Arizona’s tax laws and public school structure have created a system where charter schools are thriving and multiplying. They provide for a variety of needs (from the Great Heart Western Civ.-centric schools to the remedial education available to those on the margins) and facilities/resources (very local, but not much more than a store front to full-fledged sports and extra-curriculars).
They are still public schools, and to some degree compete with private and parochial schools. Fortunately, the AZ tax structure is friendly to private schools as well, so the whole system is a net gain.
Deserves some amplification.
One charter school here is in a semi dead mall and another is in an old strip mall...