The proponents of the education status quo are again decrying the fact that parents are demanding choices about where to send their children to school, and that legislators are responding. In response to a commentary about public charters published in the Raleigh News & Observer, Baker Mitchell, a man who has real-world experience with charters – he is responsible for two of them in rural parts of the state – refutes, point by point, the myths that continue to be accepted as fact about charters. So, as JLF’s Terry Stoops did at sister blog The Locker Room, in this space I will encourage you to read this piece. Here’s one portion of this must-read response.

 

Since passage of the charter law in 1996, there have been 150 charters granted with 100 open as of 2011.  Fifty charters opened and closed for one reason or another.  Remember, if a parent withdraws their child, the money stops flowing to that school, and if enough parents leave, then the school will be forced to close  – that is real accountability directly in the hands of the parents. The charter concept of letting parental choice and competition weed out the poorly performing schools is working very well.

The pending bills, about which Mr. Fiske complains, also make it clear that the State Charter Board will be subject to Section 150B of the General Statutes which ensures that all rules and policies that are adopted by the Board are in compliance with state law.  GS 150B thus protects the public from any board, commission, or agency which might be attempting to overstep its authority.  (In a January 30, 2013 report, the State Board of Education claimed that it was not subject to any such rule-making oversight, and that controversy is continuing, thus the new bills make this issue explicit.)

Eliminating accountability?  The new bills actually increase accountability.  Remember the “and” instead of “or” for application requirements cited above.  Remember the closure if the applicant’s academic goals are not met.  Remember the closure if 60% of the mandated tests are not passed.  Remember the annual audits of finances and legal compliance that get published and reported.  Remember the audits for Exceptional Children under Federal Title I requirements. Remember the explicit coverage of charters by GS 150B rule-making review. Remember the county health inspectors, the county fire marshals, OSHA, EEOC, and the multitude of other regulatory agencies that drop in unannounced for a check.Remember that a parent may pull their child out of a charter school at any time, and then the money stops.   [author’s emphasis]

 

Baker Mitchell deserves our admiration for caring enough about this state’s children to actually do something to help them rather than pretend the existing traditional public system is the answer for every child, every family, and every need.