Funding and resourcing

Charter schools are public schools and so the funding they receive is based on state school funding.

Flexibility in exchange for accountability

Charter schools have more freedom about how they use their funding, how they teach, and how they structure their school day to meet the needs of their communities.

This flexibility comes with high accountability to deliver results. They must meet performance targets for students’ attendance and achievement.

Unlike state schools, if these performance targets are not met, their funding can be withdrawn.

Most charter school funding isn’t guaranteed, even in their first year, as opposed to the state schools where much of their funding is guaranteed for the first three years.

Comparing state and charter school funding - set up

A charter school receives significantly less set up funding than it would if it was set up as a state school.

The table below compares the level of government funding for staffing and day-to-day operations for a school opening with 100 students, under two models: a state school and a charter school.

Funding component	State primary school	Charter primary school	State secondary school	Charter primary school
Salaries	$360,288	$188,260	$644,886	$236,461
Operations	$277,961	$213,415	$306,513	$242,297
Total	$638,249	$401,675	$951,399	$478,758

 

Comparing state and charter school funding - from Year two onwards

From their second year, all charter school funding is based on actual rolls. The funding rate is broadly the same as an equivalent state school.

The table below compares the government funding an example charter school could expect in 2026 for staffing and day-to-day operations compared to the 2024 state school averages.

	Primary school	Secondary school
2024 State school average per student funding	$8,762	$11,040
2026 Charter school funding model per student funding	$8,278	$10,741

 

Note the above comparison assumes the example charter school:

• is the same as an average size primary or secondary state school (180 students and 1,005 students)
• is in the "Fewest" EQI band and isn't offering Māori or Pacific medium learning.

See the related links factsheets for more detail and caveats on the above comparisons.

A note on property and services funding

Both charter schools and state schools receive Government support for property and services. These costs are not included in the above comparisons because state schools and charter schools are funded for buildings and services in different ways, so they are not directly comparable.

The costs of purchasing, building or renting a new state school property is managed through the Ministry of Education (MoE), and the exact costs of doing so will vary based on a variety of factors.

State schools receive some funding for day-to-day maintenance and operating costs, but most costs are managed directly via the MoE.

Likewise, services such as IT, Payroll and Professional Learning and Development are provided to state schools via the MoE.

Charter school property and services funding is based off the average per student cost of these services for state schools.

Converting schools

Converting schools don’t receive establishment (set-up) funding. The Charter School Agency may provide some funding to cover conversion costs.