One of the Shark Blog's top priorities for the new year is Charter Schools for Washington. Charter schools have been a successful way to introduce competition and parental choice into public schools around the country (as seen in Colorado, for example, and in the many KIPP schools)
Unfortunately, Washington is currently one of only 10 states that do not allow charter schools. Many Washingtonians have been working for years to pass charter school legislation, but have been stymied by teacher unions and other school employee groups who have been fearful of losing their monopolies on public education. A crucial test takes place this month, as the Washington State Legislature is expected to vote on a bill to finally permit charter schools.
Charter legislation should have been passed last June, when a bi-partisan bill had been negotiated in the legislature. It passed in the Senate, the votes were there in the House and the Governor was ready to sign. Unfortunately, the session ended before the bill was brought up for a floor vote in the House. The new legislative session begins next Monday, January 12. The votes are still there in the House, but with changes in membership, the Senate is no longer solid. But if enough Senators vote their conscience to support school choice, many of our kids who are currently stuck in struggling schools will win new options for their education and their future.
Here is a rundown of some of the key players in the struggle for quality public education and school choice in Washington:
ADVOCATES OF SCHOOL CHOICE
Jim and Fawn Spady. As frustrated parents, they launched the movement for school choice in Washington back in 1994. They founded and continue to lead the Education Excellence Coalition, to lobby for quality education for all children in the state.
The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, El Centro de la Raza and United Indians of All Tribes all support charter schools.
Paul Hill, education researcher with the Hoover Institution and the University of Washingon's Center for Reinventing Public Education, is the state's most prominent academic champion of charter schools.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen helped finance a (unsuccessful) pro-charter ballot initiative, I-729, in 2000.
Most of Washington's major newspapers, including the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer support charter schools (see representative editorials here and here).
Governor Gary Locke has championed charter schools for years. From his State of the State Address of 1998:
This year, I want to sign charter school legislation that promotes innovation and community involvement in public education.Gov. Locke steps down a year from now. Hopefully, he will yet be able to claim the introduction of charter schools as one of his major accomplishments.This last legislature of the 20th century must throw open the doors and windows of our public schools to the fresh air and new ideas that charter schools will provide.
Terry Bergeson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is a former president of the state teachers union and was long opposed to charter schools, but supported last year's bi-partisan charter bill.
In the state House of Representatives, the bi-partisan coalition for charter schools is led by members of the House Education Committee: Democrats Dave Quall (chairman), Phil Rockefeller, Ross Hunter and ranking Republican Gigi Talcott.
In the Senate, the leading proponent is Education Committee chairman, Republican Stephen Johnson
OPPONENTS OF SCHOOL CHOICE
The opposition to school choice consists primarily of: public school employees, their unions, their supporters in the legislature and the ideologues who believe that it would be wrong for the government to let people have control over their own children's education.
The Washington Education Association claims to support charter schools in theory, but only if collective bargaining in charter schools works the same way as it does in other public schools, which of course would defeat the whole point. The WEA's June 2003 legislative update newsletter lists this item under the heading "WEA's legislative victories this session":
The charter school bill failed.The Washington Association of School Administrators hosted the website for the 2000 campaign against the pro-charter I-729. This page gives this list of the groups who opposed the ballot measure. The WASA explains why employee groups object to charter schools:
Employees in each of the independently run charters are not allowed to join the school district bargaining units. They must establish a separate bargaining unit. For most, this means having to start over to obtain rights, wages and benefits local unions have secured through years of negotiations. Charter school employees will not be protected by state laws limiting contracting out options.Translation: charter schools threaten the guaranteed salaries of overpaid, underperforming workers. Yes, it really is that simple.
State Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Education Committee, is the staunchest opponent of school choice in the legislature. A number of Senate Democrats reportedly would like to vote for charter schools as do many of their Democratic colleagues in the House, but McAuliffe uses all of her clout to strongarm the Senate Democrats to toe the union line. All it would take is one or two Democrats to vote with their conscience to do the right thing this time and thousands of underserved children will finally gain the opportunity to get a decent education.
THE KEY UNDECLARED VOTE
The most important undeclared vote is the Democrat Speaker of the House, Frank Chopp. Chopp has long been a nominal supporter of charter schools and was said to have been in favor of the bill that should have passed last year. As Speaker, it was his call to bring the bill to a vote in the House, but other business had priority, time ran out and the session ended without a vote on the charter bill.
The ball is in Chopp's court to bring the bill to a floor vote this month, but he hasn't yet made a firm commitment to do so. I live in his district and I'll try to talk with him as a constituent, and encourage him to support charter schools.
I'm spending my time to spread the word on charter schools because it's obvious that many of our public schools are failing and cannot be resuscitated without a drastic overhaul in the way they are managed. We cannot afford as a nation to let so many of our young people leave school without an adequate education. Charter schools are just one step toward repairing our schools. But it is the single most important next step that is achievable in the short term here in Washington. If you live in Washington and care about our public schools, please contact your state legislators and encourage them to support charter schools.
UPDATE This page gives the status of the charter bill and its various amendments and votes. The roll calls for the bill's Senate votes are here.
Andy MacDonald's comment includes a link to helpful information on contacting your Washington state representatives.
UPDATE 2 Rep. Gigi Talcott proposes a compromise.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at January 05, 2004 07:00 AMWonderful summary, Stefan. Laying the list of supporters against the list of opponents really helps clarify the reasons to back charter schools.
At the end you mention contacting state reps to encourage their support. I've put together a post on how do to that, with a link to find your reps names and addresses: http://www.andy-macdonald.net/archives/000122.html#000122.
This is a long time Democratic state and these GOP lunacy has no place here. Take that crap back to Texas.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com on January 5, 2004 01:31 PMWell Thomas Jefferson disagrees with you.
http://www.monticello.org/reports/quotes/education.html
1818. "A system of general education, which shall reach every description of our citizens from the richest to the poorest, as it was the earliest, so will it be the latest of all the public concerns in which I shall permit myself to take an interest." (to Joseph C. Cabell)
I guess he is just a pinko commie liberal.
I can only hope and pray that Bush starts openly spouting such classist and un-American nonsense. That will go over really well with the American voter just like his unfunded and worthless education bill.
Hey, Jake, who I see from your IP address you are at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division in Keyport. Do your clients in the military know you are using their network to insult Republicans and Texas?
In any event, charter schools are public schools. They're a way, among other things, to level the playing field and introduce higher quality and more choices to people who can't afford private schools.
Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on January 5, 2004 04:14 PMJake's at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division? Sounds like he needs to come up for air so he can start thinking more clearly.
Posted by: ipsofacto on January 5, 2004 06:49 PMOhh insulting IP numbers instead of what I have to say. Wow.
Anything that starves already starving public school funds is class warfare. Look at how Charter schools have failed in other districts. There is no way in hell that they are going to pass here.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com on January 5, 2004 07:56 PM> Look at how Charter schools have failed in other districts.
As opposed to those public schools which have never failed....
Charter schools don't have to be very good to be better than standard public schools.
Posted by: Andy Freeman on January 5, 2004 10:44 PMJake,
I'd be interested to compare the percentage of charter schools that fail against the percentage of public schools that are failing.
Oops...someone already did-- and it wasn't a teachers' union:
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/ewp_01_press.htm
Here's a quote from a story in the Greenville News in SC after the report was released:
"...the Manhattan Institute study may be the first to compare charter school students with traditional students of similar economic backgrounds. The study compares apples to apples. That's appropriate because charter schools nationwide most often serve poor, disadvantaged and struggling students. (Doesn't sound like class warfare to me...)
When economic background is taken into account, charter school students perform slightly better than students in traditional public schools — despite the fact that charter schools often spend less money."
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/news/opinion/2003/07/24/2003072410835.htm
Sorry to be so late to post. Just catching up.
Hmm, I find it a better use of my time to work with my kids teachers, the school principal, and most importantly, my kids, than to spend my time jamming some agenda down my neighbors' throats.
But that's just me. I find these "debates" tedious in the extreme and they rarely mention actual kids, instead focusing on the alleged evils of teachers unions and money, money, money. Schools are about educating children: if you're talking about anything else, you're off-topic.
Posted by: paul on January 8, 2004 09:25 AMIf charter schools are the answer why to we not allow all schools, charter, public and private to operate under the charter rules? Would not all education become less expesnive to get out from under all the paperwork required by our state and federal govenment.
Posted by: Dan on January 18, 2004 12:17 PMHey Stefen!
I am a parent in dire need of info. We are a group of parents in Sammamish who have had the GLSEN move in on us and with one teen about to graduate Eastlake, and a 4 year old about to enter kindergarten, we have no choices.
I read with a heavy heart about charter schools. What are your thoughts on homeschool co-ops? Im so furious about this GLSEN fiasco that is spreading out across the city of Seattle I cant see straight.
Our high school has a pro-gay agenda that they will not step away from no matter what the parents request. Its under the guidance of "anti-harassment" but the materials are quite clear.
Not to get too long here, but check out our political site with a blossoming Education Forum .. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on what parents can do to get a choice in this state. And keep up the good work!
Posted by: Lauri on March 6, 2004 06:38 PMp.s. added to say this jake character sounds... a tad bitter. I'm a PROUD GOP from Texas.. Bush 2004!
Posted by: Lauri on March 6, 2004 06:44 PMAmen to Paul. I live in Utah and the charter schools are becoming an instrument of a political agenda AND spend 4 times the tax money per student than what public schools do. They have less accountability and drain funds badly needed in my state from public schools (our funding is 50th in the nation). They don't offer innovation or perform any better either.
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Excerpt: A Greedy Spider wishes to eat with four different friends on Thanksgiving Day and find that out that she can only accept one invitation at a time. Greedy Spider has a colorful design that invites children to read. This picture book is diligently written, designed and carefully constructed with the children in mind. Please include this book in your list of reading materials for kids. Tel: (919) 620-9645
It's very interesting how people look at charter schools. You want people to vote for ice cream or a cake. I would say that most of us have no idea of the impact that charter schools would do to public education. The rules for charter schools are different. Where is the control of the money they get. Who gets to go? How do you pick them. I know that the Mr. Gates and I forget the other gentleman who owns another business could spend their own money and show Washington what is possible. I have seen enough programs on Public TV where what they said would happen, just didn't work. So instead of taking money from Public Schools, Mr. Gates who has given so much of his wealth back to schools for improvement, why can't charter or whatever you want to call them get some of the money that has been given or write a new proposal. I don't want to see the same thing happen when students had to go to schools miles away before we saw the damage. I am always scared when people who have it, want it done another way. Where does the leave the children who aren't so fortunate? Do they really get a chance.? Band was at 7:30 A.M. at school for 5th and 6th graders. Everyone was welcomed. It is always the same children.The ones that the parents took the time to get them there. The other ones again not there. So before you think you child is going to be included, maybe take a look at the proposal or was there one? I would have loved a charter school instead of the one I was forced to go to. Schools used to be fun and the students were educated. But just like the world, we have to respect everyone. I have never figured that one out. I go to another country to live and live by their laws and customs. We continue to let everyone into our country and now we live by what they did back where they were born. How long to we continue to let every new person, with there religion make the rules for us. I know that we are here because a group of people wanted their religious freedoms and to be able to choose. But when I went to school in the 1960's we had fun. Now charter schools are how you escape. No holiday parties at all at schools anymore, no assemblies where the students show what they are learning(piano) for me. They come to our country and then demand that we respect and honor the country they came from. What do you think test scores show, when 2,3 and maybe 4 students can't speak English. Your child needs help, but the other students who can't understand demand so much time from the teacher. So charter schools, with public money, so we can continue to cut programs and charge students to play sports. That's right those kids that can't go to band can't play sports either.
Why...................