The Correlation between Charter Enrollment and Per-Pupil Spending in Traditional Public Schools in Pennsylvania

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore the fiscal impact of charter schools on the traditional public schools within their districts. With a specific focus on Pennsylvania, this paper uses a cross sectional analysis to investigate the relationship between charter enrollment as a percentage of total enrollment and the per student spending of traditional public schools. Traditional public schools must make payments to charter schools within their districts, shifting funds away from the traditional public schools while fixed costs such as maintaining facilities stay fixed. This has the potential to reduce per pupil spending in the traditional public schools. However, the diverse landscape of Pennsylvania public schools shows that the correlation between charter enrollment and per pupil spending in traditional public schools is largely dependent on where the charter is established and how it interacts with the existing district infrastructure. This paper uses an Ordinary Least Squares regression controlling for average personal income, low-income enrollment rates, total enrollment, and grade span to study this relationship.