An Act Related to Public Funding of Charter Schools

Summary

LD 1057/HP750 (LegiScan or Maine Legislature) was vetoed by Gov. LePage on July 8. The legislation established new provisions to fund public charter schools authorized by the Maine Charter School Commission. This would have ended the transfer of money from school districts to charters and forced the state to establish a new budget account for charter schools. In addition, the legislation also eliminated funding from state and local sources to all virtual charter schools.

Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage vetoed LD 1057, saying the bill was “an attempt to destroy public charter schools in Maine.”

Legislative Analysis

Existing law requires local school districts to fund students who choose to attend public charter schools, rather than local public schools in the district.  LD 1057 created a separate budget account for charter schools, distinct from the general funds marked for public schools. Funding in this new budget account could not exceed the amount of funding the student would have received if the student had remained in his or her local school.

Virtual charter schools were also banned from receiving state or local funds except in case of educational disruptions (homelessness, medical emergencies or foster care placement).

Under existing law, the allocation for transportation expenses followed each student to the public charter school they attended. The exact percentage of per student allocation is determined by the charter authorizer based on the cost of the charter school to provide transportation to the student. Under LD1057, transportation costs for students attending public charter schools were eliminated.

Veto Analysis

Governor LePage issued a veto message saying that “the bill is another attempt to destroy public charter schools in Maine by a thousand cuts.” By forcing public charter schools to be funded through a separate line item in the budget, it “would allow a legislature to target charter school.”

This proposed law is four paragraphs long. In those four paragraphs, it seeks to systematically disentangle protections for public charter schools, leaving funding sources separate and exposed to future legislative intervention. For virtual charter schools, this law seeks to dry up all state and local funding, effectively forcing providers, regardless of quality, to function without resources. Add those requirements to the transportation cutbacks, and this law would is a concise attempt to completely undermine the charter system in Maine.

Legislative History

House Vote: Yea = 85   Nay = 55   Excused = 11   Absent = 0
Date: 6/17/2013

Senate Vote: Yeah = 21   Nay = 14   Excused = 0
Date: 6/17/2013

Detailed Legislative History: Legiscan | Open States

Vetoed by Governor Paul Lepage on 7/8/2013