How is a charter school funded?
Charter schools are funded in part from monies designated by the State, as well as the County they are in.
How is funding determined?
- Charter schools receive 100% of the Per Pupil Revenues (PPR) or money designated by the state Legislature each year for operating expenses, capital reserve and risk insurance based on income levels. Douglas County is the wealthiest county in Colorado.
- County-passed mill levies determine public school funding. The mill levy is the “tax rate” that is applied to the assessed value of a property. One mill is one dollar per $1,000 dollars of assessed value. It consists of a local portion which is used to fund area services and a statewide portion which is used to fund public schools. Douglas County has not passed a mill levy since 1977.
What does this mean? The state gives us less funding than other districts and Douglas County has a lower tax rate than other districts.
So, the assumption is higher income areas can afford to contribute more of their own funds toward their schools. Our county has not passed or voted for taxes needed to fund schools, creating a budget shortfall. Fundraising aspires to make up for this shortfall. The MEF coordinates this fundraising for DCS Montessori.