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Schools of choice, charters getting sizable share of kids

More than 20 percent of students in Michigan public schools were in a charter school last year or a school in another district.

MLive.com says it analyzed state data on where kids attended public school in fall 2015. The new year in most districts starts next week.

MLive says 144,000 students were in charter schools, which get state aid like traditional public schools. Another 182,000 students were in public schools outside their home district. School-of-choice programs can have a negative impact on budgets in urban districts because state aid is based on enrollment.

More than 60 percent of students in the Westwood Heights district in Genesee County came from outside the district, many from Flint.

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy says "people are voting with their feet."