Charter Schools Cost Less to Open and Operate Than State Schools, Stats Show

Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes figures released today which show that charter schools are cheaper to open than the same sized state schools.

New figures show that a new primary charter school with 100 students would receive around $401,675 in establishment staff and operations funding. The same school set up as a state school would cost the taxpayer $638,249.

At secondary level that new charter school would receive $478,758, compared to $951,399 for the school to be set up as a state school.

Kiwi children deserve access to education that enables them to learn and grow in ways more specific to their needs. Charter schools give them that option, Mr Seymour says.

Demand shows there are few things as important to Kiwi families as having that option for their children. There are currently over 1600 students enrolled in 17 charter schools. In the original seven schools alone, rolls have more than tripled, from 215 students to over 700.

We knew there was demand for charter schools. In some cases, demand was even higher than we expected. Northwest College in Auckland has had to move into a bigger building to accommodate its growth, and continues to receive regular enquiries. Newer schools are in huge demand too. Twin Oaks School only opened in Term 3 last year and already had to move into a bigger space this term.

Despite what charter school detractors would have you believe, charters cost the taxpayers less than state schools. Last month the Charter School Agency, with support from the Ministry of Education, modelled what charter schools’ cost per student, using the same formula funding components used by the Ministry for Education to calculate the cost of state school students. It puts education union claims about the costs of charter schools to bed. In 2024 the average state primary school was funded $8,762 per student. A charter primary school of the same size receives an estimated $8,278 per student. In 2024 the average state secondary school was funded $11,040 per student. A charter secondary school of the same size receives an estimated $10,741 per student.

Today we can see that they’re also cheaper to set up than the same sized state school.

It’s not that we are short-changing charter schools. It’s that charter schools don’t have to have all the bells and whistles state schools do. They don’t have to jump through the same hoops.

What they do have to do is prioritise their spending. The beauty of the charter school model is that it allows schools and communities, who know best, to identify what students need. They then can use their flexible funding to offer education which fills those gaps.

They are funded to deliver results. If they don’t, they can be shut down. That is a level of accountability not seen elsewhere in the system.