Children's Education Should Come Before Simply Maintaining Current School System
Posted on: Sunday, 11 December 2005, 09:00 CST
Quality education should be everyone's goal, whether that education is in charter schools or traditional public schools. The state Education Department betrays its loss of that perspective in recommending denial of a license for the proposed Elmwood Avenue Charter School only because of the financial pain that charter schools inflict on traditional public schools.
As public school students move to charters, those schools receive much of the state aid for them and public schools lose that aid. That has long been noted by those who support charters in concept, but disagree with the outflow of cash from the district. But that focus is out of place, rightly notes Board of Regents Chancellor Robert M. Bennett, troubled because the financial impact has been discussed by the Regents but has never been a deciding factor.
The whole purpose of the charter school program is to improve education, both by offering alternatives and providing a motivational competitive spur to existing schools. Like all consumers, the parents of schoolchildren vote with their feet. Population shifts to better school districts, and schools left behind have to downsize accordingly. The above average percentage of Buffalo students in charter schools -- 13.5 percent here versus a goal of 7.5 percent statewide -- shows how some parents view traditional public schools. Well-performing charter schools provide another public school outlet for parents who cannot afford to send their children to Buffalo private or parochial schools, but want comparable programs.
Buffalo Board of Education member Donald A. Van Every maintains that the board's focus is on the children -- those who remain and, critics argue, are further neglected because of the state's shift of money to charters. District administrators are making a valiant effort to improve education and we hope they succeed. Meanwhile, put the children first. Improve the product. Don't stifle the competition.
Source: Buffalo News
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