Sen. Ivey-Soto misses the boat on charter schools

There’s a saying in the field of data “Garbage in, garbage out.” In other words, if you use bad data, you’ll get bad information that can lead to bad decisions. Take Sen. Ivey-Soto’s musings about a moratorium on new charter schools based on an LFC report which claims that charters “receive more funding per-pupil than traditional public schools.” You can read the LFC Report here.

This deeply-flawed LFC report has been debunked repeatedly , including by the Albuquerque Journal’s editorial board.

Another study done by the University of Arkansas, found that while New Mexico’s charters are indeed relatively well-funded as compared to charters in other states faced a “weighted disparity amount of only $365 per pupil or 3.4 percent favoring districts.”

The Arkansas report went on to say that, “New Mexico’s funding mechanism dates back decades but began with structural efficacy to achieve funding equity. The state continues to successfully distribute funding on a near-equitable basis year after year.”

There is no doubt that New Mexico faces real budget problems. But innovative approaches in Santa Fe COULD result in greater choice and better outcomes at a net savings to taxpayers. Unfortunately, some would rather make rash decisions based on faulty information.

All this means that New Mexico kids will continue to fall behind unless major structural changes are made to their state’s failing educational system: