Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 6, 1994 TAG: 9412060089
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
No bills for the controversial vouchers are expected to be introduced during the upcoming session of the General Assembly, according to state Sen. Brandon Bell, R-Roanoke County.
Bell, who sponsored a voucher bill during the last session, said Monday he believes that charter schools can provide school choice for students and parents without causing anxiety over the future of public schools.
Bell said he is working with Gov. George Allen's staff in drafting the charter school bill.
During the past session, Bell introduced bills on both vouchers and charter schools, but he asked that action on them be delayed because of opposition from some teachers and politicians, especially to vouchers.
They complained that vouchers would erode the financial base of school divisions by taking away state and local funds for schools.
Vouchers can take the form of either tax credits or grants to pay part of the tuition for children to attend private schools. Vouchers have been proposed by Republican lawmakers in many states in recent years, but few states have approved them.
Bell said he won't revive the voucher bill, and the Allen administration has no plan to get any other GOP members to introduce a voucher bill.
Allen's Commission on Champion Schools made no recommendations or proposals on vouchers in its report released last week, but it did recommend charter schools.
Bell, a member of the Senate Education Committee, said he believes there is a better understanding of charter schools now than a year ago.
The anxiety and fear of some critics is unfounded, he said, because neither the state nor local school divisions can create the new type of schools unless teachers, students and parents want them.
"Unless the people want a charter school in the Roanoke Valley, there will be none," Bell said.
"People complain about Washington and Richmond issuing too many regulations over schools. This is a way for teachers and parents to take back control of their schools."
A charter school is a semiautonomous public school that operates under a result-based contract, which is called a charter. But it remains a public school and is nonsectarian and does not charge tuition.
The charter sets forth the educational achievements and standards that the school will meet. If the school fails to achieve them, the charter can be revoked.
In some states, there has been a rapid increase in charter schools. Minnesota, the first state to implement the idea, chartered its first school in 1991. That state now has 14 charter schools; many of them have waiting lists.
William Allen, coordinator of Minnesota's charter schools, said the nature of the schools varies. About half were chartered as schools for at-risk students, but others serve high-achievers.
William Allen said that one major benefit and strength of charter schools is the increased involvement of parents.
"These are schools with new energy and a new focus," he said. They obtain their charters from either the local school board or the state Board of Education.
Funds for charter schools in Minnesota come from state and local education monies that would have been provided for the students if they had remained in regular schools.
"The money follows the student," William Allen said
Some details of the Virginia charter schools are still being worked out. The Allen administration has looked at charter schools in several states, including Colorado, Bell said.
Bell said his proposal calls for local school boards to act on charter applications, but applicants could appeal to the state board if rejected twice by the local board.
Charter schools in Virginia would receive 100 percent of the state and local per-pupil funding for the school division in which the charter school is located.
by CNB