Charter schools have been popular in many states, but Virginia has just nine of these privately operated, public funded enterprises. Critics say that’s because local school boards must sign off before a charter school can open. Tuesday, a state senate committee officially killed an amendment that would give charters a better shot. Sandy Hausman reports.
By two votes, Virginia’s Senate rejected a bill that would put the question to voters: Should we amend the state’s constitution so charter schools could be approved in Richmond rather than at the local level? The House approved that measure, so it went back to the senate for a second look, and sponsor Rob Bell was hopeful -- despite eventual failure.
“In failing systems, where year after year we send students to the local schools where we know from studies they are going to be unsuccessful, we could really use charters,” he says.
But at the Commonwealth Institute, a progressive think tank, Chris Duncombe says charters are no guarantee of academic improvement.
“We’ve seen from a lot of states that have experimented with charter schools somewhat of a mixed result as far as the ability to improve student performance," he explains. "It can also result in increased de facto segregation in some of these charter schools.”
If Virginia is serious about fixing failing schools, the Commonwealth Institute argues it needs to spend more. Critics claim this state sets minimum per pupil spending so low that if local governments don’t come up with additional cash, students suffer. Duncombe cites a report by Rutgers University, which assessed the fairness of methods for distributing education dollars.
“Rutgers graded states, and they took into consideration percentages of students that were living in poverty and cost-of-living differences," he says, "They gave Virginia the lowest grade, and we were one of three states, along with Alabama and Missouri, that fell into that category.”
Governor McAuliffe has proposed giving an additional $50 million to low-income schools, and Rob Bell says he’s not opposed to that idea but thinks Virginia should give charters a chance.
“Every three or four years someone has another plan to fix those schools with another new approach using some new curriculum from another place," Bell argues. "Providing this other alternative is another way to try to get at the same issue.”
And, he adds, his vote to approve more money for public schools in poor communities will come only if additional funding fits with the rest of the two-year budget.