharterSchools in MKE. These are the highest performing schools in the city, and should not have to do with so much less than low performing MPS schools.