Slog
News & ArtsMonday, June 25, 2012
News Say NO to the Charter Schools Initiative
Posted by Melissa Westbook on Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 1:13 PM
This guest post is by Melissa Westbrook, who co-writes the Seattle Schools Community Forum blog.
Despite three past “no” votes, Washington State voters are likely to see charter schools on the ballot this November. Proponents of Initiative 1240 claim that their measure is a boon for education in Washington—but voters should consider what these advocates are actually proposing.
By way of brief background, charter schools are privately run K-12 schools that receive state education dollars. They do not have to follow all rules and regulations that apply to traditional schools. With that flexibility, charters are supposed to be held accountable for outcomes. But are they any better?
In 2009, Stanford University’s CREDO study, one of the largest to date, showed that only 17 percent of charters do better than regular public schools, while 46 percent do the same, and 37 percent actually do worse than traditional public schools. This means that despite 20 years of charters, overall, they have made very little difference in the quality of public education.
Supporters of I-1240 point to President Obama’s support for charters. But the Christian Science Monitor recently reported that other disagree with the president:
“The worry is that President Obama and others are getting seduced by the movement because they’re looking at the results from boutique charters [like KIPP and Aspire] rather than at the wide array of charters that don’t outperform regular schools,” says Bruce Fuller, an education professor at the University of California at Berkeley.
He adds, “It’s irresponsible that President Obama would [push] all 50 states to create more charter schools in light of such sketchy evidence.”
So why bring charters to Washington State? Supporters say some charters have been successful with urban minority children. But the downsides are many.
· Highly segregated schools (this is why the NAACP is against charters).
· The need for huge amounts of private money to support these schools (many successful charters get between 30-100 percent more than state funding from private donors).
· Not enough services for Special Ed or ELL students who get “counseled out” of their charter schools.
What will count for Washington State is not what is happening elsewhere but the specifics of I-1240. The initiative would set up 40 charters over the next five years. Sounds innocuous enough, but the fine detail is troubling. Here are some examples:
Conversion Charters: If the initiative passes, an approved charter could circulate a petition to parents or teachers at an existing school and, with a majority of signatures, take over the school including the building, rent-free. They could do this at ANY school, whether it is failing or not.
Levy money: Education levy dollars, both capital and operations, would have to be shared with charters. If a charter is located in a private building, taxpayer dollars would go to maintain that building.
High-need Students: The wording in the initiative says “authorizers shall give preference” to proposals for charters for high-needs students but doesn’t say how. It then goes on to say that nothing prevents any other kind of charter to be created.
For-Profit: A charter must be started by a non-profit but they can then outsource management and nearly everything else to a for-profit entity.
Facilities: Charters have the right of first refusal, at or below market value, for any school building up for sale or lease. They also can seek space at any public or private entity and at/below market value.
This initiative does far less to help high-need students than it does in creating more bureaucracy, exposing good schools to charter takeover, and bringing in privatization to our public school system. There are also unanswered questions about parent involvement, teaching of religion as part of a “theme” school, and lack of oversight of the new Charter Commission.
The evidence is not in this initiative that we will see better educational outcomes. Decline to Sign the charter school Initiative 1240.
(A guest Slog post in favor of charter schools can be found here.)
1
Signature gatherers at Pride claimed they would "increase" funding to public schools while building schools for special needs students. The funding line is funny, considering that they were also circulating 2 Eyman initiatives and, for one circulator, they had what appeared to be a Pidgeon petition hiding in their stack.
2
@1, were the signature gathers looking oddly like blonde housewives from Clyde Hill? I have to ask since I saw one of the signature gather's at the Target in Woodinville last week nicely decked out in a cute Burberry outfit asking me to sign the petition and save our schools.
3
@2: a couple did! And some circulators wore pride parade tees and shadowed parade organizers to look legit.
4
Yikes, that first "conversion" clause should freak people out. Bascially, a highly motivated person with a vendetta could legally do a "coup d' etat" for any number of crazy things.
5
I was surprised how many people seemed to be signing it at Pride ...
I was gathering signatures for I103, Seattle's Community Bill of Rights ... which I hope people will print out and sign http://www.i103.org
I was gathering signatures for I103, Seattle's Community Bill of Rights ... which I hope people will print out and sign http://www.i103.org
6
Charters, fine. Provided they have to address bullet #3 in exactly the same way as the public system--in other words, required by law to take ALL students. Profoundly mentally disabled and require a full-time instructional aid? You're in. Incapable of getting through the day without your diaper being changed? You're in. Language deficient and require daily speech therapy? You're in.
Let's see how they do with a level playing field.
Let's see how they do with a level playing field.
7
At the Pride Parade yesterday a man asked me where he could find a certain shop since he was from out of town. I told him, and I asked him what his petitions were for. He handed it to me and said Charter Schools. I handed it back and said I'm not signing it. He said he doesn't like them either, but he was just out there to be paid.
9
@8 Yikes! I spent several years in an ACE school, and I can attest to the horrible lies spun in their materials. I had to re-learn a fair amount of history and science when I got into an honest educational environment.
10
But Ms. Westbook, the privatization of all education is part of the Master Agenda!
Main Stream Media? It’s MKULTRA 24/7.
Recently, when reviewing court transcripts and FBI documents covering the Bobby Kennedy assassination in 1968 (said documents and legal proceedings being a complete travesty), I noticed the subtle connections to the former MKULTRA program at the CIA. I confess to ignorance of that program, one so often sees it tied to space aliens and other such trivialities.
On closer examination, one realizes what now appears so obvious: the melding or merging of the advertising genius, Edward Bernays of the Freud family, and his disinformation consulting with the CIA, with the MKULTRA group mind control and attitude adjustment program, extended dramatically through compromised journalists, news outlets and the vast network of so-called think tanks.
Bernays, the mind behind the popularity of the tobacco habit among American women, the combining of bacon and eggs for breakfast, and any number of other PR ploys, worked for the CIA during the 1950s, developing and extending their disinformation department.
Officially in 1953, Richard Helms in his capacity at the agency, approached Director Allen Dulles about starting a program researching group and individual mind control with the use of chemical and biological agents. (Unofficially, the program appears to have begun much earlier with the recruitment of Nazi scientists in the aftermath of World War II.)
This program became known, overall, as MKULTRA.
With Richard Helms as the operations chief, and Sidney Gottlieb, already with the agency since 1951, as its technical chief, the program officially began.
Gottlieb brought the project expertise gained while working on plant diseases and fungicides at the FDA and Department of Agriculture, and ergot alkaloids and hallucinogens while at the National Research Council.
As mentioned previously, this program had appeared to have begun earlier in 1951, when a village in France (Pont Saint Esprit) experienced an outbreak of horrible hysteria and mental breakdown, reminiscent of a bad batch of LSD, but publicly attributed to break mold contamination.
The day prior, an American pilot had rented a plane nearby for crop dusting; he had never been observed before, or since.
Still in France, in 1952, a young American studying painting in Paris, Stanley Glickman, was offered coffee by friendly visiting Americans dressed in business suits from Washington, D.C.
The coffee appeared to have been laced with LSD, or a LSD-type substance, and Glickman was shortly thereafter institutionalized, his young life radically changed --- he was eventually released after treatment, but his abilities were forever curtailed!
Later, there were other strange occurrences involving the MKULTRA program, with a tragic death of Frank Olson, a member of the program who was thought to have been an involuntary test subject, and possibly a talkative hindrance who needed to be permanently removed!
Later still, Frank Wisner, Sr., began exhibiting bizarre behavior and was removed from his senior position at the CIA. Richard Helms, MKULTRA’s operations chief, was promoted to Wisner’s position.
The symptoms exhibited by Frank Wisner were remarkably similar to those associated with a drug which Sidney Gottlieb, MKULTRA’s technical chief, was then experimenting on.
Wisner would eventually commit violent suicide with a shot gun.
A bit later, a precocious student and former child prodigy, Ted Kaczynski, would become unwittingly involved in a research project while a student at Harvard, under the management and direction of Prof. Henry Murray.
Prof. Murray had worked for CIA Director Allen Dulles in the OSS during World War II, and was being funded through the Rockefeller Foundation which, together with the Ford Foundation and several others, served as conduits for financial disbursement for the MKULTRA program (this was revealed in a declassified CIA memo in 1967 --- detailing how over 120 academic institutions were receiving funding for various MKULTRA programs).
Ted Kaczynski left the program in an emotionally disturbed condition --- years later he would gain notoriety as the Unabomber.
Prof. Murray, as it later turned out, was a serious sadist, both in his personal life and professional life.
In 1968, in what appeared to be the final political assassination in a string of political assassinations perpetrated by the oligarchy (President Kennedy in 1963, Malcolm X in 1965, and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. also in 1968), Sen. Bobby Kennedy was tragically gunned down immediately after his win in the California presidential primary.
This too, had subtle connections to the MKULTRA program.
During the 1970s, while under investigation by a congressional committee, the now CIA Director Richard Helms ordered the destruction of records pertaining to the MKULTRA program. (At this point it appeared the relocation of the program --- from the CIA to the Pentagon’s control --- was well underway.)
Also in 1973, several members of the MKULTRA program became involved with a TV development project which resulted in the children series, Sesame Street. (This is an oddity which might require further investigation?)
In 1978, ostensibly due to the Powell memorandum, a veritable explosion of so-called think tanks, a slightly more literate astroturf entity, took place, culminating with so many we are bombarded by today: the Cato Institute, the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institution, various organizations funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, etc.
While this seemed to stem from Powell’s advice, in actuality it was the next phase of the MKULTRA program, i.e., creating and managing the message.
Also in 1978, the Rockefeller Foundation created the Group of Thirty, consisting of a number of economists and financier types who would espouse the agenda of the speculators and central bankers; some of their members are: Larry Summers, Nicholas Brady, Paul Krugman, Mario Draghi, Jean-Claude Trichet, Paul Volcker, et al.
Likewise in 1978, the mass consolidation of the media would begin, excluding and barring local content discussions while promoting the adoption of single, mass marketed programming, e.g., the Larry King Show out of New York City, instead of locally offered programming. (Controlling the medium)
This was the extension of the MKULTRA program merged with Bernays’ disinformation design --- group mind control and public propagandizing.
Today, if it seems far too many Americans are oblivious, it is because they have been rendered so by careful design and malice aforethought!
More...
Main Stream Media? It’s MKULTRA 24/7.
Recently, when reviewing court transcripts and FBI documents covering the Bobby Kennedy assassination in 1968 (said documents and legal proceedings being a complete travesty), I noticed the subtle connections to the former MKULTRA program at the CIA. I confess to ignorance of that program, one so often sees it tied to space aliens and other such trivialities.
On closer examination, one realizes what now appears so obvious: the melding or merging of the advertising genius, Edward Bernays of the Freud family, and his disinformation consulting with the CIA, with the MKULTRA group mind control and attitude adjustment program, extended dramatically through compromised journalists, news outlets and the vast network of so-called think tanks.
Bernays, the mind behind the popularity of the tobacco habit among American women, the combining of bacon and eggs for breakfast, and any number of other PR ploys, worked for the CIA during the 1950s, developing and extending their disinformation department.
Officially in 1953, Richard Helms in his capacity at the agency, approached Director Allen Dulles about starting a program researching group and individual mind control with the use of chemical and biological agents. (Unofficially, the program appears to have begun much earlier with the recruitment of Nazi scientists in the aftermath of World War II.)
This program became known, overall, as MKULTRA.
With Richard Helms as the operations chief, and Sidney Gottlieb, already with the agency since 1951, as its technical chief, the program officially began.
Gottlieb brought the project expertise gained while working on plant diseases and fungicides at the FDA and Department of Agriculture, and ergot alkaloids and hallucinogens while at the National Research Council.
As mentioned previously, this program had appeared to have begun earlier in 1951, when a village in France (Pont Saint Esprit) experienced an outbreak of horrible hysteria and mental breakdown, reminiscent of a bad batch of LSD, but publicly attributed to break mold contamination.
The day prior, an American pilot had rented a plane nearby for crop dusting; he had never been observed before, or since.
Still in France, in 1952, a young American studying painting in Paris, Stanley Glickman, was offered coffee by friendly visiting Americans dressed in business suits from Washington, D.C.
The coffee appeared to have been laced with LSD, or a LSD-type substance, and Glickman was shortly thereafter institutionalized, his young life radically changed --- he was eventually released after treatment, but his abilities were forever curtailed!
Later, there were other strange occurrences involving the MKULTRA program, with a tragic death of Frank Olson, a member of the program who was thought to have been an involuntary test subject, and possibly a talkative hindrance who needed to be permanently removed!
Later still, Frank Wisner, Sr., began exhibiting bizarre behavior and was removed from his senior position at the CIA. Richard Helms, MKULTRA’s operations chief, was promoted to Wisner’s position.
The symptoms exhibited by Frank Wisner were remarkably similar to those associated with a drug which Sidney Gottlieb, MKULTRA’s technical chief, was then experimenting on.
Wisner would eventually commit violent suicide with a shot gun.
A bit later, a precocious student and former child prodigy, Ted Kaczynski, would become unwittingly involved in a research project while a student at Harvard, under the management and direction of Prof. Henry Murray.
Prof. Murray had worked for CIA Director Allen Dulles in the OSS during World War II, and was being funded through the Rockefeller Foundation which, together with the Ford Foundation and several others, served as conduits for financial disbursement for the MKULTRA program (this was revealed in a declassified CIA memo in 1967 --- detailing how over 120 academic institutions were receiving funding for various MKULTRA programs).
Ted Kaczynski left the program in an emotionally disturbed condition --- years later he would gain notoriety as the Unabomber.
Prof. Murray, as it later turned out, was a serious sadist, both in his personal life and professional life.
In 1968, in what appeared to be the final political assassination in a string of political assassinations perpetrated by the oligarchy (President Kennedy in 1963, Malcolm X in 1965, and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. also in 1968), Sen. Bobby Kennedy was tragically gunned down immediately after his win in the California presidential primary.
This too, had subtle connections to the MKULTRA program.
During the 1970s, while under investigation by a congressional committee, the now CIA Director Richard Helms ordered the destruction of records pertaining to the MKULTRA program. (At this point it appeared the relocation of the program --- from the CIA to the Pentagon’s control --- was well underway.)
Also in 1973, several members of the MKULTRA program became involved with a TV development project which resulted in the children series, Sesame Street. (This is an oddity which might require further investigation?)
In 1978, ostensibly due to the Powell memorandum, a veritable explosion of so-called think tanks, a slightly more literate astroturf entity, took place, culminating with so many we are bombarded by today: the Cato Institute, the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institution, various organizations funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, etc.
While this seemed to stem from Powell’s advice, in actuality it was the next phase of the MKULTRA program, i.e., creating and managing the message.
Also in 1978, the Rockefeller Foundation created the Group of Thirty, consisting of a number of economists and financier types who would espouse the agenda of the speculators and central bankers; some of their members are: Larry Summers, Nicholas Brady, Paul Krugman, Mario Draghi, Jean-Claude Trichet, Paul Volcker, et al.
Likewise in 1978, the mass consolidation of the media would begin, excluding and barring local content discussions while promoting the adoption of single, mass marketed programming, e.g., the Larry King Show out of New York City, instead of locally offered programming. (Controlling the medium)
This was the extension of the MKULTRA program merged with Bernays’ disinformation design --- group mind control and public propagandizing.
Today, if it seems far too many Americans are oblivious, it is because they have been rendered so by careful design and malice aforethought!
11
What a load of nonsense. 41 other states already have nonprofit public charter schools, and some states have 20 years of experience with public charters. I-1240 is written to take the best of what works in other states and bring it to WA. It's written to ensure that our kids get only the highest performing charter schools - like KIPP and Rocket. Students and parents in Washington deserve to have the same educational choices as students and parents in 41 other states.
12
@11 Nice use of all the key words there: nonprofit -check! Public - check! Highest-performing - check! Educational choice - check! Too bad its all a crock.
You're right - 41 states do have charters and I come from one of those states. Charter schools have decimated the public school system. Schools are more segregated by race and class than ever before, and the public schools have seen their budgets cut drastically by the state as charters siphon off more and more money, and more public tax dollars go to private "non-profits" and into the pockets of out-of-state corporations and groups like KIPP and Rocket and Gulen. I would not wish that system on anyone.
You're right - 41 states do have charters and I come from one of those states. Charter schools have decimated the public school system. Schools are more segregated by race and class than ever before, and the public schools have seen their budgets cut drastically by the state as charters siphon off more and more money, and more public tax dollars go to private "non-profits" and into the pockets of out-of-state corporations and groups like KIPP and Rocket and Gulen. I would not wish that system on anyone.
13
Er, no, it's not written to "take the best of what works in other states" - for example, the parent trigger provision would make Washington the only state to allow a charter takeover of a school that is not even under-performing. Not only is there a parent trigger, there's a teacher trigger. With elementary schools only having about 20 teachers that's a tiny group for a charter organization to market to. No surprise teachers are already being flown out to charter school chains around the country.
14
If you want a "better" or as many people want RELIGIOUS school experience go private. Don't take the money away from every other kid, you'll get my support.
15
It's written to ensure that our kids get only the highest performing charter schools - like KIPP and Rocket. S
First of all, there are NO guarantees for ANY school. Second, could you cite the section and page where you believe the initiative is written to ensure "highest performing" charters will get in? Because I'm not seeing that and I would interested to read it. Third, you do know that if there are multiple charters authorized (over the 8 per year limit), ALL the charters go into a lottery? There would be no way to know if the highest performing ones would be picked.
First of all, there are NO guarantees for ANY school. Second, could you cite the section and page where you believe the initiative is written to ensure "highest performing" charters will get in? Because I'm not seeing that and I would interested to read it. Third, you do know that if there are multiple charters authorized (over the 8 per year limit), ALL the charters go into a lottery? There would be no way to know if the highest performing ones would be picked.
16
Charter schools have been around for over 20 years and I can see that they can be highly profitable for charter school operators and the educational vendors. Not so much for all the kids. http://dianeravitch.net/2012/06/26/how-c…
17
Just who really is pushing charter schools? What's their agenda? Think before signing. Know that initiative signature gatherers are paid per signature and may well mislead you and tell you what you want to hear.
Washington voters thought independently on charter schools three times already, so I hope people look at this initiative with a judicial eye and first go home and do some research before signing ANYTHING.
Washington voters thought independently on charter schools three times already, so I hope people look at this initiative with a judicial eye and first go home and do some research before signing ANYTHING.
18
Well, this thing isn't even on the ballot and it already has over $700K in the bank. And who did that come from? Pretty small group of people - Gates $200k, Bezos (and wife, the Amazon owners) $100k each, etc.
Not so grassroots or parent-driven.
Not so grassroots or parent-driven.
20
Westello: almost 2 million in donations now, on the PDC website. 800,000 in a single donation from Gates.
22
Good column. However, if anything, it just scratched the surface of all the many reasons to oppose this underhanded scam called "charters".
Funny how almost all of the money for this fraudulent "education" measure comes from the very wealthiest people in our society: mainly Eli Broad, Bill Gates and the Walton Family (which owns Walmart).
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg and many hedge fund millionaires and billionaires have contributed heavily as well.
And all of these mega-wealthy people have one other thing in common: NOT ONE of them sends their own children to a public school. Not one!
Their precious kids get to go to exclusive, elite, cloistered "academies" where there is no "teaching to the test"; classes of 18 or less; lots of music, art, drama and other "impractical" subjects, in addition to the very finest offerings in math, science and English.
Hypocrites. Liars. Puppet Masters.
All of these phony, Astroturf "educational" groups---from the odious "Stand For Children", to the "League of Education Voters", to "Students First", to the speciously labeled "'Democrats' for Education Reform"---get their money from these very same ultra-rich One Percenters.
They have big staffs. Slick websites. Smooth talking lobbyists in expensive suits. And LOTS of cash to legally bribe---eh, I mean, uh, "contribute to"---politicians from both major political parties. And almost every penny of it comes from a handful of billionaires.
As if they know better than the rest of us who are struggling just to maintain a middle class existence. Shameful.
There are some decent, well-intentioned people working at these Astroturf groups. But they are essentially functionaries---the hired help, as they are thought of by their funders---for this group of billionaires who want to impose their agenda on everyone else.
A writer recently described "education reform" as the "newest plaything" for the idle rich---people who get easily bored with life and go from one dilettante pursuit to another. We can only hope that they'll soon move on to their next "new plaything" and leave our schools alone.
Our public schools have their challenges---they ALWAYS have. But for those of us who work hard for a living, and want the best for our kids, the public schools must remain healthy, supported and open to all. They're not an "experiment" for some bored Daddy Warbucks. They are the vital lifeline for our families, our communities and our nation.
Vote NO on this Trojan Horse called "charters". For kids and adults alike. Thank you.
More...
Funny how almost all of the money for this fraudulent "education" measure comes from the very wealthiest people in our society: mainly Eli Broad, Bill Gates and the Walton Family (which owns Walmart).
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg and many hedge fund millionaires and billionaires have contributed heavily as well.
And all of these mega-wealthy people have one other thing in common: NOT ONE of them sends their own children to a public school. Not one!
Their precious kids get to go to exclusive, elite, cloistered "academies" where there is no "teaching to the test"; classes of 18 or less; lots of music, art, drama and other "impractical" subjects, in addition to the very finest offerings in math, science and English.
Hypocrites. Liars. Puppet Masters.
All of these phony, Astroturf "educational" groups---from the odious "Stand For Children", to the "League of Education Voters", to "Students First", to the speciously labeled "'Democrats' for Education Reform"---get their money from these very same ultra-rich One Percenters.
They have big staffs. Slick websites. Smooth talking lobbyists in expensive suits. And LOTS of cash to legally bribe---eh, I mean, uh, "contribute to"---politicians from both major political parties. And almost every penny of it comes from a handful of billionaires.
As if they know better than the rest of us who are struggling just to maintain a middle class existence. Shameful.
There are some decent, well-intentioned people working at these Astroturf groups. But they are essentially functionaries---the hired help, as they are thought of by their funders---for this group of billionaires who want to impose their agenda on everyone else.
A writer recently described "education reform" as the "newest plaything" for the idle rich---people who get easily bored with life and go from one dilettante pursuit to another. We can only hope that they'll soon move on to their next "new plaything" and leave our schools alone.
Our public schools have their challenges---they ALWAYS have. But for those of us who work hard for a living, and want the best for our kids, the public schools must remain healthy, supported and open to all. They're not an "experiment" for some bored Daddy Warbucks. They are the vital lifeline for our families, our communities and our nation.
Vote NO on this Trojan Horse called "charters". For kids and adults alike. Thank you.
23
This was a thoughtful and informed read. I hope Ms. Alarcon reads it and reconsiders her position based on the evidence cited.
24
I'm sure there are a lot of reasons to dislike charter schools. I have no doubt for every high-achieving charter that is out there, someone could probably find a charter school doing something horrific. The point of this comment isn't to say a blanket statement; it's to share my story for a second.
I am currently a graduate student studying to be a high school mathematics teacher. It is a job I've wanted since around age 14. Quite simply, I love math--but even more, I love helping students feel as though they can successful at it. I worked hard in college, and now I am in the process of getting a Masters in mathematics education.
But as much as I want to teach (and really, I'll always want to), I want to do more. My dream would be to one day run my own school. I'd like it to be in an under-served community, filled with teachers that I can hold to higher standards.
It makes me sad that although Washington was my home for the past 22 years of my life, it isn't likely that I'll be able to carry out my dream there.
I don't think all charter schools are good, but the animosity that is displayed towards them (and at times, people who support them) confuses me. Yes, you will find people who abuse the privileges a charter school gets, but you'll find people who do that in public schools as well. The question shouldn't be "Do we allow charter schools?" but rather "Is there a way we could incorporate charter schools for the benefit of students?".
I am currently a graduate student studying to be a high school mathematics teacher. It is a job I've wanted since around age 14. Quite simply, I love math--but even more, I love helping students feel as though they can successful at it. I worked hard in college, and now I am in the process of getting a Masters in mathematics education.
But as much as I want to teach (and really, I'll always want to), I want to do more. My dream would be to one day run my own school. I'd like it to be in an under-served community, filled with teachers that I can hold to higher standards.
It makes me sad that although Washington was my home for the past 22 years of my life, it isn't likely that I'll be able to carry out my dream there.
I don't think all charter schools are good, but the animosity that is displayed towards them (and at times, people who support them) confuses me. Yes, you will find people who abuse the privileges a charter school gets, but you'll find people who do that in public schools as well. The question shouldn't be "Do we allow charter schools?" but rather "Is there a way we could incorporate charter schools for the benefit of students?".
25
I am glad to see you guys calling out these paid posters here. I just started working against charters for 100 reasons. 100 million each year drained from or public schools for less that 1% of our children (the chosen few). I have had battles with charter INVESTORS who pay these people to fool voters again. Charters are good for their portfolios. This is our children's lives. Do we really want a few having control over what they learn and how they learn? LET'S FULLY FUND OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS LIKE OUR STATE SUPREME COURT HAS FINALLY MANDATED US TO DO (as we are 46th in funding as it is). NO on 1240! Volunteer against this. Not too late. www.peopleforpublicschools.org
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