Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 24, 1995 TAG: 9501240109
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JON GLASS LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
While Allen has pitched the idea as a way to increase parental choice and involvement in public schools, Cranwell accused proponents of catering to special-interest groups that would divert public funds to create elite schools and further divide society by class and race.
Cranwell said charter schools would ``Balkanize'' the existing school system and "commence the dismantling process" of public education.
``They use nice, soft words like `choice.' Do they practice choice? No,'' Cranwell said. ``They're the same people that would stand in front of a health care facility and deny a young woman a choice in her life, and they would even resort to violence to deny that choice.''
He added, ``Whatever you do, don't take Virginia down this road.''
Sen. Brandon Bell, R-Roanoke County, who on Monday filed a charter school bill for the Allen administration, later criticized Cranwell's remarks as ``totally reckless.''
``I was appalled, frankly, that he would use something so inflammatory toward people who are seeking to improve education and give parents potentially another choice,'' Bell said. ``It makes it more difficult, obviously, to get past that level of emotion and confusion to what this legislation is all about.''
The issue is expected to be divisive. Del. Mitchell Van Yahres, D-Charlottesville, who introduced a charter bill last session, said he will not do so this session ``because there was so much controversy over what a charter school meant.''
About 300 people attended Monday's hearing, called by the House Education Committee as it moves to take up the issue. Only 32 spoke, including Bell and Del. Jay Katzen, R-Warrenton, who filed a companion charter school bill in the House for Allen.
Bell and Katzen argued that charter schools would encourage creativity and innovation, as well as add a level of accountability for student performance that's lacking in traditional schools.
Under the Allen plan, groups or individuals could apply to a local school board for a charter that would spell out the school's mission and what the school would achieve. The schools would be freed from most local and state regulations.
Speakers opposed charter school legislation by a more than 2-1 margin. The idea drew criticism from leaders of the state's educational establishment, including the Virginia Education Association and the Virginia Association of School Superintendents.
Representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People also rebuked Allen's plan.
The emphasis, educators said, should be on more choice and options within the existing system. Besides concern that charter schools would divert funds from existing schools, they also worried about ``hidden'' costs, such as the expense of reviewing charter applications or of being forced into court if a disgruntled applicant is rejected.
Portsmouth schools Superintendent Richard Trumble was one of the few educators who spoke in their favor.
``The fear we hear this morning is just that,'' Trumble said. ``Parents want more options than we already provide.''
Allen's secretary of education, Beverly Sgro, said after the hearing that the administration will continue to ``push forward with full steam.''
``People adamantly opposed are people who are entrenched in the system and who would likely be reticent to grasp something outside their realm,'' Sgro said.
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1995
by CNB