Baltimore City schools, charter operators reach $8.5 million funding deal

Baltimore City Public Schools has agreed to send charter operators an additional $8,537,764 for fiscal 2026, a settlement that ends a yearslong fight over how much money Baltimore’s charter campuses should receive and when. The deal covers 32 charter schools and operators across the city, with payments due by June 30, and it is meant to give both sides a funding framework that can hold through 2030.

The money closes out a dispute that began when 14 charter school operators challenged the district’s FY26 funding formula, arguing it violated state law and Maryland State Board precedent on commensurate funding. In its January opinion, the State Board said City Schools’ FY26 presentation put total charter funding at about $299.4 million, including a 2% administrative fee of $7 million, about $9.4 million for non-distributable services such as human capital, financial services, legal services, school police and student data management, and $38.3 million for special education and pre-K services.

That challenge had already escalated before the settlement talks. On Nov. 4, 2025, the Maryland State Board of Education denied the district’s request to pause the case and ordered City Schools to answer the petition on the merits, keeping pressure on the district as it tried to defend its funding method. The settlement now sidesteps a drawn-out ruling that could have further exposed how Baltimore allocates charter money versus dollars that stay in district-run schools.

The agreement lands alongside new state rules and guidance that have tightened the debate over charter finance. In May 2025, the State Board adopted Resolution 25-01, saying local education agencies should give charter schools a proportionate share of county, state and federal revenue unless a specific deduction applies or in-kind services have been negotiated. In December 2025, the board approved revised charter funding regulations, and Baltimore City Public Schools warned those changes could shift an estimated $19 million away from traditional schools, lower traditional-school funding by $323 per pupil and raise charter funding by $1,283 per pupil.

For charter operators, the settlement brings predictability after years of litigation and policy fights. City Schools has said the Maryland Alliance of Public Charter Schools has repeatedly pushed for changes that would send more money to charter campuses, while charter leaders have argued the district withheld too much and threatened school viability. For Baltimore families, the immediate effect is a cleaner funding formula for 32 charter campuses, but the larger fight over who controls education dollars, and how much reaches neighborhood schools, will continue to shape future budgets and oversight citywide.