COLUMBUS, OHIO 6/8/09 - Comments made by Governor Ted Strickland regarding charter school accountability in Ohio are misleading and require an immediate apology, according to a school choice advocacy group.
Strickland remarked last week that the Senate removed provisions in the budget bill that would hold charter schools more accountable and that he won't continue to fund charter schools without holding them accountable, as reported by The Columbus Dispatch government and politics blog The Daily Briefing (http://blog.dispatch.com/dailybriefing/2009/06/strickland_hopes_for_a_good_pl_1.shtml). "We're calling on Governor Strickland to apologize for misleading Ohioans that public charter schools are not accountable," Sue Westendorf former President of the Ohio State Board of Education and Executive Director of My School, My Choice said. "In fact, Ohio has the strongest accountability system in the US. Governor Strickland has a shaky grasp of the facts."
Public charter schools in Ohio must meet the same federal and state requirements as a traditional public school. But unlike traditional public brick and mortar schools, a public charter school can have its charter revoked if it's not performing financially or academically. Under provisions enacted by House Bill 79, The Ohio Department of Education already has the ability to close a charter school that is not performing to state standards.
Governor Strickland's new funding plan only added burdensome regulations to charter schools while at the same time cutting funding for essential personnel needed to help charter schools meet those standards.
But ultimately - it's the parents that hold charter schools accountable and decide which schools should remain open and which should close. If a parent feels that a school isn't making their child's education the highest priority - they'll go to a different school. Parents decide which schools should close by moving their kids. That's the power of giving parents public school choice, and it's what Ohioans overwhelmingly support. My School, My Choice is a coalition of parents, teachers, public charter schools, public e-schools, school choice advocacy groups, taxpayers, families and education leaders who care about the rights of all Ohio children and their families to choose the best school to meet their individual needs.
More information about the group and the recent statehouse rally featuring more than 4,500 citizens can be found at www.MySchoolMyChoice.org. Anyone interested in joining the coalition can sign-up at that site to receive regular updates and can sign up to follow the group on Twitter at http://twitter.com/schoolchoice.
The group made statewide news in 2007 when it successfully led the opposition to Governor Strickland's controversial attempt to take school choice away from parents. |
