Teacher Unions Continue Attack on Charter Schools
Washington State recently became the 41st state to establish a charter school law. It provides for 45 charter schools over a six year period, with the majority to serve disadvantaged students. Despite this emphasis on students most in need, the 78,000-member Washington Education Association has announced it will launch a drive to attempt obtaining the necessary 98.867 signatures of registered voters by June 9 to place an initiative on the fall ballot to overturn the law before it even gets a fair trial.
In addition to the WEA, charter schools in Washington State, as elsewhere, are opposed by the usual suspects: the state association of school administrators, the state school directors association, individual school boards, and the League of Women Voters.
Their arguments are getting a bit weary.
One is that charter schools are an unproven experiment. This is said about a movement that has grown from no schools and no students a dozen years ago to some 2700 schools and 700,000 students today? Whatever else charter schools may be they have long passed the stage of being either unproven or experiments.
Another is that they will drain money from the public schools. The claim in Washington state is $35 million each year for the next two years. How do they know? Nor do they mention the students, only the dollars. Are they suggesting that they should be funded for students no longer in their schools? Any reduction in the money they receive will only happen if thousands of students choose to go to charter schools, all of which are voluntarily institutions with no power to compel attendance.
A third is that charter schools are expensive. Since they receive less money than traditional public schools, what does that say about the traditional schools which spend as much as $45,000 per year per student. That's a New York school district whose students still score below the state average on several tests.
Actions, as the saying goes, speak louder than their words. It should be obvious that the WEA is convinced that charter schools will work. First, if they don't, how will they attract students. And no students, no money. Clearly, the WEA believes charter schools not only work but may prove to be better than traditional schools. Its charter school success they fear. Failure they would welcome.
Far to the east, the Ohio Federation of Teachers is taking a similar stance, but a bit late. It has threatened to pursue a statewide referendum to eliminate charter schools if by July the state legislature doesn't act to stop the opening of new ones. This in Ohio where there are already 179 charter schools. It's also fascinating that OFT President Tom Mooney says the proposed moratorium would not apply to the 46 schools sponsored by public school districts. In other words, although all of Ohio's charter schools are equal under the law, the OFT regards some charter schools are more equal than others.
Both unions need to check with their colleagues across the nation.
According to Mike Antonucci's Education Intelligence Agency (www.eiaonline.com) the Pennsylvania State Education Association, one of the nation's most powerful state groups, adopted an internal report which concluded that "Attempts to prevent the granting of charters can have negative public relations consequences." Even more surprisingly, they conceded that charter schools "will continue to extend their reach because they provide an expanded range of consumer choices and also provide options for students who are not fitting well into their regular public schools." Which isn't to say they love charter schools. They don't. But they realize that they need to adapt to change rather than play King Canute sweeping back the sea.
In California, with financial assistance from the National Education Association, the California Teachers Association is undertaking a pilot project to organize charter schools teachers. To date most charter school teachers do not belong to unions. Might there be a connection between that and union opposition to charters? At the very least it should prove difficult for some unions to organize charter school teachers in some states while their colleagues in other states attempt to throttle the movement.
The number of charter schools opened in each of the last seven years: 1997-98: 233; 1998-99: 396; 1999-2000: 466; 2000-01: 295; 2001-02: 420; 2002-03: 395; 2003-04: 309. "Charter Trends," p. 12, Education Week, February 18, 2004 (Total: 2514; and there might have been more but some states cap the number permitted, as Washington has done at 45 over the next six years. It's possible the cap may be raised or eliminated later, as has happened in other states. Ed.)
This first charter school, City Academy High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, was started in 1992 by two public school teachers. Fully 25% of the first 400 charter schools were started by school teachers. Charter schools started by others are commonly swamped with applicants. In Massachusetts, 700 teachers sought one of 36 positions at the Renaissance School in Boston, while 500 applied for 7 slots at Marblehead.
David W. Kirkpatrick is a Senior Education Fellow with the U.S. Freedom Foundation and The Buckeye Institute.
