On Wednesday, several hundred charter school students, parents, teachers and advocates will gather at the Georgia Capitol with a simple message: It’s time to make sure all public school students — including those enrolled in charter schools — have access to safe and affordable facilities.
This common sense call-to-action highlights a significant barrier to funding fairness in Georgia’s public school sector: the high cost of school facilities. Unlike traditional public schools, Georgia’s charter schools receive little to no ESPLOST funding to support their capital needs, and they cannot levy taxes to pay for their buildings. In the absence of these traditional forms of capital support, charter schools face a terrible choice: pursue higher-cost private-sector facility financing or choose not to open at all.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
While charter schools operate in accordance with exacting standards of financial accountability and efficiency, no amount of “belt tightening” or economizing can offset the high facility costs they incur — which, in Georgia, are around 18% of their overall operating budgets.
A 2025 analysis by ExcelinEd of Georgia’s charter school facility finance landscape confirmed that the state currently covers less than one-third of charter school facility expenses. This funding gap comes to about $2,400 per student and is three times higher than in Tennessee and other neighboring states. To put that in practical terms, if Georgia were to eliminate its facility funding gap altogether, every charter school could hire an additional 20 teachers.
At the school level, the impact of high facility costs is clear. Charter schools like the International Charter Academy of Georgia are expanding to meet growing demand, yet significant portions of the school’s budget must be redirected to cover facility upgrades and other building costs. Similarly, facility expenses at Amana Academy North Fulton strain the school’s overall budget and impede its ability to recruit and retain experienced teachers because when operating dollars are allocated to buildings, fewer resources are available to support competitive salaries.
The recent elimination of the State Charter School Facility Grant for half the charters in Georgia forced the postponement of needed repairs across the sector, and many schools continue to operate without traditional learning spaces like media centers, gymnasiums or playgrounds — a stark reminder of how facility funding gaps affect students every day.
These funding challenges negatively impact the growth of Georgia’s charter school sector at a time when charter enrollment demand continues to increase. According to data from the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia, 21,000 students appear on charter school waitlists across Georgia. Families want more access to charter schools, not less, because these schools deliver high graduation rates, strong academic outcomes in subjects like reading and math, and personalized learning that meets individual student needs. It’s time for state lawmakers to take action on behalf of these families to ensure charter school students have access to the funding and facilities they deserve.
The good news is the General Assembly is currently considering three bills to increase the affordability of charter school facilities. House Bill 1253 and Senate Bill 498 establish the Georgia Charter School Facilities Authority to provide much needed low-interest revolving loans to charter schools for capital projects and House Bill 1308 improves charter schools’ access to unused district-owned facilities. The passage of these bills would be an important step forward for high quality charter schools throughout the state. And for Georgia’s 64,000 charter school students, there is no time to waste.
Bonnie Holliday is president and CEO of the Georgia Charter Schools Association.
If you have any thoughts about this item, or if you’re interested in writing an op-ed for the AJC’s education page, drop us a note at education@ajc.com.
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