Washington voters have rejected charter schools three times for good reason.

In a 16-state study of 2,403 charter schools conducted by Stanford University, charter schools performed no better than typical public schools (credo.stanford.edu). Also, the researchers state, "failing charter schools often have powerful and persuasive supporters in their communities who feel strongly that shutting down this school does not serve the best interests of currently enrolled students."

Parents Across America (parentsacrossamerica.org) reports on problems with charter schools, including a lack of transparency and accountability, discriminatory policies and practices, enrolling fewer English language learners, discipline policies that are unduly punitive, low-performing students who are encouraged to leave and charging burdensome fees and penalties. It is reasonable to assume that not all charter schools display these problems, but they are all too common.

Delta High School is a credit to our community yet it begs the question, if it is already possible to make a school like Delta, why do we need charter schools?

The major question is, if the state Supreme Court found that our state is not adequately funding basic education, why add the expense of funding new schools?

Washington voters should continue to make the right choice.

-- Daniel Bell, Kennewick