THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 1994 TAG: 9412080474
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Allowing some public schools to set their own curriculum, schedules and policies would benefit only schools in affluent areas, critics of Gov. George Allen's proposed charter schools concept said Wednesday.
Officials of several state agencies and local school boards attacked the proposal during a meeting of a Senate Education and Health Committee meeting, saying it would weaken public education overall.
``Charter schools will derail efforts to improve education for all students in Virginia,'' Newport News Superintendent Eric Smith told committee members. ``There is no educational equity in this plan - rather, an inherent exclusivity.''
Allen is pushing for broad exemptions from state oversight and regulation for schools that sign a ``charter,'' or contract, spelling out the educational results they will achieve as a result of their independence.
The charters, usually granted for five years, can be revoked if the schools don't meet those goals.
The charter school idea was recommended by Allen's Commission on Champion Schools. Allen will ask the General Assembly to approve the idea when it convenes next month for its 1995 session.
Advocates say the concept gives local schools the flexibility to achieve their own educational priorities.
``I am not looking to abandon the public school system,'' Superintendent of Public Instruction William C. Bosher told the committee. ``But it is a fact that people want to be more involved in their local school board - to have the opportunity to make choices.''
Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr., R-Winchester, said the idea has merit.
``We have an educational system in this country that is under fire,'' Potts said. ``There is so much frustration on the part of citizens that we are pouring more and more money into a system that is not working.''
Some committee members worried that charter schools would divert crucial public education funds and benefit only a few children.
``There are so many problems out there,'' said Sen. Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax. ``Why move in a direction that is only going to help a small number of people?''
The Newport News School Board, the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and the Virginia School Boards Association have all voted to oppose the creation of charter schools. It became clear Wednesday the debate over charter schools would be complex.
Bosher and Norma Szakal, a senior attorney with the Division of Legislative Services, said questions of local autonomy may clash with federal mandates and state constitutional requirements on standards of quality in the classroom.
``The school boards certainly do not have the authority to turn these schools loose from the laws,'' Szakal said.
Other questions raised Wednesday were issues of liability for charter school sponsors, whether private schools could apply for charters and whether money for such schools would come from existing public education funding or new state appropriations.
Committee chairman Sen. Elliot S. Schewel, D-Lynchburg, and others called on Allen to introduce a bill as soon as possible to allow plenty of time for debate.
About 140 charter schools operate in 10 states nationwide. Minnesota was the first to approve charter schools in 1991.
KEYWORDS: CHARTER SCHOOLS by CNB