Durham Herald-Sun reporter Ray Gronberg begins his article by discussing a recent NC Appeals Court decision that could force localities to increase funding for charter schools.
Fine, county commissioners and the Durham Public Schools are mad about the decision.
It goes downhill from there:
1. Gronberg never bothers to quote a representative from a local charter school. Instead, unidentified “local charter-school advocates are already scrutinizing DPS’ accounting.”
2. Durham has seven charter schools, but Gronberg chooses to identify one of them, the Healthy Start Academy, because it is in a “preservation dispute with neighbors and city officials.”
3. And then there is this: “The squabble highlighted the fact that charters generally aren’t accountable to voters and local elected boards like the City Council, even when their actions appear to contradict local policy.” Like any enterprise, charter schools must comply with local laws. Charter must also meet state-mandated accountability standards. Charters are not rogue institutions.
4. Of course, Gronberg mentions that Durham school officials complain that charter schools “siphon money away from public districts.” He neglects to mention that charter schools relieve the school system of the considerable cost of building new schools.
5. He concludes, “Charters are public schools, in the sense that they’re open to all and tuition is free, but they’re privately managed.” Charter schools are not public schools in some special sense. They are public schools. Period.
H/T: CG
