Although charter schools are public schools, and often serve the neediest children in a given area, they rarely receive adequate funding for facilities. While charter schools are expected to deliver improved academic results in return for freedom from many state and local mandates, the lack of facilities financing leaves them competing with traditional public schools on an uneven playing field.
A number of states and private foundations are working to address this inequity. Their innovative solutions, profiled in this 2004 article in the quarterly journal Education Next, have the potential to provide charter school students with the productive learning environments they deserve.