Jury out on charter school performance, but buyers vote with wallets
A think tank at Georgia State University has waded into the debate on charter school effectiveness with new research that finds homebuyers are voting with their pocketbooks.
Charter schools are free to attend since they are supported with taxpayer dollars, but the study by the Fiscal Research Center at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies finds that people are paying more for houses in neighborhoods where they stand the best chance to attend nearby charter schools.
The behavior appears to mimic that of parents who pay more to live near high-performing traditional public schools.
National and state research is mixed on charter school performance, with some studies finding no big difference in performance on average between traditional schools and charters. Some charter schools are failing, according to Gov. Nathan Deal's Opportunity School District proposal.
But this new study, which looked at the city of Atlanta and DeKalb and Fulton counties, found higher prices for houses in high-priority attendance zones for certain charter schools, suggesting that the homebuying public has reached its own conclusions. The report was produced without private funding, said Joy Woodson, a spokeswoman for the Andrew Young School.
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
