Editorials

Opposition explained

One half sentence is all it takes

And the session rolls on. Lawmakers say they'll have this session of the General Assembly wrapped up pretty soon, or at least before summer, but we'll see. Our representatives and senators in the Arkansas legislature have a lot on their plates just now. Read the papers for proof.

Prisons, adoptions, scholarships, guns. This session has had a bit of everything. And earlier this week, lawmakers were debating a bill having to do with charter schools and how they're funded . . . when somebody said something very revealing.

The bill was Senate Bill 789, and it would clear the way for charter schools to get money for buildings and whatnot, something they haven't been able to get from the state's General Improvement Fund. Oh, those schools might have applied for a check from a revolving loan fund, but that money had to be paid back. Some lawmakers thought that not quite right, thus SB 789.

During the debate, a state rep from Marianna, one Reginald Murdock, was heard from. In half a sentence, he helped point out the problem with those opposed to charter schools:

"What this bill does not do," he said, "is it does not require that same type of scrutiny that public schools have to go through with their academic facilities' master plans and things like that . . . ."

Very interesting.

First, isn't the whole idea of charter schools about giving those schools the ability to do things without jumping through bureaucratic hoops? If charter schools are getting by without paying an extra person to come up with an Academic Facilities Master Plan, then good for them.

But . . . note that he said the bill he opposes does not require that same type of scrutiny that public schools have to go through--

Stop right there.

That's the problem, or at least one problem, with those who oppose charter schools. Some of them don't seem to realize that charter schools are public schools.

And because charter schools are public schools, they should be able to get public money for buildings, just as the traditional public schools do. All public schools, including charters, require an adequate and equitable education for their students. And if they are not allowed that, some of us can smell a lawsuit a-coming.

Happily, this SB 789 is heading to the governor's desk now. Here's hoping he signs it. And not only helps education in this state, but helps the state avoid more legal bills in the future.

Editorial on 03/27/2015

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