Moses Lake School Board opposed to charter schools initiative

The Moses Lake School District Board of Directors voted to oppose I-1240 to authorize the creation of charter schools in Washington State. The Moses Lake School Board of Directors based their decision on the following information:

* Under this initiative, public education dollars would be placed under private management, without the public accountability that our communities and taxpayers expect and deserve. Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA) membership has repeatedly said that public education funding should be overseen by school officials elected in their local communities. Our vote reaffirms this position.

* The Initiative will not provide the necessary resources to support all students, undermining the Supreme Court's recent order in McCleary vs. State of Washington to comply with the constitutional paramount duty to amply fund basic K-12 education so all students have the opportunity to succeed.

* I-1240 will establish a separate and unequal school system, in violation of Washington's constitutional provision requiring a "general and uniform system of common schools" (Article IX), by exempting charter schools from most school laws and rules, while not providing the same flexibility to currently existing public school.

* I-1240 will undermine local control by allowing appointed charter boards and out-of-state charter management companies to operate charter schools with little-to-no accountability to local taxpayers. The privately operated, but publicly funded, charter schools created under I-1240 will only serve a small part of Washington's student population, providing no guarantee that struggling students will have access to charter schools.

* Research by Stanford University and others shows that, overall, charter schools do not perform better than traditional public schools and nearly 40 percent of them do worse.

* Numerous innovative programs and schools, which are inclusive, equitable and accountable, have been created throughout the state under the currently authorized governance structure of locally elected school district boards of directors, providing a new system of charter school unnecessary; and Washington State voters have rejected three previous attempts to authorize charter schools.

Allowing a new state agency to authorize a charter school is very troubling to us and should be to everyone who supports accountability.

We believe that the leaders of our schools must be accountable to parents and other stakeholders in our communities. They should have regular public meetings where residents can express their opinions to those they elected. And when voters don't think their schools are on the right track, they should have the right to elect new district leaders.

Voters make decisions on levies, bonds and the people who oversee our schools. They recognize having a say in how money is spent is one of the strongest levers for accountability and change.

Elected school directors are public stewards of that money. If that control is moved to private hands, the public loses an important protection. Moses Lake School District Board of Directors opposing I-1240 is consistent with this position.