Operating a charter school
As a sponsor, you are responsible for establishing and running the school, including governance, staffing, and achieving your contracted outcomes.
The following page will give you a broad overview of some of the more detailed aspects of operating a charter school.
Maintaining and funding school property
Unlike state schools where responsibility for property is shared between the Ministry of Education and school boards, charter school sponsors are usually solely responsible for their property needs. This includes paying rent or a mortgage, major capital works, managing day to day maintenance and maintaining and replacing furniture and equipment.
We provide funding to cover these costs. The exact rates vary depending on if a charter school property is:
- Sponsor‑owned or leased
- Crown‑owned
Funding model
Charter school funding is based on state school funding. Most funding is provided as a per‑student amount. Funding covers the following areas:
- Establishment (for new schools only)
- Property
- Services
- Staffing
- Operations
- Distance
Funding is set to be broadly the same as what a comparable state school would receive.
As a sponsor, you can decide how to spend your funding, as long as you meet what is agreed in your contract.
Important exception: If your school uses Ministry‑owned property, at least 70% of your capital maintenance funding must be spent on maintaining or improving Crown‑owned assets.
Performance management framework
Charter school sponsors have more flexibility than state schools. You can design your school’s structure, governance and curriculum to suit your students and community.
In return, there is a strong focus on accountability. Each school operates under a performance framework that sets out:
- the outcomes you need to achieve
- how performance will be measured
- how progress will be monitored.
Review the performance management framework
Learn more about performance monitoring
Contract pack
The Charter School contract pack is made up of two documents: