The 2005 session of the North Carolina General Assembly is well under way in Raleigh. Education Committees for both the Senate and the House have been appointed and are meeting weekly to consider a plethora of bills.
While the wheels of the political machine grind along, the majority of North Carolinians are busy making a living, taking care of their families, and volunteering in their communities. The average citizen has precious little time to scrutinize the political maneuverings and policy changes that affect his life.
Yet the stakes are high this year in the education arena. North Carolina’s public education system is struggling to keep pace with other states; as status quo solutions pile up, our situation worsens. According to the Fiscal Research Division’s Education Budget Overview, North Carolina’s graduation rate is lower than the national average—a sobering statistic. Not surprisingly, the establishment’s answer to any education woe is more money: in his State of the State address recently, Governor Easley renewed his call (for the fifth time!) for a state-sponsored “Education Lottery.”
Time and again, research has shown that simply throwing more money at public education does not result in greater achievement. Instead, public education needs the innovation, competition, and freedom that parental choice and charter schools provide. As many of you know, in 1996, North Carolina’s charter school law was passed allowing for the creation of 100 of these deregulated public schools. Each year since, legislation has been introduced to remove or raise the cap on charter schools. And each year, the legislation dies.
This session, Sen. Eddie Goodall has already introduced legislation to remove the charter school cap (Senate Bill 213). A companion bill in the House will follow soon.
Why is so much hanging on the outcome of this session’s legal wrangling? Because the charter school movement is at a critical juncture. Currently, over 21,000 students attend 98 charter schools around the state. Many more students languish on waiting lists. Unless the current law is changed, only two more schools can be chartered, leaving many students and families out in the cold. The fact is that many counties in North Carolina do not have even one charter school.
Whatever your views on the charter school movement, please consider getting involved. Contacting your representative in the General Assembly is as easy as a click of the mouse. While e-mails, letters and phone calls are valuable, nothing beats a face-to-face meeting. Consider scheduling an appointment with your representative whether you voted for him/her or not.
Expect the debate to be contentious—any move to open up our educational system to competition and deregulation has its detractors. Traditionally, education organizations instruct their lobbyists to work against the expansion of charter schools. As educational options grow, establishment control weakens, and parental control strengthens. Our state Department of Public Instruction opposes any expansion, unless, of course, large sums of money are earmarked to the agency for their administration of these schools.
Finally, please remember that in order to effect meaningful change to public education in North Carolina, we all must engage in the political process. Don’t sit on the sidelines—make sure your voice is heard.
To learn more about charter schools, as well as the latest education news, visit the Alliance online. Our policy report, Innovation in Education, provides valuable information about the charter school movement, profiling four diverse but successful state charter schools. Check out the “Headlines” section of our home page, updated daily with articles from every major newspaper in the state. At the Alliance, we are committed to keeping you informed and empowered as we join together to improve education for the children of North Carolina.