Red, White & Blue
Charter school students and parents rally for more funding
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Jennifer Auh reports on the School's Choice rally at the Statehouse. Video by IdahoOnYourSide.com
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Hundreds of charter school students and their families gathered on the statehouse steps Wednesday afternoon.
For this year’s School Choice Rally, their message was clear – that charter schools deserve the same amount of state cash as public schools.
While education leaders are trying to find a way to grant more funding to charter schools, students from those schools talked to state lawmakers about how additional funding would make a difference for their schools.
Organizers of the rally said people from all over the state showed up, and some students had to wake up 3 to 4 a.m. to make it to the rally.
Charter school advocates said budget cuts hit their schools harder than most public schools. "Most of the challenges are because of lack of property funding, property tax funding and facility needs," said State Senator Cliff Bayer.
The students also had their say. "When I see the other schools with fancy gyms, I wish we had that equipment," said one student.
Just last week, we reported that the Davinci Charter School in Garden City may have to close its doors due to financial issues. Parents said that’s a prime example of what could happen if the state doesn't grant more money.
State officials said lawmakers are looking into several options on how to get the funding and how to disperse it, if they were to pass a new charter law.
At this point, charter school advocates said there is no set date for proposing the new law to state lawmakers.
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