EDITORIAL: Charter school funding an investment in our kids yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Growth in New Mexico’s charter schools has been strong in recent years, so strong in fact that charter school proponents say the only thing holding them back is space.
While charters are public schools, unlike traditional schools they don’t have funds reserved for capital projects and don’t qualify for capital awards from the Public School Capital Outlay Fund (unless their facilities have fallen into a state of disrepair – a rarity, because most are leased facilities and the landlords require upkeep, and students and parents would vote with their feet).
Without the money to buy or build, their only real option is leasing facilities, often in strip malls, like the high-performing Albuquerque Collegiate Charter School does in the heart of the South Valley (79% proficiency rates in reading versus 34% in the state’s traditional public schools).