Detroit Voice for School Choice (DVSC) has announced the group is organizing a protest of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Detroit appearance Friday night.
The Vermont senator has been an outspoken opponent of public charter schools. Last May, Sanders released a policy paper, “A Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education,” in which he proposed banning “for-profit charter schools” and announced he was supporting “the NAACP’s moratorium on public funds for charter school expansion until a national audit has been completed to determine the impact of charter school expansion in each state. That means halting the use of public funds to underwrite new charter schools.”
DVSC announced its protest will begin at 6 p.m., prior to Sanders’ 7 p.m. rally at the TCF Center (formerly Cobo Hall) in downtown Detroit.
DVSC advocates for charter schools and school choice. According to the group’s release, the DVSC “will be protesting the notion that charter schools should be a political issue in the campaign.”
Sanders has said public charter schools promote racial segregation.
In an interview with the New York Times last May, Amy Wilkens, vice president at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, called Sanders’ stance “galling.”
Wilkins continued: “What Brown v. Board of Education did was say that government can’t tell black parents which public schools they can and can’t send their kids to. What Senator Sanders is saying with his attempt to limit charter schools is telling black parents, who overwhelmingly support charters, that they can’t send their kids to charters anymore.”
Sanders and the other Democrat primary front runner, former Vice President Joe Biden, both oppose to charter schools. Former President Barack Obama was a major supporter.
Sanders has called public charter schools in Michigan a “national embarrassment.”
Moneak Parker, a Detroit charter school parent, is the executive director of DVSC and is leading the Friday protest. In a press announcement, the DVSC asserts nearly half of all Detroit students attend charter schools.
Sanders’ plan includes requiring charter schools to comply with the same oversight requirements as public schools; mandating that at least half of all charter school boards consist of parents and teachers; disclosure of all non-public funding sources and financial interests; and support for public charter school teacher unionization.
Richfield Public School Academy is a public charter school located in Genesee County. In a joint statement sent to The Center Square, Robert Wright, president of the board, and Pamela Haldy, superintendent, responded to Sanders’ claims.
“Charter schools in Michigan are public schools; charter schools in Michigan are not private schools and they are not parochial schools,” they said.
“Because charter schools are public schools, they are subject to the same oversight and audit functions from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) that all traditional public schools are subject to by the MDE,” they said. “Note that many laws in Michigan refer to a charter school as a ‘Public School Academy.’”
Wright and Haldy added: “In fact, charter schools in Michigan are subject to greater oversight than traditional public schools because of the oversight process for charter schools. Oversight begins with the charter schools’ Management Company, then the charter schools’ Authorization Agent, all who conduct oversight operations of the charter school operations and charter school boards,” they said.
