Charter School Movement Gains Under Stimulus Law
Obama, Duncan Announce Strong Support for Charters
Sep 28, 2009
In order to qualify for billions in federal stimulus funds, some states and school districts are planning to open more charter schools. This has raised strong objections from teachers unions, which oppose the charter model, strongly advocated by the Obama administration as a way to introduce competition into public education. In most cases, charter schools are publicly funded and non-unionized.
State Governments Respond
For states struggling with budget deficits, the $5 billion in stimulus funds being offered as an incentive to increase the numbers of charter schools is tempting bait.
In Louisiana, the state legislature voted last month to lift limits on new charter schools. The Tennessee legislature has also eliminated restrictions on student enrollment in charter schools. Rhode Island lawmakers reversed their plans to end funding for new charters after Education Secretary Arne Duncan warned the move could hurt the state's chances of receiving grant money.
In Massachusetts, where unions have long held sway, Governor Deval Patrick has proposed increasing the number of students in state-sponsored charter schools from 10,000 to 37,000. Governor Patrick and Boston’s Mayor Tom Menino, both Democrats, have proposed new state laws that would expand their power to open more charter schools and revamp collective-bargaining agreements.
Governors Compete – Unions React
The Obama administration has recently released details of its "Race to the Top Fund" which will dispense funds to states for school innovation. Mr. Duncan has stated publicly that in order to qualify for grants under this program, states must implement changes such as performance pay for teachers and expansion of charter schools – both of which are unpopular with teachers’ unions.
Speaking before the National Education Association recently, Mr. Duncan urged teachers to embrace the changes. According to Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute, this is significant. "When a Democratic secretary of education goes to the NEA and mentions merit pay explicitly as something that has to happen, the ground has shifted."
Union officials caution that although change is necessary, states should not move too fast. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, says the availability of the federal grants "is pushing people to say and do things simply because everybody is desperate for resources."
Mixed Results for Charters
Overhauling schools at the state level is a relatively new phenomenon, and education experts fear not all states will be ready for the new responsibility. The track record in state takeovers is mixed. In 2004, Denver’s long-troubled Cole Middle School became the first school to be taken over by the state of Colorado. The state turned the task of managing the school over to KIPP, a well-known charter company. KIPP ran Cole as a charter school, and test scores rose initially.
Eventually, however, KIPP withdrew from the effort because it was unable to find an administrator to run the school over the long haul, and Cole was closed for several years. Last fall, the school reopened as an arts and sciences academy for students in preschool through eighth grade. Now, Cole is seeking to become an "innovation" school under state law, which would give it charter-like status.
Observers in Massachusetts say the governor and Boston’s mayor are likely to face an uphill climb as they seek to overhaul schools. with its long history of local control of schools, the proposals of the mayor and the governor are likely to face opposition from school boards as well as teachers unions. But with the availability of the new federal funds at stake, some think legislators will have a tough time voting against them.
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