As the struggle to defeat the far-right attempts to kill public education in Indiana continue, charter operators and their right-wing propagandists have flooded opinion pages and social media with claims about public schools that do not stand up to scrutiny. The Indianapolis branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation has selected a few common arguments to debunk.
Myth 1: Charter schools reduce wasteful spending
Charter advocates and right-wing think tanks claim that public schools waste money on administrative costs, and that charter schools can do a better job at a lower cost. Faced with the reality that charters spend more on administration than public schools do, the argument is made that this is a good thing, actually.
Fact: Charter schools exemplify bloat, duplicated services, and government waste
- If SB 518 passes, charter administrators could give themselves massive raises—funds for administrators come out of the “operations fund” that charter advocates are claiming would be used to provide transportation, but there is no requirement for this to happen.
- Charters spend $43.2 million (average $4,000 per student) on administration across 34 charter schools in Marion County; these financial records could not be located for an additional 20 charter schools—meaning the actual waste could be significantly higher.
- In IPS, $18.7 million ($890 per student) is spent on administration across 49 schools.
- Charters spend $1.6 million (average $140 per student) on advertising for 27 charter schools competing against one another in Marion County; financial records related to marketing could not be found for an additional 27 charter schools.
- In IPS, $431,603 ($20 per student) is spent on community relations. IPS enrolls twice as many students as the 27 charter schools for which marketing expenses are known.
Myth 2: Oppressed groups prefer charter schools
The Mind Trust, a notorious charter promoter, claims that “charter schools [serve] the highest number of Latino, Black, and low-income students.”
Fact: Most Black, Latino, Asian, and multiracial students attend Indianapolis Public Schools
- 80% of Latino students attend IPS fully public and innovation schools.
- 70% of multiracial students attend IPS fully public and innovation schools.
- 64% of Black students attend IPS fully public and innovation schools.
- 84% of Asian students attend IPS fully public and innovation schools.
- More Black, Latino, Asian, and Native students attend IPS fully public schools than attend charters or innovation schools.
- The Mind Trust uses Black and brown children as a political cudgel, lying about minority enrollment trends to advocate destroying the schools a plurality of them attend.
Myth 3: Families intentionally choose charter schools
The Mind Trust says that “parents are choosing charter schools.” Charter operators claim charters are an “option” available to families on the “education market.”
Fact: Most families do not have a fully public option in their neighborhood
- Families do not choose charters: charters choose neighborhoods and displace fully public schools, leaving families no other nearby option.
- In Riverside and Haughville, no fully public schools exist—the only option in these neighborhoods are charter or innovation schools.
- In Lawrence Township, no fully public IPS school exists for high school students since the closure of Arlington High School.
- South of I-70, no fully public schools exist for high school students since the charter takeover of Emmerich Manual High School. Only one IPS middle school is located south of I-70.
All data produced in this article originates from the Indiana Gateway and Indiana Department of Education’s “School Enrollment by Ethnicity and Free/Reduced Price Meal Status,” “School Enrollment by Special Education and English Language Learners (ELL),” and “Fall 2024–2025 Public Corporation Transfer Report” datasets.
Featured image: Empty desks in an Indiana school classroom. Credit: PSL Indianapolis