Document Type
Preprint
Publication Date
2-2022
Keywords
charter schools, traditional public schools, school district staff, school district funding, Right-to- Work state laws
Abstract
Using time series data with several OLS regressions and fixed effects models with suitable controls, I find that higher school district full-time equivalent staff counts (FTEs) are associated with lower charter share in states with Right-to-Work (RTW) laws. I find also that proportional expenditures per pupil are negatively associated with charter share in non-RTW (“union”) states. Charter schools have grown rapidly but not uniformly across states, with 2018 enrollment ranging from 0.0 to 17.1% of traditional public school enrollment. Researchers have generally focused on party, urbanicity, teacher union strength, and racial and ethnic politics to explain variations in charter enrollment. Here, I argue that larger traditional public school staffs or higher per-pupil expenditures can inhibit charter growth, depending on states’ RTW status.
Citation
Bradley-Dorsey, M. (2022). Quantifying Traditional Public School Opposition to Charter Schools: Double Whammy from School District Staffing and Funding?. Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/edrepub/131
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.