Guest column: Short fix means eviction for public charter schools
With just days remaining in the 2016 legislative session, we cannot afford to settle for anything short of a long-term solution that honors the will of the voters, keeps existing public charter schools open, allows authorized schools to progress towards opening and allows for the creation of new public charter schools over the next several years.
Whispers in Olympia about a so-called “one- or two-year fix” are deceiving families and voters.
A “one- or two-year fix” is not a fix — it’s an eviction notice. A short-term “fix” means the end of public school choice for families in our state who do not have access to a high-quality public school in their area that meets their kids’ needs. The more than 1,100 students currently attending public charter schools will be sent back to schools that weren’t meeting their needs. Countless more families — including those in the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla — will be robbed of the opportunity to send their children to a public charter school in the future.
Parents, students and families expect school decisions to last several years, not one or two. It’s not right to run schools one to two years at a time. As a parent myself, I know my elementary-age son and daughter need a great school that fits their needs — not just for a year, but until they reach middle school. Students attending charter high schools enrolled with the intention to graduate and get accepted into four-year colleges. A one- or two-year fix would force these students out of their schools at the end of tenth or eleventh grade.
Given a life expectancy of just a year or two, schools will struggle to recruit and retain staff. Not unlike parents, current and potential staff members make employment decisions on a multi-year timeline. Absent a long-term solution, schools will be unable to access capital, facilities and federal operational funding. Without a permanent solution, Washington’s charter schools and their families will lose access to federal support structures that bring much-needed resources into our state, including title program funding and charter school program funding.
A vote for a one- or two-year fix is a vote to close public charter schools that are working for Washington students and families.
It’s time for legislators to show some courage and pass a real solution, not a disguised poison pill. A short term fix moves us back in a direction where equity and opportunity gaps get wider, not narrower. Legislators cannot afford to stand by while Washington students, mostly from low-income households and communities of color, lose out on the chance for a better future.
Our eyes now rest on members of the House Democratic caucus, who have a simple choice. They can put politics aside and give public charter schools, and the diverse students they serve, a chance to thrive. Or they can put special interests first and slam the door on the dreams of 1,100 students and families.
Students and their parents took a courageous step to seek out innovative public schools that meet their needs and will propel them to college and careers. Now it’s our state legislators’ turn to show the same courage and produce a long-term solution that honors Washington voters and families.
Thomas Franta is CEO of Washington State Charter Schools Assoc. He has spent most of his career in public education, bridging the gap between public charter and traditional public schools in New York, Minnesota, and Washington.
This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Guest column: Short fix means eviction for public charter schools."