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Choosing charters

on Jul 16, 2009 by Andy Zeman (The News & Observer)
There has been a lot of discussion lately regarding the proposal to increase the number of charter schools statewide. I would like to clarify several misconceptions.
Charter schools are public schools. They are open to all students free of charge. They are held to the same standards as traditional public schools, and give the same end-of grade tests. The difference is that charter schools do not follow standard course curriculum, having the freedom to use innovative teaching methods to educate their students.

Charter schools are economical. Although charter schools receive the same per-student funding from state and county tax revenues, they receive no public bond revenues, public transportation or maintenance funds. As a result, many charter schools forgo expensive athletic programs to free up cash for rent and utilities.

The demand is real. It is no secret that a good number of the students who attend charter schools have personal issues with traditional public schools. No matter what these issues are, the students and their parents have deemed them important enough to seek out charter schools for their educational needs. These people deserve a choice between traditional or public charter schools for their tax dollars.

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Categories: Education News OP-ED