Charter schools: growing rolls, disputed costs, same old fight

Summarised by Centrist

ACT says fresh roll data shows 1,471 students enrolled across 16 charter schools as of 1 March 2026. In the first seven schools, rolls rose from 215 to more than 658. ACT leader David Seymour says that growth undercuts the claim that charter schools are a failed sideshow.

Using Charter School Agency modelling based on the same per-student formulas used for state schools, ACT argues a same-sized charter primary school would receive about $8,278 per student versus $8,762 for a state primary, while a same-sized charter secondary would receive about $10,741 versus $11,040 for a state secondary. On that measure, ACT says the unions’ claim that charter schools cost about $90,000 per student has collapsed.

This is also still a very small network in system terms. Using the latest national roll projection, 1,471 students is about 0.17 percent of the projected 2026 regular school roll, and 16 schools is a small fraction of the 2,536 schools counted in July 2025.

NZEI said charter schools were costing taxpayers nearly $90,000 per student, based on $37.4 million spent by December 2025 and 427 students enrolled at that point. That is a very different calculation from ACT’s. NZEI is effectively dividing total early-stage spending by a still-small initial roll, while ACT is talking about modelled ongoing per-student funding once schools are up and running.

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