Charter schools are funded out of the State School Fund. Charter students are considered residents of the school district in which the public charter school is located for purposes of distributing the State School Fund. There are two funding levels, based on the sponsorship.
District sponsors a charter school
If a school district is the sponsor, it must contract with the charter school to pay for educational services. The payment must equal an amount per weighted average daily membership (ADMw) that is at least equal to:
80 percent of the amount of the school district’s General Purpose Grant per ADMw for students in grades K-8; and
95 percent of the amount of the school district’s General Purpose Grant per ADMw for students in grades 9-12.
EXAMPLE: The Capitol City School District’s General Purpose Grant per ADMw is $4,000. (This amount will be calculated for every school district by the Department of Education.) Public Charter School A is located in Capitol City operating a K-8 school and has an ADMw of 36.5. The amount of funding Charter School A would receive is $116,800.
Eighty percent Capitol City’s General Purpose Grant per ADMw is $4,000 X .80 = $3,200
ADMw of Charter School A is $3,200 X 36.5 = $116,800
State Board of Education sponsors a charter school
If the state Board of Education is the sponsor, the school district in which the public charter school is located must contract with the charter school to pay for educational services for charter school students. The payment must equal an amount per ADMw of the charter school that is at least equal to:
90 percent of the amount of the school district’s General Purpose Grant per ADMw for students in grades K-8; and
95 percent of the amount of the school district’s General Purpose Grant per ADMw for students in grades 9-12. A school district and a charter school may negotiate contracts that pay more than the above examples.
School districts are legally required to forward payment for educational services to the public charter school within 10 days after receiving the funds from the State School Fund through the Oregon Department of Education.
