Last week we heard that SOAR Academy Charter school will close at the end of the school year. Since the day it opened in 2015, Tacoma and state officials have adopted a policy of shorting SOAR Academy on funding.  They denied all charter school families access to district-raised taxes, thus cutting the school’s funding by over $3,000 per student.

SOAR Academy offers small classes, extra help for students, and daily art classes.  The school serves 180 students; 80 percent are students of color, 77 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch, 15 percent are homeless.

The Tacoma School Board has starved SOAR Academy of $3,000 per student in local funding, with the idea that a school they see as competition would close.  This didn’t have to happen.  School officials should stop discriminating against charter school families, and make sure they receive funding on an equal basis as everyone else.

In 90 seconds, our new video describes Washington’s discriminatory budget policy against low-income, minority children at public charter schools:  https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/why-does-washington-state-discriminate-against-charter-school-students.

Students shouldn’t be punished just because their parents think a public charter school is a better fit for them. Charter schools deserve to get the same public funding as traditional schools. They deserve equity and fairness. The Washington state constitution requires equal protection and fair treatment to all families, and that includes families choosing public charter schools.