Giving Compass' Take:

• Nina Rees at The 74 discusses the funding gaps and limited access that charter schools receive for facilities from state and district school budgets.

• Rees talks about some solutions, urging that states should make a commitment to allow more access to public buildings that can serve as proper school facilities.  Are there opportunities for private funding to help?

• Read more about the dilemma with charter school facilities.

What’s at the top of the charter school wish list for the new year? Access to facilities that adequately serve the needs of their public school children and educators.

A disappointing reality for too many charter school students is that the operators of their schools cannot access buildings that are designed to create engaging and stimulating learning environments, let alone include facilities that are standard in most schools — libraries, gyms, even cafeterias.

Though charter schools are public schools, funding inequities and bureaucratic limitations deny them free access to public buildings and financing options that are readily available to district-run schools.

There are several reasons for this gap in access to this most basic of school resources — a functional learning environment — including anti-charter sentiment driving exclusionary local and state policies. Charter schools in 14 urban districts received an average of nearly $6,000 less funding per pupil than traditional public schools, a gap that has grown consistently since 2003. This unacceptable inequity forces charter school leaders to decide between using their limited funds for academic investments or adequate facilities — a decision no educator should be forced to make.

At the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, we are working to drive solutions, most recently through the establishment of the Charter Schools Facilities Center, the first entity dedicated solely to helping public charter schools access better, more affordable facilities and facilities financing. The center will capture and share existing best practices for improving and funding facilities for charter schools, and it will develop new, innovative solutions to address this challenge.

But applying real, lasting solutions will require a greater commitment. For starters, as a new year’s resolution, every state should commit to giving charter schools access to unused or abandoned district public facilities.

Read the full article about charter schools' needs by Nina Rees at The 74