Looks like the Senate's approval of charter schools yesterday was not quite final. The Senate approved SB# 2401 34-17 but held it on a motion to reconsider. The Public School Lobby war machine kicked it up another notch yesterday as it announced its opposition to this bill. Parents' Campaign Executive Director Nancy Loome issued another fatwah against SB#2401 last night in an email yesterday:
Today, the Senate passed its version of the charter school bill on a vote of 34-17. While there are some very good things about this bill, there are some areas that need to be changed significantly if this legislation is to help improve student achievement in Mississippi.
Senator Horhn's amendment to focus charter schools only in districts rated below Academic Watch was a step in the right direction. Our position on that amendment was to vote "yes." That amendment was defeated with 19 yeas and 32 nays. See that vote here.
The bill in its current form would do more harm than good, and so our position on the final passage vote was to vote "no." See that vote here.
Senate Education Chairman Gray Tollison acknowledged a number of times during questioning today that there are areas of the bill that still need work, yet he opposed each of the 9 amendments that were offered, promising to look at those issues and work to improve the bill.
I am hopeful that the House will do a better job of attending to the details that will determine whether or not this bill will work well for Mississippi. Done well, charter school legislation could help to propel Mississippi to the next level. Done poorly, it could diminish the success of Mississippi's Star and High Performing schools and harm significantly those communities.
Here's what needs to be improved.
* Limit charters to chronically underperforming school zones. We need to focus charter schools where they will most benefit Mississippi, where students are trapped in chronically underperforming schools. School budgets are severely underfunded, and there is little hope that the MAEP will be fully funded this year or next year. It would be irresponsible to further stretch those scarce school dollars by creating new schools - more administrators, more buildings, more overhead - where children already have good schools. We just can't afford it.
* Require a proven track record of success from charter school operators. The Senate version of the bill does not require this. The bill says that such information should be included in the application, but it does not direct the authorizer to grant charters only to those with a record of success. Under this bill, anyone could be granted a charter; there are no restrictions.
* Ensure that for-profit companies cannot run charter schools. The bill has a loophole that will allow this.
* Prohibit virtual charter schools. Fortunately, the Senate version does prohibit this form of charter school, thanks to an amendment passed by the Senate Education Committee. We need to remain vigilant about keeping them out. We will watch this in the House to make sure virtual charter schools don't make their way back into the bill. Read about virtual charter schools here.
Thank you for your hard work on this bill. I know many of you are disappointed in your legislators' votes. I've heard from so many of you today already that I cannot respond individually. Please continue to have conversations with your legislators about your position on charter school legislation. They need to know that you are paying attention and that you care deeply about the effects of this bill.
The bill will now go to the House. I'm not sure if that chamber will take up this charter bill or if it will take up its own version. We will watch it for you and keep you posted. You can find updates on our website. Thanks so much for being there for Mississippi kids!
Gratefully,
Nancy
The Clarion-Ledger published 8 letters to the editor opposing the charter schools bill and only 1 in favor of the bill. A guest column by Parents' Campaign President Claiborne Barksdale opposing the bill appeared Tuesday in the newspaper. Meanwhile I would love to publish some pro-charter school columns, fact-sheets, or similar letters to the editor but unfortunately, the pro-charter schools advocates seem to be taking the week off when it comes to PR. Stay tuned.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Charter schools: here we go again today.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
The motion to reconsider is a common procedural matter. It will likely not be reconsidered and the motion will be tabled, sending the bill to the House as passed yesterday.
I feel sorry for any Republican lawmaker who is perceived as being against charter schools or as trying to weaken the bill, as that legislator will almost certainly be primaried and possibly beaten in the primary.
bet they try to get virtual schools back in the bill. and i think Michael Watson is going to have a few bones to pick today, too.
“It would be irresponsible to further stretch those scarce school dollars by creating new schools - more administrators, more buildings, more overhead - where children already have good schools. We just can't afford it.” Nancy Loome, Parents for Public Schools’ Parents’ Campaign (name alone should be an alliteration crime)
"The funds within the current school funding formula, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, would follow students to their schools of choice." Tate Reeves, from Tate Comes Out Swinging for Charter Schools.
If the $ follows the child to the school of their choice, then the whole ‘stretch those scarce school dollar' thing doesn’t really apply. The dollar aint stretching, it’s moving.
9:20 That is precisely why they are afraid. Dollars will be moved and spent where parents (i.e., taxpayers) want them spent, not where the bureaucrats currently control them.
Good Ole Boys. The more things change, the more they stay the same (or get worse).
Miss. Center for Public Policy does good work, but definitely needs to do better with PR. Of course, the Clarion-Ledger isn't exactly going to be wild about talking to them.
Check this out:
http://mspolicy.org/mcpp_reports/mcpp_reports_view.php?entryID=311
Miss. Center for Public Policy does good work, but definitely needs to do better with PR.
Specifics? Or are you only a bullshit artist?
With a far reaching Charter Schools bill on its way to the House looks like they've been damn effective so far.
The effort to deliver Charter Schools legislation was WON on election day 2011. There was no need to go press release toe-to-toe with Loome and Brandon Jones and the other disgruntled Donkey malcontents.
Game Over.
Thank you Tate for your leadership!
Is it true that the Mississippi Economic Council joined forces with the Loome crowd and opposed the passage of this bill?
If so, the Senate leaderships abIlity to hold all 31 GOP Senators and add some Democrat support against Loome AND the state chamber of commerce is impressive.
It isn't lost on many that Blueprint Mississippi was a call to tax and spend.
Re: Anonymous 2/23 @ 7:41PM
"Various groups support expanding the state’s charter school law. But some, such as the Mississippi Economic Council and the Parents Campaign, a statewide group looking to improve public education, say the new charter schools should be limited to chronically low-performing districts."
http://nems360.com/bookmark/17601064
Post a Comment