“Equally effective charter, public schools deserve state budget support”
As I continue to follow the state budget debate taking place at the capitol, an editorial in Saturday’s Columbus Dispatch caught my eye. The piece urges lawmakers to treat effective public charter schools fairly in the budget process, following the release of a recent study that shows these schools are making progress with some of the state’s neediest and most at-risk students.
The report, released by KidsOhio.org, shows that public charter schools and traditional public schools in the “Big 8″ urban districts serve significantly higher proportions of poor, minority and special-needs children than do traditional public schools in general. When you measure performance based on the percentage of students passing state proficiency exams, these schools score lower, an argument that charter school foes often cite. However, if performance is measured based on the percentage of students making reasonable progress, these schools rank much higher, landing in the middle of the group.
The Dispatch piece raises a good point-should we close effective schools that are showing progress? Of course not. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what HB 1 as proposed by Gov. Strickland and House Democrats, would do.
“State leaders should concern themselves with providing Ohio children with educational options that work, regardless of the format, whether charter or traditional schools. Given KidsOhio’s evidence that charters are working as well as the urban schools with which they compete, the Democratic-led assault on charters not only is unfair but is harmful to students.”
Lawmakers have 15 days to finalize a two-year budget. Let’s hope they realize that some of the schools at-risk to close are the same schools that are showing progress before it’s too late.
