Courtesy: Pexels
OREGON -- Oregon lawmakers are holding a public hearing this afternoon on a bill that would bring more public money to charter schools in the state.
House Bill 3444 would address funding disparities between the state's district-run public and charter schools. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Boomer Wright (R - Coos Bay), would change the amount school districts must pay to public charter schools from the State School Fund. HB 3444 would also remove some eligibility restrictions for charter schools to get funds from the Student Investment Account, and provide federal, state and local money transfers on the same basis as public schools.
Logos Public Charter School in Medford is backing the bill, which they say would help them deal with limited resources.
"You could have some more buses. You could have more mental health support. You could have so many more things," Sheryl Zimmerer, the executive director of Logos, said. "If you had the full funding, it would make a dramatic difference."
Right now Oregon school districts only have to remit 80 percent of funds from the State School Fund's general purpose grants to K-8 charter schools, and 95 percent to charter high schools.
