As charter schools rise, Dallas ISD rues loss of students — and millions in funding

The Dallas Morning News reports on the Dallas public school system:

Superintendent Michael Hinojosa says Dallas ISD has acted “fat, dumb and happy” for too long as charter school enrollment exploded within the district’s boundaries, taking away millions in state funding.

“We kind of fell asleep,” Hinojosa recently told the school board. “We were losing kids without even realizing it.”

DISD’s enrollment dropped by 2,000 students this school year, at a cost of at least $10 million in state funding provided on a per-pupil basis. About half the lost enrollment is kindergartners going to charter schools. The district’s chief financial officer expects another drop in enrollment next school year.

Meanwhile, charter school enrollment within the district’s boundaries has grown from 7,500 to more than 27,000 in the last 15 years, with much of the growth in southern Dallas. DISD’s enrollment has mostly stayed flat over the years, averaging around 159,000 students.

The struggles of monopoly .