By Carly Sitrin
On Feb. 20, 2020, Politico published an article on the report conducted by the state Charter Schools Association about New Jersey Charter schools needing more than $900 million for construction and renovation projects over the next decade.
Asked what the advocacy organizations are hoping to gain from this survey, Patricia Morgan, executive director of JerseyCAN, and Harry Lee, president of NJCSA, said in an email that “the optimal outcome would be the Legislature and Governor reach an agreement to authorize considerable State funding to support construction of new schools and funding for repairs and modernization of existing schools that benefits all types of public schools, traditional, charter, magnet and vo tech.”
If facilities funding is not reauthorized through the SDA, they said, “we would ask that the administration and Legislature consider providing charter and renaissance schools with a per-pupil allocation for facilities on an annual basis to help ensure equity. Many states provide charter schools with a per student facilities aid budget figure and we think that is also a smart way to go, but in light of the current conversation about SDA funding, inclusion in this effort is fair and equitable.”