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Charter School Authorizers

Charter school authorizers are faced with many issues and challenges when it comes to finance and governance. As the number of charter applications grows and rising numbers of schools come up for renewal, they are faced with an increasingly complex and continuing process which involves more than just regulatory responsibilities.


Charter authorizers must accurately assess the sustainability potential of charter school applicants and evaluate the resources to help local charters build the finance and governance capacity when and where they need it the most. They also must utilize effective finance and governance policies and practices to monitor the ongoing performance of existing charter schools, foster creativity and innovation to support and improve them, review charters to hold them accountable, and consider the benefits of shifting and sharing oversight responsibility with other organizations.


Charter school authorizers are one of the three key audiences of the National Resource Center for Charter School Finance and Governance. This page is designed to highlight new resources on charter school finance and governance specifically of interest to charter school authorizers, and to quickly link you to other resources on this Web site of special interest to charter school authorizers.

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What's New

  • NACSA 2008 Member Salary Survey
    This first annual authorizer salary survey, conducted by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, finds that most public charter authorizing work is conducted by a small staff of between one to five employees that work solely on public chartering issues as well as a select number of staff that assume non-charter duties as well. The leadership position of an authorizing office is generally held by an experienced individual with advanced education who has an average annual salary of $92,500. The typical public charter school office budget is under $1 million. The most difficult human capital challenges facing authorizing organizations were identified as lack of qualified staff and fulfilling authorizing duties within the allocated budget.

Quick Links

Information Resources and Tools

National and state-specific resources on the financing and governance of charter schools, including articles, evaluations, tools and toolkits, and other materials.

Resource Organizations

National, state and regional organizations, websites, newsletters, and other information sources that offer resources or support on charter school finance and governance.