Another push for charter schools

For the fourth time, a state initiative to create charter schools is on the ballot.

If approved by voters in November, Initiative 1240 creates 40 charter schools in five years in Washington state. Washington state is one of nine states in the country lacking charter schools.

A charter school is a publicly funded school ran by a nonreligious, nonprofit corporation, serving kindergarten through twelfth grades. Charter schools are free and open to every student.

A charter school, according to Initiative 1240, is designed to serve at-risk students, according to spokesman Trent House, of the Olympia-based Yes on 1240. The differences being, he claims, is charter schools have more flexibility than the current public school system by changing its budget, curriculum, staffing and scheduling to better meet students' needs.

Charter schools can be unionized, but only 12 percent in the nation are.

House is a former Grant County resident and graduated from Quincy High School. He told the Columbia Basin Herald's Editorial Board he enjoyed his public high school experience.

It's unknown if communities in Grant or Adams counties would see a charter school.

At this time, there's no list of towns scheduled to receive a charter school, as communities must request a charter school once the initiative passes.

But he thinks language barriers could be tackled in charter schools and those types of scenarios would thrive, he said. Charter schools proponents are having conversations with the Native American population to improve their learning experience.

He thinks charter schools could be applied to migrant populations, he said. "It could be the motivating reason a charter school could be established."

At the same time, students who aren't considered at-risk, but seeking a different environment can attend a charter school.

In Western Washington, House said there are drop out rates higher than 40 percent. There are problems where students aren't learning and then leaving the system, with 14,000 students dropping out of school statewide in the 2010-11 school year, he said.

Of that figure, 262 students were from Grant County schools.

According to an argument against charter schools in the General Election Voter's Guide, the initiative "creates an expensive new system of privately operated - but publicly funded - charter schools in Washington."

Starting charter schools "will drain millions of dollars from existing public schools," according to the voter's guider.

It would cost the state about $3 million to open 40 charter schools in five years, funds that are needed in existing public schools, initiative opponents contest.

"At a time when school funding has already been cut dramatically, our children cannot afford this initiative," the guide states. "Charter schools will prevent us from doing what the state Supreme Court has ordered - provide adequate funding for basic public education so all students have the chance to succeed."

Opponents also claim charter schools will serve only a "tiny" fraction of the state's students. This doesn't ensure all kids receive a quality public education.

Opponents cite Stanford University research that found overall nearly 40 percent of charter schools do worse than existing public schools.

Charter schools clearly aren't for every student and may not be the answer for struggling kids who are in danger of slipping through the cracks. Maybe their parents aren't involved with their schooling and a new environment wouldn't matter.

But the push to establish them (again) raises some questions.

What barriers are preventing flexibility in curriculum and scheduling in the public school system?

Even if the charter schools initiative does pass, the unresolved issues in existing public schools are worth exploring.

- Editorial Board