Per Pupil Funding

As public schools, charter schools are funded through a combination of federal, state, and local tax dollars. Different than non-charter public schools, though, charters have the freedom to determine how to spend their funds – in exchange for being held accountable for their academic, fiscal, and operational results.

Public charter schools receive significantly lower funding than non-charter public schools. In New York, for the 2008-2009 school year, the per pupil allocation (PPA) for charter schools in New York State was only $12,432. 

In addition to unequal PPA, the 2009-10 state budget adopted in April dealt a harsh financial blow to charter schools by "freezing" charter school payments from student resident districts to current year, 2008-09 levels, amounting to a $50 million cut in next year's expected funding. 

As a result, charter schools are forced to layoff staff and cut programs for students.

Charter schools are Public Schools and must receive equal funding as non-charter public schools.