Charter School Funding.  Charter schools are created, governed, and funded separately from common schools, with appropriations for their use distributed from the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account. State apportionment for charter schools is calculated using the same prototypical funding formula and categorical program formulas used to fund common schools. Unlike school districts, charter school boards do not have the authority to levy taxes or issue tax-backed bonds.

Local Effort Assistance. Under the Local Effort Assistance (LEA) program, also known as levy equalization, the state provides additional funding to school districts at a disadvantage in raising enrichment levies due to low property values.

LEA is provided to any school district that does not generate an enrichment levy of at least $1,550 per student when levying at a rate of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. An eligible school district's maximum LEA is the difference between the district's per pupil levy amount, based on a rate of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, and $1,550 per pupil, multiplied by the district's resident enrollment. Districts eligible for LEA that levy below a $1.50 per $1,000 rate receive LEA in proportion to their actual levy collection.

State-tribal compact schools may also receive LEA in an amount equal to the enrichment levy per student for the school district in which the state-tribal compact school is located, multiplied by the state-tribal compact school's enrollment. For purposes of making this calculation levy and enrollment data from the prior school year is used. The maximum LEA a state-tribal compact school can receive is $1,550 per student.

If a charter school is located in a school district where voters have authorized a local enrichment levy, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction must provide the charter school with a per pupil enrichment grant in the amount of the state LEA threshold, which is currently $1,550 per pupil adjusted for inflation.

Charter schools are also eligible to apply for other state grants on the same basis as school districts.

PRO: This is something that we can do financially for charter schools so that they can have a better chance at success. This would allow access to equitable resources and give support where it is due, especially in BIPOC and low-income communities. Charter schools serve a higher concentration of BIPOC scholars and do less with more even though the families are paying taxes like other families. Charter school students should have the same access to resources that their peers in school districts receive.

CON: The WEA opposes funding streams that are specialized to charter schools. The current bill language sets a different LEA calculation than state-tribal compact schools and guarantees the $1,550 amount without reference to the local school district's levy.