Myth 5: School districts would be much more stable without charter schools.
The 2000 U.S. Census found that 15-20 percent of all school-aged children moved in the previous year, and a 1994 U.S. General Accounting Office study found that one out of six students had attended three or more schools by the end of the 3rd grade. [6] With or without charter schools, fewer and fewer students attend schools in the same district from kindergarten through the 12th grade. The observed high student mobility rates swamp any impact from charter-driven mobility.
Myth 6: The Whole Story of Charter Impact is Found in the District’s Budget.
Charter schools can have an immediate, positive financial impact on communities. A 2003 article in the Journal of Housing and Community Development [7] found that charter schools are renovating and rehabilitating empty and dilapidated properties to serve as quality school facilities. These changes will generate new tax revenues and may also boost real estate values.
Successful charter schools can benefit the community in a variety of ways. If a high-performing charter school has a lower dropout rate than the school district, the community will have fewer dropouts as a whole. A 2004 study by the College Board estimated that the average high school graduate earns $9,200 more annually and pays $2,200 more annually in income taxes than the average high school dropout. [8] Another study found that the lifetime value of additional earnings of a high school graduate (compared to a dropout) is $260,000, and the value of additional taxes paid is $60,000. [9] Each additional high school graduate also saves the community significant money on spending for social services. The annual savings to a community for each graduate can range from $1,600 to $3,300 depending upon the graduate’s characteristics. [10]
Charter schools have also been shown to produce more students who go on to college. In 2005, charter schools in the Boston Area made national news when 100 percent of their graduates went on to college and showed that they can increase the number of college students and graduates in a community. [11] A College Board study found the average college graduate earns $19,100 more annually and pays $5,300 more annually in income taxes than the average high school graduate. If a charter school can turn one student from a dropout into a college graduate, the annual financial benefit to the community is enormous, ranging from $38,000 to $41,600 per graduate per year. Taken over an entire career, these benefits can exceed one million dollars per college graduate. [12]