A poster on another local blog, GlassCity Jungle, made some ignorant remarks about charter school accountability. I won't post his stuff here but did want to point out :
Charter schools make no profit off tax dollars. And in fact charter schools have plenty of oversight including the fact that if the school isn’t doing a good job you can pull your kid from the school and without students it will close down. Try that at a public school. Charter schools are limited term charters also, which means if they don’t meet the requirements set by the state or the sponsoring organization they can lose their right to remain open. Try that at a public school. Charter schools only receive the per pupil state reimbursement paid by the state, not any other levy dollars or building funds. Try that at a public school.
Charter schools offer parents a choice if they are unhappy with the current education they are offered by the monopoly of public education. Try choice at a public school.
To suggest that charter schools are not accountable is to be ignorant of the facts. Rockets suggests there is no “outlet for public to have their say”, that’s pure B.S. The public has it’s say on charter schools by either CHOOSING to send their children there or not, that is the ultimate say so.
As for elected board members being needed I suggest you look at the Toledo school system over the last 50 years and point out where the oversight from the elected board has moved the schools forward. Are the test scores better, can kids read any better, do they know math, science, social studies any better?
Allison Perz is related to Sally Perz and they are Republicans, so was Tom Noe. Then logically this would work also Ben Konop is related to Sandy Isenberg and they are Democrats, so are James Traficant, Kwame Kilpatrick, Marion Berry, Barney Frank and the infamous alcoholic, girl killing, adulterer Ted Kennedy. Whew! I need a smoke.
There is absolutely no reason that a charter school should be allowed to operate if it is in Academic Emergency, yet aren't half of all charter schools in the state in Academic Emergency? They were founded to provide competition in education and if they can't produce a better educational product, they don't deserve to exist. That's how markets work.
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"Show me a man who lives alone and has a perpetually dirty kitchen, and
five times out of nine I'll show you an exceptional man." -Charles
Bukowski
What about public schools being allowed to operate if they are in academic emergency?
As I have posted elsewhere:
HB 79 passed last year forces charter schools to close if they fail to meet certain academic standards. Charter schools serving kindergarten through third grade and grades 10-12 must close if they are in academic emergency for four years. Schools serving fourth through eighth grades are to be closed if they are in academic emergency for three years and show no improvement in reading or math for two of those three years.
2 charter schools, one in Toledo and one in Akron, are being forced to close as they have not met the requirements included in HB 79.
Public schools are exempt from the provisions of this law. A number of TPS schools are struggling - 14 of 22 schools in AW & AE have been in improvement status for 5 or more years. There are 23 TPS schools that have been in improvement status for 3 or more years.
All schools should be accountable, but frankly I'm not convinced that public schools are more "accountable" than community schools. As Fred has noted, if community schools don't do the job, the parent simply packs up and moves on - they always have other options including public schools or other community schools.
Great comment hand and it seems you understand at least a little about the market. They were founded to provide competition you say, but since they haven't yet reached a standard you have set they should be closed. Are you aware that the Toledo School of The Arts is in Academic Excellence for three years running? Perhaps the Toledo schools which don't reach that level should be closed.
Or how about restaurants? They open to provide competition to other restaurants, if they don't reach the standard set by your favorite maybe they should be closed.
Or wait......I have an idea. If charter schools don't perform to the standards set by the sponsors, state, and parents choosing them then they would shut down because of lack of "customers". That's how the market. works unless of course you have the government paying for it with your tax dollars, then they get to stay open even when they aren't performing.
The Toledo School for the Arts was sponsored by TPS until this school year, when BGSU became the sponsor.
Or how about restaurants? They open to provide competition to other restaurants, if they don't reach the standard set by your favorite maybe they should be closed.
YES! Well, replace "the standard set by my favorite" with "the standards set forth by the Board or Health" and I agree. That's what I'm talking about: Meeting minimum standards. Charter schools that are in academic emergency should not exist.
Or wait......I have an idea. If charter schools don't perform to the standards set by the sponsors, state, and parents choosing them then they would shut down because of lack of "customers".
Except I'm paying for part of each student's tuition through my taxes and have no recourse if I believe a charter school is a waste of my tax dollars.
That's how the market. works unless of course you have the government paying for it with your tax dollars, then they get to stay open even when they aren't performing.
That's my point. We're stuck with TPS. It's going to be there for the next 30 years because the best alternative proposed isn't panning out. Charter schools are an opportunity reshape public education, but they will fail unless they are held to a higher standard. If charter schools are allowed to wallow in failure, the taxpayers will begin to ask why we are now supporting two failing school districts. When that happens, the charter school approach will die an undeserving death.
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"Show me a man who lives alone and has a perpetually dirty kitchen, andfive times out of nine I'll show you an exceptional man." -CharlesBukowski
I'm still waiting for Dale to come on here and defend how his beloved Communist ... oops! ... PUBLIC school system is somehow fulfilling accountability while he rants and raves about the charters. All schools at such a low rating should be closed or privatized. Of course, privatizing a failing public school is a better option since it should be cheaper. Getting the same failure for less money is still better for the public.
Dale's wallet and retirement accounts naturally disagree with me, but the radius of Dale's wallet and retirement accounts ends at HIMSELF.