A recent editorial from the Battle Creek Enquirer claimed that charter schools are destroying public schools and "doing immeasurable harm to our democracy."

"The people behind the charter school and privatization movement are intent on destroying public schools, and they are succeeding," the editorial said. "...What's going on? Blame the exodus of students and families fleeing under-resourced districts and classrooms in neighborhoods increasingly segregated by income."

However, the students and families in the Enquirer's own circulation area tell a different story.

In fact, parents are very likely leaving a poorer-performing, better-funded district for other conventional school districts that receive far fewer dollars per student but in many instances have better performing schools.

For example, Battle Creek Public Schools lost 2,483 students in 2012-13 — not to charter public schools — but mostly to other conventional public schools in Battle Creek that participate in the state's schools of choice program. Battle Creek Public Schools lost 1,440 students to the Lakeview School District and another 665 to Pennfield Schools.

According to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy's grading system for 2012-13, which factors in the socioeconomic background of students into schools' grades, many of the parents who took their students out of Battle Creek and enrolled them instead in the Lakeview or Pennfield school districts likely went from a school that was lower-performing to one that was higher-performing. For example, the Mackinac Center graded Battle Creek's 11 elementary and middle schools with: 5 F's, 2 D's, 2 C's and 1 B. Lakeview's five elementary and middle schools all received a C grade.

And, according to the state of Michigan, it was Battle Creek that received far more dollars per student than either of the districts taking in Battle Creek students.

In Calhoun County, according to the Michigan Department of Education for the 2011-12 year (the most recent year for which data was available), Battle Creek schools received $11,088 per student in local, state and federal general fund money. Pennfield received $8,174 per pupil, nearly $3,000 less per student.

That’s true for Lakeview as well, which received $8,851 per student.

“It's wonderful that Michigan gives parents a choice," said Audrey Spalding, education policy director at the Mackinac Center. "And parents are choosing to take their children to schools that spend less money and produce better outcomes for students."

Michael McCullough, executive editor and opinion editor of the Battle Creek Enquirer, didn't respond to a request for comment.

The Michigan Department of Education will make its quarterly presentation on the number of school districts in deficit to the state legislature Dec. 12.

But perhaps lost in the discussion about funding is that the state and federal government have budgeted $563 million more dollars for public school K-12 education in Michigan in 2013-14 than last year despite a drop of 6,100 students.

The state's School Aid Budget, which funds K-12 education, increased from $12.9 billion in 2012-13 to $13.4 billion in 2013-14. Federal dollars jumped from $1.701 billion last year to $1.764 billion in 2013-14.

However, student enrollment over the last year in public schools dropped from 1,536,600 students to 1,530,500.

"They are actually getting more money and there are fewer kids in the program," said James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. "You can argue they are not getting as much as they want, but you cannot say that taxpayers are spending fewer dollars on K-12 education."

However, many school union officials and others will complain that school funding has been cut and that more money needs to be spent regardless of student enrollment counts or student achievement.

There were a number of districts that didn't submit financial information to the state by Nov. 15, said Glenda Rader, spokeswoman for the Office of State Aid and School Finance. Rader said the final numbers will be ready by the time Superintendent Mike Flanagan makes his quarterly presentation to the Legislature Dec. 12.

Flanagan told the legislature in September that unaudited figures showed there were 56 school districts with deficits.