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'Separate, unequal treatment' claimed
By Dennis J. Willard
Beacon Journal Columbus bureau
Published on Friday, Mar 13, 2009
COLUMBUS: Charter school supporters, mainly moms and their children, stood out among the suit-wearers, primarily lobbyists and bureaucrats, in the crowded Ohio House committee room.
After a few hours of testimony Tuesday, freshman state Rep. Seth Morgan, R-Huber Heights, looked toward the committee chairman and said sardonically, ''It's getting fun.''
State Rep. Steve Dyer, D-Green, smiled self-assuredly and responded without hesitation, ''It's only beginning.''
Dyer was talking about the 85 witnesses who had filled out slips to testify before the House Finance standing subcommittee on primary and secondary education, but his words portend much more for charter schools.
For 10 years, the charter school experiment largely has gone unquestioned. During that time, supportive Republicans ruled the state legislature.
Even after Ted Strickland became the first Democrat since 1991 to become governor, his efforts to increase accountability standards for charter schools largely were blocked by Republican majorities in the Ohio General Assembly.
With Democrats running the House this year, charter schools are coming under intense scrutiny.
Charter school supporters' response to date has been to rally students and families with large turnouts at hearings Dyer has held in Springfield Township, Marietta and Columbus.
At the same time, owners of the for-profit Education Management Organizations (EMOs), like Akron's David Brennan, who operate numerous charter schools in the state, have been noticeably absent from the hearings.
Dyer patiently has given everyone a chance to testify. The hearing Tuesday lasted almost 11 hours, with a dinner break, and ended at 1:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Bill Sims, president and CEO of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools, told the committee that his group has serious concerns with Strickland's two-year budget proposal.
Strickland cuts funding for the 80,000 students enrolled in charter schools by 20 percent, from $617 million to $497 million, Sims said. For E-schools, or online charter schools, he said it's worse, with 60 to 70 percent cuts in funding.
He said he couldn't understand why Strickland was placing charter schools in a separate line-item in the budget.
''Unless the purpose is to be able to further cut charter funding without impacting district school students,'' Sims suggested.
A decrease in funding will mean a reduction in quality, he said.
''There are direct correlations between fundamental nutrition and health, and schools are no different. Starve them, suffocate them, whatever the metaphor, and eventually they will die or they become incapacitated,'' Sims said.
Sims again raised the issues that charter schools do not receive money for facilities nor do they take in a share of local property taxes. Before leaving, he said the governor's budget, unless corrected, would lead to ''nothing short of separate and unequal treatment'' for charter school students.
That legal phrase stirred the attorney in Dyer, who took issue with Sims comparing the charter school funding debate to the civil rights movement.
''Separate but unequal is a loaded term. I take that very seriously,'' a dour Dyer responded.
A little history: When the concept of charter schools first surfaced in the early 1990s, supporters touted them as a way to allow families to escape from being trapped in poor-performing, mainly large, urban schools.
Early supporters in the legislature, like former state Rep. Michael Fox, R-Hamilton, and state Sen. Cooper Snyder, R-Hillsboro, said charter schools would outperform public schools with less money and lead to innovation and increased competition.
Behind the scenes, Brennan and others who would profit from their creation played an instrumental role in writing the rules that would govern and direct $3.4 billion in state funding to charter schools for their first 10 years.
Democrats traditionally have been aligned with teachers' unions that pay lip service to supporting charter schools but would like to limit their scope.
The problem in Ohio is there has been little balance in the debate until this year.
Dyer, to his credit, is using the governor's budget to raise serious questions about charter school funding and performance.
The governor's budget bans EMOs and increases standards for charter school teachers who are, on average, paid less than their public school counterparts.
In Tuesday's hearing, Dyer attacked the assertion that the governor's budget would, as Sims put it, ''cause the closure of the majority of charter schools in Ohio over the next biennium.''
Dyer produced a spreadsheet that showed that more than half of the charter schools in Ohio would receive increases in funding in the next two years under Strickland's budget. And because charter schools are not capped at 15 percent increases like traditional public schools, Dyer told the audience there are schools that would receive 200-plus percent increases in funding.
In fact, 87 of the 321 charter schools in Ohio are slated to receive 15.4 percent or higher increases in the next two years, Dyer said.
The chairman raised serious questions about academic performance.
Seventy percent of charter schools are in the classifications of ''Continuous Improvement,'' ''Academic Watch'' or ''Academic Emergency'' based on their report cards. An additional 22 percent are not rated because they are either too small or in their first two years of operation.
Only 8 percent of charter schools are rated as ''Efficient,'' ''Excellent'' or ''Excellent with Distinction.''
Sims saved his strongest rebuttal for this issue. He said charter schools often enroll students who are years behind in learning. These students outperform their peers in urban districts in gains testing, he said.
''Measure us on what we have done once we get these kids,' Sims said.
Dyer said he believes there are students who are learning in charter schools, but he remains skeptical of claims that the movement is outperforming public schools across the board in ''value-added'' measures.
Dennis J. Willard can be reached at 614-224-1613 or dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com.
COLUMBUS: Charter school supporters, mainly moms and their children, stood out among the suit-wearers, primarily lobbyists and bureaucrats, in the crowded Ohio House committee room.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Tallmadge, OH
Posted 06:32 AM, 03/13/2009
It's time to dump the charter schools. This is a bad idea in a time of bad economics. Why should the state support bad educators. Let's get them back to state run education in all cases unless you want to pay yourself for private schooling like the Cathoilic schools provide.
Akron, OH
Posted 08:02 AM, 03/13/2009
{{{Why should the state support bad educators.}}}
Why, the State's done that long before there were charter schools. Who owns the school system doesn't have anythin' to do with the quality of the educators. There are bad ones everywhere. The unionized ones jes' don't want to admit it.
Akron, OH
Posted 08:52 AM, 03/13/2009
keep up the good work DYER
Posted 09:30 AM, 03/13/2009
News flash! Catholic schools receive public funding as well. I am not a proponent of charter schools. Charter schools should not receive public school funds. Parents of those students probably don't pay real estate taxes anyway, so why should they benefit from our tax dollars? Our tax money and State money should go to PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
RichRodforOH2010.com, .
Posted 09:31 AM, 03/13/2009
You can almost see the strings coming out of Dyer's back. Hey jerk, send your kids to the public schools in Akron, Cleveland, Cincy, etc and let's see your stance on this. It sure is nice to dictate from the cushy suburbs.
Luckily, a Democrat with a backbone is in the Oval Office and recognizes the need for charter schools. It sure is nice when a politician looks at an issue through the lens of effectiveness as opposed to campaign contributions.
I would apply Mayor Plusquellic's "special place in hell" line to Mr., check that, he's not worthy of "Mr." I would apply that line to Steve.
RichRodforOH2010.com, .
Posted 09:36 AM, 03/13/2009
Steve Dyer,
I just checked your website. Send your son, Logan, to the APS. The Kenmore cluster isn't too far away.
Posted 09:46 AM, 03/13/2009
Of course Obama is "for" charter schools ... he's out to get everything for one social class only ... me thinks HE is racist! Besides, his only priority these days is puppies and swing sets!
RichRodforOH2010.com, .
Posted 09:58 AM, 03/13/2009
Race has nothing to do with it. There are just as many, if not more, white kids who benefit from charter schools.
Posted 11:51 AM, 03/13/2009
Only 8 percent of charter schools are rated as ''Efficient,'' ''Excellent'' or ''Excellent with Distinction.''
It is time to close the chapter schools, and give the money back to the public shools.
RichRodforOH2010.com, .
Posted 01:37 PM, 03/13/2009
Emmi,
Seeing as how charter schools can only operate in failing districts, wouldn't it be prudent to compare any charter school figures with figures of comparable failing districts? I don't know where you got your 8% figure, but if I pull the ODE school building ratings and only look at Akron Public Schools, only 17% have are rated as "Efficient,""Excellent," or "Excellent with Distinction." In short, you can't let the Reveres, Hudsons and Greens of the world skew your comparables.
When you factor that schools like Summit Academy specialize in special needs education, that supposed separation becomes even less relevant.
Posted 02:14 PM, 03/13/2009
It's WAY past time for close scrutiny of charter schools. Our public tax money should NOT be spent on these businesses that put money in the pockets of people like David Brennen. There is no way these schools could meet the state requirements that public schools have to. NO WAY!
Time to end this taxpayer supported boondoggle.
Akron, OH
Posted 02:33 PM, 03/13/2009
After all, the state does such a bang-up job with the Public Schools.
RichRodforOH2010.com, .
Posted 03:21 PM, 03/13/2009
John,
The PUBLIC SCHOOLS aren't meeting the requirements that the public schools have to meet. Do we then close the majority of the Akron Public Schools using the same standard?
Look at the data for yourself.
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEPrimary.aspx?page=2&TopicRelationID=3
Green, Oh
Posted 04:39 PM, 03/13/2009
Original:
If the APS is not meeting standards, then of course the problem should be addressed. But why compound the problem by adding another less-than-efficient type of educational system?
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:29 AM, 03/14/2009
Ref. your news flash, "retired", catholic schools receive their funding through tuition and fund raising. Granted, minimal state funding has been used for classroom equipment in the past.
Other countries, however, do have public funding for their catholic programs.
I will say that the education is top notch, as well.
Kings Mills, OH
Posted 04:02 PM, 03/17/2009
My son has attended a virtual charter school for 4 years. As the article mentions, these are in the most danger. Children in these schools are often very bright but have special needs, usually involving social issues. Listen to their stories. You will spend hours hearing about children who were bullied, repeatedly disciplined, ostracized, and were acting out from the lack of an appropriate learning environment. eSchools are turning these kids lives around. I know my son is one of these kids.
