Anti-charter school interests brought out some heavy hitters March 17 at the Wake County Board of Commissioners meeting. After waiting several hours during the commission’s action agenda, 14 parents, citizens, and administrators signed in for the opportunity to spend three minutes addressing the board. That’s the normal time constraint at public hearings, and commissioners don’t respond to the statements offered by the speakers.

The Charter School Limitation Exemption for Wake County brought 14 speakers to the podium. Among them were Wake County School Supt. Bill McNeal; Wake County School Board member Tom Oxholm; Charlotte Turpin, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators; and Al Perry, president of the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association. All four opposed the expansion of charter schools, citing budgetary harm to regular public schools and a loss of “the cream” of the student population if students opted for the new charters.

Ten citizens made statements in support of allowing Wake County to add 10 charter schools per year from 2004 through 2009. Many said they support the mission of public schools, but saw charters as a way to control the county’s budget without sacrificing services. Bill Carraway of Apex reminded the board that last November’s elections were a notice to elected officials to “reign in county government and expenditures and [do] not raise our taxes.”

Other speakers advised the county to enact measures that would lower costs and expressed a desire to have Wake County increase its investment in public schools. Charter school operators do not receive public funding for capital investments. Charters must lease or build space for schools with private dollars. Truman Newberry of Raleigh recalled the board recommendation three years ago to add charter schools. That recommendation “had an impact on the school bond issue” Newberry said. Dave Duncan of Assignment By Choice called private investment in public schools ”a welcome blessing.” “Let’s invite additional investment and academic excellence into our community,” he said.

Amanda Mixon and Theresa Fernandez voiced some additional concerns. “Public schools are losing market share” because of the compulsory busing plan Wake County uses to create socioeconomic balance, Mixon said. “Student flight is a definite reality in Wake County,” she said. Mixon displayed the current reassignment map in an effort to demonstrate the complexity of the plan. Since 1996, public schools have lost 17 percent of their clientele to other schooling options, Mixon said.

Fernandez, who emigrated from Cuba and gained U.S. citizenship, stressed the innovative nature of charters, especially for immigrant families. Charters bring parents “into the focus,” she said, and provide ”a quick tool to reach out” to those students who don’t feel immediately at home in their new country.

Commissioner Tony Gurley recommended that the board adopt the resolution. The board is urging Wake County’s legislative delegation to introduce a bill lifting the cap on charter schools in the county. Gurley and Commissioners Herb Council, Joe Bryan, Kenn Gardner, and Phil Jeffreys voted for the resolution. Commissioners Harold Webb and Betty Lou Ward voted that the commission reject a move to offer a charter expansion bill.

In passing the resolution, the commissioners noted increasing demands placed on schools by population growth in the county and potential budget savings as private entrepreneurs pick up capital costs. The commissioners warned that they will be watchful of school demographics in any new charters that open in the county.

Palasek is a policy analyst at the North Carolina Education Alliance and assistant editor at Carolina Journal.