Rising Popularity Of Charter Schools Causes Alarming Decline In Public School Enrollment

The rising popularity of charter schools has impeded enrollment levels in public schools. The school districts of Los Angeles, Detroit and Philadelphia are seeing huge enrollment levels in charter schools.

What are charter schools? They still receive government funding, but charter schools operate independently under a set of rules that are different from the established public school system of a certain district. Charter schools are sometimes allowed to try new curriculum and techniques in teaching.

Schools Districts Are Struggling Financially

In Los Angeles, over 100,000 students are now enrolled in charter schools. In 2014, more than 2.6 million students nationwide attended charters. Aside from the popularity of charters, families moving to the suburbs and America's declining birth rates are also causing fewer public school enrollments, ABC News reported (via the Associated Press).

This trend is negatively affecting the finances of some school districts. Majority of states in the U.S. receive school funding that is based per student. Even though there are fewer students in public schools, districts still have to follow fixed costs. And with low funding, districts will be unable to pay for those expenses, leading to financial struggles.

Charter schools have attracted half of the Latino and black students in California's largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, the San Diego Union-Tribune noted. In Detroit, students are driven away from public schools by corruption, mishandling of finances and families moving to other areas. Only 46,000 students remain in Detroit's public schools this year.

Districts Coming Up With Remedies

Schools districts have resorted to extreme measures to remedy the situation. In Philadelphia, for instance, more than 30 schools have shut down and cut 20 percent of its staff since 2012. Districts are also rolling out public relations campaigns to attract families back to public schools, the AP further reported.

Major school districts in New Orleans are also closing traditional public schools, the Washington Post wrote. It doesn't help that many states encourage charters as the replacement of traditional public schools. Forty-two states promote charter schools, and 44 percent of students in the District of Columbia attend charters.

More investments are a sign of America's increasing commitment to charter schools. The Charter School Capital based in Portland, Oregon got a $7 million investment for expansions and programming, according to the Phoenix Business Journal. In addition, students in charter schools have impressive academic performance in their SAT test scores in the year 2014.