Unless the Obama administration grades on a very generous curve, North Carolina will not win a share of the $4.3-billion in federal Race to the Top education grants. The initiative, spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Education, will reward states that raise academic standards, boost teacher quality, and expand charter schools.
North Carolina was a finalist in the first round of awards but got no dough, in large part, because the state law caps charter schools at 100 statewide. Federal reviewers cited that ridiculously low limit as a reason to deny funding, giving state officials a clear incentive to lift that cap.
In isolation, Race to the Top is not a big deal. A one-time infusion of $400 million from Washington might be real money. But the funding would constitute a mere 3 percent of the $12-billion-plus Tar Heel State taxpayers will spend on K-12 education in the next school year.
Even so, the state’s education establishment — led by Gov. Bev Perdue, state school board chief William Harrison, and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly — is desperate for the cash. Leaders had to offer something tangible to Washington by June 1, the deadline for the second round of Race to the Top applications. They chose S.B. 704, a bill rushed through the short session and signed by Perdue at the end of May, as evidence that North Carolina takes education reform seriously.
The bill would give each school district in the state the option of converting its worst-performing school to something “charter-like.” This so-called “restart” model still would leave the failing school in place, the district in charge, and its staff under control of the local administrative unit (aka union).
In other words, a “restarted” school would not be a charter school at all.
To call S.B. 704 window-dressing is an insult to interior designers. Some charter operators have said privately the bill is such a transparent grovel for cash that it’s as likely to insult Obama as it is to impress him.
Long after any temporary largess from Washington is spent, the establishment’s indifference to the welfare of kids in failing schools will linger. Perdue and her allies expend a lot of energy bemoaning potential cuts in teacher pay while showing minimal interest in holding teachers accountable for the instruction they provide.
Rather than jamming through a phony-baloney law allowing “charter-like” schools, the state should remove the cap — if not immediately, then gradually, perhaps increasing the number of available charters by five or 10 each year.
In addition, the state could use that “restart” idea and convert those failing district schools to genuine charters, with real autonomy from district micromanagement. It could also allow successful charter schools to franchise their model in new locations.
Charter schools are no panacea for the failures in public education. But giving them a fighting chance would provide North Carolina students and parents with long-overdue assurance that its education leaders view learning as Job One.