Some state lawmakers plan to introduce a bill this week that would allow for public charter schools in the state. The proposal, supported by lawmakers who are expected to introduce identical bills in both the state House and Senate, would allow up to 50 charter schools in Washington, with no more than 10 new schools in any year. Currently Washington is one of eight states that do not allow charter schools; with voters rejecting initiatives calling for charter schools in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Sen. Rodney Tom (D-Medina), a proponent of the alternative education scheme said charter schools have proven to be effective in nearly every other state. However, a simple Google search will provide just as many results listing the failures in the charter school legacy. A sampling of these stories may be found here, here, and here.
A concern of charter school opponents is that funding for these schools will come at the expense of existing public schools; in some cases causing schools to shut down and students to be distributed to other already overcrowded schools in the district. This issue becomes even more critical if the charter school fails and closes; sending those students back into the public schools which will then have become under-funded as a result of the earlier exodus. There is also a concern about public dollars (our taxes) going in to the pockets of private “education providers.”
Rep. Mike Sells (D-Everett) has his doubts about the introduction of charter schools into the state. He says, “Charter schools have been a mixed bag of success and failure--although we can never trust the results, because quite often they don't meet the same mandates to serve everyone that a public school does…”
The timing of the proposed legislation is also in question in light of the recent state Supreme Court ruling that found the state is failing to meet its constitutional obligation to fully fund basic education. According to Rep. Sells,
“I guess they haven't noticed the decision this week regarding $8 billion of underfunding to schools that the Supreme Court iterated in their latest ruling. We don't have the money to let them experiment with our kids' futures, let alone the moral issue of doing that. Our kids should not be for sale.”
Look for this to become a pretty hotly contested issue this session.
Peace
Chad Shue
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