The state?s highest court earlier this month heard arguments about whether charter schools in Baltimore City should receive the same funding per student as traditional public schools.
We would like to ask the court a different question: Should parents who send their children to charter schools ? which are public schools ? pay the same taxes as those who go to traditional public schools?
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Why ask? Because their children each receive about half as much money as those in traditional schools for their education. We won?t even mention parents who send their children to private schools and reap no direct benefit from their taxes spent funding public education.
Why the case is even being heard is a mystery.
The 2003 Maryland Public Charter Act says the city school board must fund charter schools in a way “commensurate with the amount disbursed to other public schools in the local jurisdiction.” That seems pretty clear. Maybe city public school officials can?t read?
That problem at least could be fixed. Their worldview cannot. Supporters of short-shrifting charter schools say paying nearly $11,000 per charter school student could lead to layoffs for those in other public schools. Since when did protecting a few jobs become more important than preparing the 4,000 students in city charter schools for college and gainful employment?
What makes this even more egregious is the $11,000 figure cited is actually much lower than the amount the public school system spends per student. The 2008 Baltimore City Public Schools budget calls for more than $14,000 per student.
The case reveals the antipathy the public school establishment feels toward charter schools, which if they succeed, could force major changes on how all public schools operate.
The first report on the state?s charter schools, released earlier this year, showed mixed results. But charter schools have only existed for two years in Baltimore, and some are showing great promise. Kipp Ujima Village Academy, a middle school, boasts the best math scores in the state with students who are 99 percent African-American and more than 85 percent low income.
Kipp?s teachers work longer hours, weekends and even pick children up for school to ensure they attend class. Marietta English, co-president of the Baltimore Teachers Union, recently and egregiously compared those types of good works by caring teachers to the horrors of slavery. So you can guess how welcome they would be if forced on all public schools.
Charters should be given the same chance to succeed as other public schools. Restricting their funding only serves those who care more for protecting their jobs than educating students. The court must force the city and all jurisdictions in the state to fund charter schools at the same level as public schools.
