King County Dems Legislative Action Committee takes on charter schools

[eridani]

Time for a bill requiring competitive bidding for all charter school contracts over $1,000 and requiring total transparency of the charter "nonprofits" and their boards and business relationships. Despite using public funds, charters have been known to claim in court that their books and financial dealings are private. They also take school buildings and never give them back, even when they fail academically. Instead, there should be a lease provision, with control of the property always reverting to the public. As the Speaker says, never give or sell your land.

Another bill is needed to protect the public's interest in our neighborhood schools. One of the worst, and least publicized features of the charter initiative is the parent/teacher trigger, which allows a majority of parents or teachers at a school to take over the building by circulating a petition, even surreptitiously, with no public process. This may be an underperforming school, or more likely, the best school with the most involved parents. A bill would require public notification and discussion before signatures are collected. (Note to GOP: this is a lot like union organizing by "card check" signature collecting, which you oppose.)

Proponents of the charter initiative say the provision that the 40 charters will give preference to underperforming students will be handled by the new charter schools commission. However, there is no methodology. Legislation could fill in the blank. Perhaps the first two charters should go to underperforming areas, before one can go elsewhere, and continue in that pattern. Otherwise, we simply end up with taxpayers paying for private, or alternative schools. Perhaps Eric Pettigrew will sponsor this one.

Last, any charter school operations that have been convicted or a crime or have been removed from contracts elsewhere should be in eligible for a charter here. Otherwise, we are not benefitting from the experience of others, as the proponents claim.

Sarajane Siegfriedt
King County Dems Legislative Action Committee
[e-mail]

[The Roux Comes First]

1. Those Seem Like Some Very Sound Basics

for Trying to Achieve What the Initiative Claimed It Was All About

At least a good starting point for reducing the chances of having the public fund schools for children of the elite with little or no accountability to the public.

[iemitsu]

2. Excellent premptive move on the part of King county Dems.

Hopefully regulations will discourage many from wanting to take over public schools and creating charters.

[Wounded Bear]

3. They sound like very helpful suggestions....

I fear for our students if there is no oversight on this. I'd hate to become like post-Katrina Louisiana.