The North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools has won a nearly $53 million federal grant to support the state's charter schools. The association will use most of the funds on 42 subgrants to charter schools seeking to open or expand seats to more students.
The subgrants will prioritize schools that provide a focus on career and technical education; science, technology, engineering and math; or artificial intelligence, according to the association's Executive Director Rhonda Dillingham. However, any North Carolina charter school can apply for a subgrant.
"Those all are contributing factors to creating a strong and prepared and educated workforce, and so we want to make sure that charter schools are part of the solution in keeping North Carolina at the forefront of business," Dillingham said.
Schools can even use grant funds for building and facility needs, which is funding charter schools don't receive from the state or their county. The challenge of financing building costs is a common barrier for charter schools seeking to open or those looking to grow. Dillingham said that's why this grant is a big win for charter schools.
"It's huge," she said. "We know that last year, for example, we had 12 schools that had gone through the planning year ready-to-open process, but only two of them were able to open. The 10 that didn't open were directly related to facilities issues."
In addition to the subgrants the association will award to schools, it also plans to use grant funds to design a training for charter school boards on how to effectively govern schools and to create a fellowship for school leaders to learn about school finance. These trainings will initially be for schools that are selected for subgrants, but the association hopes to open them to more schools in the future.
Dillingham said she hopes those programs will help address some of the major reasons that have led state agencies to close some charter schools for governance or financial issues, as well as equip more charter schools to handle finances in-house rather than contracting with outside management organizations.
Background on federal Charter School Program Grant
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's Office of Charter Schools previously won a similar five-year federal grant in 2018 that helped expand access to charter schools for disadvantaged students. Many schools used those funds for bus service and school meals to remove barriers for low-income students, while also implementing weighted lotteries for admissions, which helped increase the economic and racial diversity of their student populations. That grant, also under the U.S. Department of Education's Charter School Program Grant, has since ended.
"The Office of Charter Schools decided not to reapply for the grant, and that's why I decided to apply for it, because I knew that we were potentially leaving millions of dollars on the table," Dillingham said. "And I was right, because our application request was for $52.9 million and our grant approval did not reduce that by a penny."
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced a $60 million increase in total funding for the Charter School Program Grant this fiscal year, making the announcement during National Charter Schools week this past May. It brings the department’s total investment into charter schools to more than $500 million over the next five years.
“The Trump Administration will continue to use every available tool to advocate for meaningful learning, advance school choice, and ensure every student is well-positioned to succeed," McMahon said in a press release announcing the awards.
This additional federal investment in charter schools comes as the U.S. Department of Education has been rolling back competitive grants previously awarded under the Biden administration to public school districts. Notices from the department about revoked funding say that the grant projects do not fit the Trump administration's priorities, often citing language in grant applications related to diversity, equity, inclusion or hiring practices that consider race.
