The charter school movement continues to grow, but not without government agencies unremitting attempt to obstruct progress. The government system in Frederick County, Maryland is forcing a new charter school to hire the system’s “leftovers.”

Now, in the last months before the school is finally scheduled to open this fall, the Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) has informed these parents that they can’t hire the nine teachers that they had selected after vetting 300 applications. Instead, under Maryland law, the school can be forced to accept teachers on the county’s “to be placed list”—in other words, teachers who the FCPS would otherwise let go. Furthermore, the parents running the school cannot even interview them—nor learn their names, nor have any other way to get an idea whether these teachers have any understanding of the classical curriculum or the ability or motivation to teach it. The FCPS can simply force placement of the teachers it can’t use in any of its other schools.

Closer to home we see Brunswick County School Superintendent, Ed Pruden, submitting an “Impact Statement” to the NC Public Charter School Advisory Council opposing the approval of a proposed charter school. I am not surprised his report is filled with misinformation, inaccuracies, and inflammatory language.  What does surprise me is the Brunswick County (Republican) School Board allowing an out of control Superintendent to continue his political agenda.  Yes, Brunswick County School Board is “nonpartisan,” but each member is a registered Republican. You would think they might consider a new charter school a positive influence, like the Republican platform. Especially since the proposed charter is an expansion of two other established, successful charter schools:  Charter Day School, and Columbus Charter School.  Charter Day School started in 2000, and has a long waiting list. The proposed charter will be located closer to where many of the applicants and current students live, and can serve more families who WANT this option. Remember, NO ONE IS FORCED TO ATTEND!

I could go on about this offensive “Impact Statement,” but I think the article describing the situation in Maryland sums it up best:

Americans who are acting in ways our civic culture has traditionally celebrated—harming no one, just trying make a living or build a business or, in this case, collaborate to educate their children—find themselves balked, forbidden, and in some cases prosecuted, by bureaucracies that increasingly exist to protect themselves and their own interests, and have gathered unto themselves the power to do so. This is not a partisan issue. It represents a betrayal of what America is supposed to be about.