Charter schools axed
By Matthew Stone mstone@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer
AUGUSTA -- A legislative committee has once again turned back a bid to allow charter schools in Maine, and instead opted for a more measured proposal to allow "innovative" schools in existing districts.
In a discussion Monday morning that largely mirrored last spring's legislative debate on charter schools, members of the Legislature's Education Committee called on educators looking to try out new ideas to work within the state's existing school infrastructure.
The innovative-schools measure could help that process along, they said.
Committee members were debating the measure as part of a package of bills aimed at strengthening Maine's position in the national Race to the Top competition for $4 billion in federal funds aimed at education reform. Rep. Alan Casavant, D-Biddeford, last week introduced a charter-school amendment to consider along with the innovative-schools measure.
Maine is one of 11 states that don't allow charter schools, which are heavily favored by the Obama administration.
"We haven't done a great job of promoting what we have the ability to do right now," said Sen. Elizabeth Schneider, D-Orono.
The innovative-schools bill "will, I think, raise the level of knowledge out there that there are potential resources and ways to incorporate (innovation) into the infrastructure that we have," she said.
That can be done without jeopardizing funds for local school districts, said Rep. Stephen Lovejoy, D-Portland.
"Where we are right now is, we're looking at another major drop in education funding," he said. "I would be very reluctant to do something that spreads dollars out even more."
That impact of allowing charter schools would be felt most in Maine's smallest school districts, said Rep. Patricia Sutherland, D-Chapman, since a particular amount of funds would follow each student who chose to attend a charter school.
"It's hard to pull a few people out of that (local public) school," she said. "That's how they pay the bills."
Charter schools are independently run, public schools free of many of the restrictions that govern traditional public schools. They have more flexibility with their curriculum and school calendar, and their staffs rarely work under union contracts.
The "innovative" schools allowed in the committee-approved measure would have more autonomy than their traditional counterparts over budgets, curriculum, staff assignments and scheduling. The schools, however, would still be district-run and subject to the same collective bargaining agreements as other district schools.
Charter-school advocates Monday said Maine needs more options to serve students who struggle in traditional public schools.
"I've seen students fail not because they weren't smart, but because the public school model didn't fit them," said Casavant, a Biddeford High School teacher. "I thought there should have been something better."
"To say that they have to stay in their district because they bring money to their district doesn't seem to me to be answering what we're supposed to be doing," said Rep. Mary Nelson, D-Falmouth, "and that is educating the children the best we can."
The innovative schools bill, along with two other committee-approved bills aimed at Race to the Top, will next to go the Senate for debate.
Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435
mstone@centralmaine.com
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11 COMMENTS
wait4lily said...
Figures, it isn't about how much the kids are learning, or how well the schools are preforming against national and international comparisons, its about keeping the money flowing the way they want it, through the boards fingers.
March 16, 2010 at 12:19 AM Report abuse
ProConserv said...
Homeschool your children or enroll them in a private school! Get your child as far away as you can from a "government re-education" system!
March 16, 2010 at 8:44 AM Report abuse
None said...
Thanks for the article Matt. Words of wisdom from the person you quoted in the article below. "To say that they have to stay in their district because they bring money to their district doesn't seem to me to be answering what we're supposed to be doing," said Rep. Mary Nelson, D-Falmouth, "and that is educating the children the best we can." I need to/want to interview that person for my book, eh Matt? Don Beattie in Winthrop, ME. Many of my children and grand kids are public school successes; so are three of my grand kids who were home schooled and are in college doing very well at a very difficult private college in MA.
March 16, 2010 at 10:43 AM Report abuse
common_cents said...
HOME SCHOOLING has increased 65% annually since the 1990's! In 2007-2008 there were 4,897 home-schooled students registered with the State. With the growth in cyber-schooling, these students can enroll in schools around the world. Home schooling has never been more diversified, easier, and combined with local learning pods. There are out of state charter schools who enroll out of state students. I'd be curious to know if any of Maine's registered home schoolers are already enrolled in a Charter school?
March 16, 2010 at 10:49 AM Report abuse
livefreedie said...
Well said Rep. Nelson. Funny how all those voting against charter schools are using funding as their arguement while those voting for charter schools are basing their arguement on the well being of the child.
March 16, 2010 at 1:11 PM Report abuse
dGtw said...
I don't understand the resistance from tax payers for a revenue neutral schooling option. Charter schools do not cost the tax paying towns people any additional money. If you have a theoretical district with a 1000 students and the cost to educate them is $5000 per student then your school budget is $500,000. Charter school funding works such that the money follows the child. So if 200 of the 1000 students now go to a charter school, $100,000 (200x$5000) follows those students. The public schools then have only 800 students and would work on a proportionately lower budget of $400,000. Total cost to educate all 1000 students in your town is the same. The difference is that we have a choice to send our students to a school that might be a better fit. The elephant in the room of course is that the teachers in the charter school are not union. The only group that benefits from restricting the charter schools is the teacher's union.
March 16, 2010 at 1:32 PM Report abuse
Relax said...
DGtw, "A better fit"? Shall we have special schools for, learning disabled-gifted, economically disadvantaged-advantaged, physically disabled-gifted, visual-auditory-kinesthetic learners-or not? Etc. etc. Sounds nice. But you know we already have that, it's called public school. What exactly is the benefit of parsing out children into “special” schools? Eventually, all those children that they would have met and learned to work with will end up being their coworkers and employers. Not the best time to try and figure out why not everyone is "just like you" and your charter school buddies. Just trying to point out that the greatest WEAKNESS of a public school education is also it's greatest STRENGTH. LEARNING TO DEAL WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE (Like proCON here, sometimes you just gotta know when to laugh). This is something some folks never even consider until it's too late to learn. Can we really afford that many new school buildings and campuses?
March 16, 2010 at 4:46 PM Report abuse
Rinoblast said...
Relax, most charter schools are non-discriminatory in their nature and students are chosen on a RANDOM basis.Most charter schools revolve around a key theme to tie together their learning experiences (like the Arts, College-preparedness, Interning). They work because they constantly challenge the status quo to find what works, something the teacher's union doesn't allow in your average school. Decisions are made first on what's best for kids, and last on what benefits it gives to the teachers.
March 16, 2010 at 5:31 PM Report abuse
Relax said...
Rinoblast, You make it sound as though if I'm a artistic child I may be randomly selected into a physics themed school? Probably not how it works. Kids with special learning attributes or deficiencies are randomly selected to go to a special school where everyone has a similar positive or negative attribute. Now we’re back to the problem I addressed before. The child may learn some things better under such circumstances but will fail to learn the MOST important thing needed in life. How to get along with those who don’t think, learn, or perform like them. Teacher’s unions have no control over what individual teacher do. If I were a teacher and they tried, I’d tell them to “buzz off,” as I’m sure most teachers would. I’m not buying that contrived argument for a second. Unions negotiate contracts and protect teachers from various forms of workplace abuse. Needed. Again, how will we pay for all the new buildings and campuses to house these new “specialized” Charter schools?
March 16, 2010 at 6:11 PM Report abuse
Relax said...
Rino, A prime example would be to drop child who was home schooled until HS age into a public HS. He/She has great social skills with his/her parents and other adults. However not knowing how to take a joke, kidding, friendly teasing, or relate to another child in ANY way the child goes ballistic and has a mental/emotional breakdown. They just can’t understand how to “get along.” I’ve actually seen this happen several times. The most important thing we can experience in our schools is the variety of people that surround us. That ADAPTABILITY will be our best resource as we enter the workplace with all those strange thinking and acting coworkers and employers. No cookie cutter schools for me please. Gingerbread men/women tend to get eaten up in the real world.
March 16, 2010 at 6:24 PM Report abuse
dGtw said...
Relax said, You are confused about what most charter schools do. The majority are not "specialty" schools. Children get in on lottery basis. It is representative of the general student population. They have friends and play sports and go through all the socialization issues as any public school. The difference is that the school has expectations from the students and teachers. They have the flexibility to teach with different methods (they might use a Saxon math model instead of traditional ones). They are also not burdened by the requirements of the teacher's union. Just as I in my job have certain expectation placed upon me to perform, teacher's in the charter school do as well. The bad teachers do not last long. The good one's make more money. My point is that it is an option for a parent and it doesn't cost any more money to fund.
March 29, 2010 at 8:47 AM Report abuse