Examiner Local Editorial: School boards should not have veto power over charters

There are no publicly funded charter schools in Northern Virginia. The simple reason is that state law allows local boards of education to have the final say in the matter.

This quirk in the law has the practical effect of negating two of the main advantages of charter schools. First, they provide much-needed competition to traditional public school systems. Research has shown that this competition improves education for all children because the threat of losing students — and the funding that comes with them — forces traditional school systems to improve.