Charter and cyber school leaders tell House subcommittee governor—s budget shortchanges cyber students

Lansing — Leaders of Michigan charter and cyber charter schools told the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on School Aid and the Department of Education on March 4 that the governor—s proposed K-12 budget treats cyber charter students and many charter operators unequally and would reduce funding for some students.

Dan Quisenberry, president of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies, told the panel that charter public schools serve about 150,000 students at roughly 286 schools statewide and that many charter students are low-income or from minority communities. "Seventy-five percent of the students that attend a charter school are below the poverty line," Quisenberry said, adding that 67% of charter students are minority and that charter schools do not receive local millage or property-tax revenue for facilities.

Quisenberry said the governor—s budget language proposing a $10,000 investment "for every child in every school" does not apply equally. "If you—re attending a cyber charter school, you—re only getting $8,000," he said. He and other presenters noted the governor—s proposal…