The growth of charter schools in Ohio is draining traditional public schools of money and students.

        It also creates headaches for traditional public schools when charter students come back.

        From October 1999 to January 2001, Cincinnati Public Schools lost 1,721 students to charter schools. During that time, CPS gained 377 students from charter schools.

        That translates to a net loss of $16 million to charter schools out of a $428 million district budget for 2001-02, because money follows students who enroll in charter schools, said CPS treasurer Michael Geoghegan.

        When charter students return to traditional public schools, budgets can be strained because fund ing often is slow to follow. Also, educators struggle to decide which grade to place students when they come back from non-traditional programs.

        “It's about the mission,” said John Rothwell, charter schools manager for CPS. “We are not fulfilling our mission for those kids educated in non-public schools and state-sponsored charter schools.”

        Cincinnati has 15 charter schools, including three sponsored by CPS, that enroll more than 4,000 students.

        CPS officials say the system is strained because hundreds of charter students have returned to public schools. Often, the documents they need to transfer are missing.

        A minimum of $4,814 in state funding goes to charter schools for every student enrolled, according to Ohio Department of Education spokesman J.C. Benton. Without proper documents, public schools face taking on students without a budget adjustment.

        When charter students return to traditional public schools, CPS officials say it can be difficult to determine in what grade to place students because their programs can vary greatly from public schools.

        The number of transfers from charter schools could have been higher this year.

        When the facility for the Harmony Community School in Price Hill was not ready for occupancy this fall, several families inquired about transferring students to CPS' Hughes Center.

        Diana Porter, a program facilitator at Hughes Center, said she had to turn charter students away because her program was full.

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