Warding Off Competition: The Impact of School District Outreach on Charter Expansion in Arizona

Objective To assess whether charter†competition†induced changes in traditional school district policies—in this case outreach programs—can slow subsequent charter growth. Methods Using Arizona data in a regression analysis, the impact of district outreach intensity on charter growth from 1997 to 2000—when these marketing activities were probably modified in response to prior (1994–1997) charter entry—is determined. This impact is then compared to the effect of outreach intensity on initial charter growth for 1994–1997, when competition†induced changes in outreach activities were less likely to have been implemented. Results High district outreach intensity did not influence charter expansion during 1994–1997, but did slow this growth during 1997–2000. Conclusion Traditional school districts are capable of slowing charter growth via competition†induced changes in outreach activities, but the effect occurs with a lag. The analysis suggests that charter entry also generates responses from private schools that slow charter growth.