Funding of Arizonian Charter Schools

Debate Over Funding for Arizonian Education Department

There was substantial debate in 2015 about a proposal to support the Arizonian education department with close to $3.5 billion over the course of the following ten years (Rau, 2015). Republicans and Democrats both made points during the discussion of this idea, with some alleging that the funding given to the charter schools was out of proportion to their performance (Pitzl and Sanchez, 2015). On the other hand, several groups asserted that charter schools ought to receive financial aid depending on their success. Some of these arguments arise because of the feeling that higher income district schools perform better than the charter schools and the state does not fund the former. Evidently, this a logical argument since the level of investment in the education sector should commensurate the outcomes. However, this argument is not reasonable to the Arizonian education department.

Understanding the Difference Between High Income and Charter Schools

First, it is important to understand the difference between high income and charter schools before engaging in the debate concerning the need to peg educational funding on performance. The law describes charter schools as public institutions that are started by the community and teachers with sponsorship from the government (U.S Department of Education, 2016). On the hand, the higher income district schools are considered to be institutions that can raise money through the selling of bonds. Considerably, this raises some questions concerning the need to tie funding and performance.

The Role of Funding in Performance

In understanding this issue, there is the need for stakeholders to have an insight into the elements that guide performance. Although funding is essential for the learning process, it should be understood that it forms the infrastructural part of the learning process. Mostly, a significant proportion of the learning process entails the mentality. Therefore, when the Democrats and the Republicans argue on the basis that building schools should be associated with performance, then this is a flaw.

The Perception of Charter Schools

As a society, a mentality has been created whereby it is almost obvious that higher income schools will always perform better than their counterpart charter schools. Such a perception is what disturbs the performance of learners in these charter schools; this mentality that charter schools are poor performers seems to determine the destiny of students in these institutions. As education stakeholders, it should be noted that the need to set up charter schools was an opportunity to give low-income earners a fair opportunity for education. However, this avenue was not meant to condemn into academic oblivion.

Debunking the Mentality and Discrimination Towards Charter Schools

As educationists, one of the concerns that the Arizonian authorities should focus on is committing financial assistance towards debunking the mentality that is associated with performance in higher income and charter type of schools. The debate over the 2015 proposal on funding Arizonian education department should have been solved if the parties understood that this mentality is detrimental to the performance of learners in charter schools. What the stakeholders in Arizona should understand is that the charter type of schooling is not an alternative but exists within the same education system of Arizona.

Therefore, decisions such as denying charter schools when it is envisaged in the law regarding funding is an act of discrimination. As such, when they deny charter schools this funding it will worsen the situation. The performance of charter schools in Arizona is because of the perception that has been labeled against these types of schools. If the legislature is concerned with the welfare of the charter type of schooling, then it is significant that they concentrate on debunking the thought that charter schools are inherently low performers.

Yours Faithfully

References

Pitzl, M., & Sanchez, Y. (2015). More details emerge on $3.5B Arizona education-funding proposal. central. Retrieved 14 April 2017, from http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/education/2015/10/27/arizona-house-republicans-meet-privately-education-funding-agreement/74696642/

Rau, A. (2015). Key issues in the debate on Arizona education reforms, more money for schools. central. Retrieved 14 April 2017, from http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/education/2015/11/16/arizona-education-reforms-debate-more-money/75057594/

U.S Department of Education. (2017). Legislation, Regulations, and Guidance -- Charter School Program State Educational Agencies (SEA) Grant. Www2.ed.gov. Retrieved 14 April 2017, from https://www2.ed.gov/programs/charter/legislation.html?exp=0