In defense of charter schools | Opinion

To wit: “Charter schools, by their very nature, operate independently of the traditional public school system.”

Not true. The Coweta County Board of Education proudly wrote and approved the charter for Central Educational Center in 2001. The CEC “college and career academy” model has now been replicated 60 times – all also approved by one or more local boards of education. In addition, academies like CEC have been codified into state law and are subject to a state certification process overseen by the Technical College System of Georgia.

Another problematic statement is: “Taxpayer dollars intended for public education could be diverted to charter schools without proper transparency or accountability measures in place.”

Bunk. By law, all charter schools are public schools. The word “charter” means “contract,” and each charter public school follows a performance contract approved either by a local board of education or by a state Charter Schools Commission before also being approved by the Georgia Board of Education. All charter applications are judged by reviewers on financial soundness, the strength of the instructional program, and academic and organizational goals to which each charter governing board commits itself. Further, unlike traditional public schools, charter public schools can and will be closed if they fail to measure up to their own contractual commitments in any given year of the contract term. These measures represent more accountability than any traditional public school must face.

Another canard: “Charter schools can select their students,…