The charter school reform debate has picked up momentum in Harrisburg as our esteemed Senators have placed charter expansion in the form of Senate Bill 1085 in position for a floor vote. Unfortunately 1085 takes the exclusive approval power of new charters away from school boards and extends that power to institutions of higher education. The bill also prohibits caps on charter enrollment. When considering the wasted taxpayer money, miserable test scores and recent illegal behavior affiliated with the charter movement, one has to ask: Who in the World Would Support a Bill to Expand Such Obvious Failure?
To find an answer one has to look no further than Michelle Rhee's group known as Students First.
Students First recently released a statement regarding 1085 on their website dated 11/14/2013. It reads as follows: Senate Bill 1085 Improves Educational Opportunities for Children.
http://www.studentsfirst.org/press/entry/senate-bill-1085-improves-educational-opportunities-for-chi...
Opportunities for profit might be more honest and accurate!
Michelle Rhee is one of the leading figures in a movement which seems interested in little more than the privatization of American public education. The failures and flawed methodology of this movement have been well documented in numerous publications such as the recent book by Diane Ravitch entitled Reign of Error. Ravitch and Rhee had recently agreed to a debate at Lehigh University in February but Rhee cancelled. Her supposed reason was her inability to find a third member to serve on her debate team.
While many of the recent educational reforms have not produced the desired educational results, those behind the reforms have had a lot of success raising and spending money to influence elections and shape PA education policy. A look at some of the Students First PA PAC (different than Students First) fund raising and spending numbers given by the Keystone State Education Coalition:
- In 2010 the PAC raised $6.66 Million from just 19 donors
- $528,175.00 spent from 3/6/2012 To 4/9/2012 including $10,000 given to Smucker for Senate (Senate Bill 1085 is Smucker's bill)
- In 2012 tried to defeat Representative James Roebuck who had been critical of the charter industry. Campaign finance reports show that Students First PA and its grantees and employees provided $62,639 dollars in the attempt to defeat Roebuck! http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2012/03/follow-money-students-first-pac-from.htm...
- Despite big campaign spending, big improvements in the way of educational outcomes have failed to materialize. No cyber charter school in PA made Adequate Yearly Progress last year and in fact the 11 cyber charters' School Performance Profiles showed scores within the lowest quartile of public schools statewide
Senate Bill 1085 could be voted on at any time. Please contact your PA Senators and ask them to reject the expansion of bad charter policy. Also, please consider signing the following petition and spreading the word to others. http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-bad-charter-legislation.fb40?source=s.fb.ty&r_by=423576
