No On 1240 Campaign

In the "tag you're it" section, I looked around a couple of months ago and realized that no one seemed to mounting a campaign against charter schools.  So I'm the head of the No On 1240 campaign.  I have a great steering committee (all parents) and great supporters down in Tacoma and we have a starting list of volunteers.

I put a link to our campaign on the blog to the right of the threads.  It is chock-full of information (unlike the Yes side - they have 4 FAQs, we have about 25).  We also have a Facebook page and we're at Twitter (No_On_1240).

No, we don't have the incredibly deep pockets of the Yes side.  But then, that didn't win it in 2000 or 2004.  The Yes campaign is at about $4m with about $3M of it coming from six families either associated with Microsoft or Amazon.  President Obama recently said that he would rather have thousands of grassroots supporters than one guy writing a $10M check.  I agree.

It was amusing to hear Tim Ceis of the Yes campaign at the 37th Dems last night - they voted to endorse a No vote - tell the crowd "Who do Washington voters think they are not having charters like the other 41 states?"  Well, I guess we're people who don't vote like lemmings, that's who we are.

We stand in alliance with the other No campaign, People for Our Public Schools.   We believe it is a good thing to have as many groups, parents and citizens as possible working against this initiative.

I want to state this upfront - I would not be doing this if I did not believe this initiative is wrong for Washington State. 

More importantly - I believe public education in Washington State is turning around.

Here's the thing about charters. 

Accountability?  That's a funny thing.  People like to say they are growing and growing so that's must be evidence they work. 

One, there are more because it is difficult - and this has been reported by the Feds - to close charters.  As someone who had to face the challenge of closing schools, I can tell you that NO ONE wants their school closed.  Charter or otherwise, they will fight you to the death. 

And, of course, if someone is making money off the school remaining open, it's even a bigger fight.

Two, we're Americans, folks, and we like choices.  If you have more choices, aren't you happier?  And so it is with public education.   That the outcomes are not better doesn't seem to matter to some.  Being happy with your child's school is NOT the same as having better academic outcomes.  With scarce education dollars, better academic outcomes are what we are looking for today.

Here in Washington State, it makes even less sense to invest in this way because we don't even fully-fund our EXISTING schools.  We don't even fund to the national average.  So we want to take scarce dollars, thin the pot for the existing schools, start up (and under-fund) charter schools and cross our fingers for better.   

And Charlie is right on this point - you are voting for a hope with this initiative.  Because there are absolutely no guarantees in this initiative that the type of schools some might hope will open actually will.

None.  The "preference" for charters that serve at-risk students?  Well, there is absolutely no explanation of what that should look like.  Should they rank them?  Should they assign points?  Each authorizer gets to figure it out for themselves. 

And, keep in mind, that under the definition of "at-risk" students that is in the initiative, it includes -  gasp - Advanced Learning. 

I can imagine the gaskets that would be blown by some if a charter was set up just for Advanced Learners.  But yes, under this initiative, not only could it happen but they would fall into that "preference" category.

But again, that word "preference" means nothing.  The next line after the preference line says that NOTHING prevents any other kind of charter from being started. 

As well, get over 8 approved charters and will the Board of Education pick out the ones that serve at-risk kids?  Nope.  Will they pick out the ones that come from the most experienced and results-proven charter groups?  Nope.  It's a lottery.

I can't take these charter supporters seriously when they talk about helping at-risk kids and the best they can do is a lottery for the types of charters to be approved. 

And, there is no mandate for transportation.  If you are a poor family your "choice" of a charter is negated if you can't get your child to the school.  

What about that trigger issue?  Oh, sorry, I meant "conversion charter."  Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck - it's a trigger petition and it's the harshest one in the country.

Of course, you then with conversion charters you lose district buildings.  Oh, the district still owns them but they have zero control over them.  But, the district still has to pay for major maintenance and so if you've been waiting in line for your major maintenance dollars, sorry, the charter school WILL be first in line.

Keep in mind, charters do not have to act as the district does.  If they don't want community meetings or Scout meetings in the building, they have no obligation to continue them.   

Taxpayers could lose dollars when cash-strapped districts sell or lease school buildings for less than they are worth (and they HAVE to give any charter right of first refusal).  

These are just a few of the problems with this initiative that is both vague and poorly-written.

There are not anywhere near strong enough safeguards in place.

Schools (and districts) WILL lose dollars and, for some, it will badly weaken them. For those who believe Superintendent Banda has his work cut out for him, consider what will happen to that work if charters come on the scene.  

In closing, I think of what the physicians' motto  - First, do no harm.

I sincerely believe that this initiative, if approved, will do far more harm than good.

I urge you to consider why the Washington State PTA - who has, over the last year, leaned heavily towards charters - said no.  There is virtually nothing in this initiative to include parents nor enough local elected control. 

It's not worth it unless you believe voting yes and then crossing your fingers is going to work to create better public education in Washington State.