Nate Rau at Axios has the story about a new nonprofit group that has the stated goal of highlighting the fiscal impact of charter schools on local school district budgets.

The group, Public School Partners, is in the myth-busting business. That is, they seek to dispel the notion that charter schools have little to no fiscal impact on local budgets.

This is an especially important project given a state charter commission with the power to override local decisions and force charter schools in districts where they are not wanted.

The group’s website features a fiscal impact calculator that allows users to determine the cost of operating a charter school in any district in Tennessee.

Here’s more from Rau’s piece:

The expansion of charter schools has spread beyond Nashville and Memphis in the last few years. As charter schools have applied to open in suburban and rural counties, scrutiny of their financial impact has escalated.

Charter schools are funded with tax dollars but operated by independent nonprofit organizations.

The issue reached a crescendo this year as charter schools affiliated with Hillsdale College applied to open new schools in Tennessee.

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport

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