California charter school battles intensify as education finances get squeezed

California’s public schools, with nearly 6 million students, are feeling the financial impacts of a quintuple whammy.

Billions of federal dollars to cushion the impacts of COVID-19 have been exhausted, school closures during the pandemic magnified declines in enrollment, chronic absenteeism has worsened, inflation is increasing operating costs, and the state budget is plagued by a huge deficit.

Since the state largely finances schools based on their attendance, many local districts...