Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools says it’s planning to provide more “pass-through” funding for charter schools over the next few years.
That’s a reflection of data that forecasts charter school enrollment growth.
But as CMS Board Chair Stephanie Sneed noted at Monday night’s budget workshop, that also means a loss in CMS “market share,” or the percentage of students choosing public schools over other alternatives.
That can impact school budgeting, because state funding formulas provide money to school districts based on enrollment. And North Carolina school districts provide so-called “pass-through” funding to charters, routing funding from Mecklenburg County to charters based on the number of county students attending them.
CMS is planning on requesting an increase in funding from Mecklenburg County this year to cover its charter school pass-through obligations. But some board members suggested also asking the county for more funds to back marketing efforts that could help CMS recapture its market share.
Board member Shamaiye Haynes argued the board could create a “business case” to the county that improving market share could also improve the district’s finances in the long term.
“In my mind, this is a number that we really can control,” Haynes said. “But we need an investment to help us with our messaging, marketing and bringing parents back.”
Superintendent Crystal Hill said she supported those efforts and suggested new marketing strategies were in the works. She suggested the district is considering contracting with outside professionals who could help with marketing strategy.
But she also said she’d be uncomfortable trying to fund that with new county dollars.
“That’s not something that I would be comfortable asking taxpayers to expand on,” Hill said. “What I would be more comfortable saying is let’s look at our current operating budget and look at what things we need to find efficiencies for, do some realignments in order to fund how we go after the market share.”
Board members questioned what would possibly be sacrificed in pursuing efficiencies, and Hill said her administration would be transparent about that. But she said in some cases, it could be about using tools like AI or automation to streamline internal processes that currently rely on multiple costly systems.
“I do not feel like I’m being a good CEO of this organization if every time we have a need, that we go asking for more,” Hill said.
District officials have already made clear to county commissioners that they intend to look for changes within the district’s existing budget in order to limit its request for new county funding this year. Mecklenburg County has said it’s wrangling with a budget deficit of its own. In addition to additional charter pass-through funding, CMS is looking for the county to fund increases to the local teacher salary supplement, pay raises for non-certified staff and funding for new devices for students.
Meanwhile, the district is dealing with a drop in enrollment this year that will likely impact its funding from the state – the largest source of school funding. CMS has already said it’s planning on hiring 200 fewer employees this year to account for that.
CMS officials have attributed this mostly to birth rates, and demographic studies have suggested CMS would see short-term declines followed by long-term enrollment growth by the 2033-34 school year.
Still, statewide data shows independent public schools, which include charters, saw an increase in enrollment this fiscal year, even as statewide traditional public school enrollment declined. And research from Carolina Demography has forecasted that, even as traditional public school enrollment in North Carolina could stay generally steady, the market share of students attending traditional public schools is poised to decline.
