tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post6874913678658113061..comments2024-03-27T20:01:11.889-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Would Education Be Better Off Being Like Health Care?Melissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-47793223454454551462007-09-05T10:06:00.000-07:002007-09-05T10:06:00.000-07:00Some people have noticed that the Washington state...Some people have noticed that the Washington state legislature began to neglect funding for public education at about the same time in history that the first charter legislation came about. There have been three attempts to pass it, the voters have rejected them all. The last one was passed by the legislature and then overturned by the electorate. Legislators such as Helen Summers have demanded to school board members that they close schools or get no greater funding from the state. School closures have progressed although no-one has shown proof that the process saves money. In fact, the recent closures in Seattle were supposedly because of budget shortfalls but when the levy elections were coming up, the district suddenly came up with surpluses which, unfortunately did not get applied to preventing closures.<BR/><BR/>Closures are a way of shrinking the district and opening the market for more private programs.<BR/><BR/>Business interests, the Business Round Table for example, pressure the governor and legislature for privatization in the form of charters, then when that failed the next legislation was for "opportunity schools" but still specially contracted-or chartered. <BR/><BR/>Now the recent Governor's commissioned Washington Learns report calls for "public/private partnerships"- maybe another name for charters? They would still be contracted entities with special privileges (even the contracted right to survival as the New School has is a privilege the regular public schools don't have).<BR/><BR/>Terry Bergeson (OSPI)said last year that she "got a lot of grief from people for supporting charter school legislation, but that we don't need that anymore, we can just make agreements." I believe she is referring to "public/private partnerships".<BR/><BR/>So, I think you need to look deeper than the issue of charters, the deal makers keep changing the name, and as people have noticed with the building of stadiums, government doesn't seem to take no for an answer especially when the business interests, who fund campaigns, want something.<BR/><BR/>Privatization is not something that is happening in other places, its just necessarily more subtle here because voters don't want it. If we want public schools, we need to be aware that it is happening here.<BR/><BR/>Look at the archives of the Seattle Times-notice how many positive articles over say the last 5 years there have been about charter legislation, and private or "private/public" education programs , then notice how many negative and even slanderous articles there have been on public schools. Look at the records of the legislators who support closures and notice how many of those also supported charter legislation.<BR/><BR/>We do need community support for our schools, and there are positive ways of getting and using it, but we don't need to turn over our schools as we almost did with Rainier Beach High School last year to the private TAF program. We can combine efforts without handing over buildings or dispersing communities.<BR/><BR/>I'm glad you have raised this issue Melissa. I'm also glad you raised the issue of standardized testing, downgrading and closing schools. There are many who believe that the NCLB was intended to destroy public education and make way for privatization.Maggie Metcalfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01143714680552759058noreply@blogger.com