Eileen Sigmund, is CEO of the Arizona Charter School Association.

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Michael Esser's guest opinion piece, "TUSD should keep schools open, focus on mission of education" which ran last Monday, stirred up a robust response from the charter school community that strives to provide a high-quality education for our students.

Arizona offers choices for parents to decide the best education that fits their unique child, and charters compete for this privilege.

In order for readers to have all the facts, the Arizona Charter Schools Association would like to clarify some of the points.

First, charter schools in Arizona do focus on quality education for underserved and overlooked students whose parents are not satisfied. Charter schools provide a tuition-free public education and adhere to the same rules, guidelines and principles that all public schools do.

Charter schools are audited annually; they adhere to federal guidelines such as No Child Left Behind; meet the Arizona Department of Education's state academic standards and the Arizona State Board of Charter Schools' strict guidelines.

If any one of these regulatory authorities discovers problems within a charter school, the charter must respond or it may close.

In addition, charter schools receive less funding and cannot access local property tax dollars. Charter schools get approximately $1,000-$2,000 less per student than public schools, a figure that can be verified at the Arizona Department of Education's Web site, www.ade.state.az.us. By looking up individual schools and dividing the total number of students by the total dollars each school receives, many people will be surprised to see how little charters get in funding.

In fact, a lot of the funds that the state awards to district schools are not even available to charters. An example of this is funding for buildings, which is given to district schools and not to charters.

Education should be the main focus; however, it is a fact that parents and students do look for schools that offer programs such as transportation, food and sports. To answer that need, some charters do provide free transportation, a complete school lunch program, free afterschool tutoring and excellent athletic programs.

Charters also provide prevention services for their students in topics such as substance abuse, alcohol and tobacco prevention and abstinence. When many district schools have to make the tough decision to cut positions that offer their students these important programs, charters are still able to provide them – with less money per student.

Charter schools are part of Arizona's public education system. One in four public schools is a charter school and one in 10 public students is a charter student.

We do agree on our mission — to educate students. A one-size-fits-all education system does not work. We, as parents, educators and the public, should embrace this diversity. Charter schools meet the demand from parents and students who want flexibility, choice and accountability.