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March 30, 2007

Morning Shots

New York Sun: Spitzer Wins a Victory on Charters

In a victory for Governor Spitzer, lawmakers are poised to approve an expansion in the number of charter schools in the state, agreeing to give second life to an 8-year-old experiment in education that has been lauded by school-choice activists but resisted by state teachers unions and school district bureaucracies.

In one of last deals made during the budget negotiations, lawmakers have agreed to allow an additional 100 charter schools in the state, which would increase the total number of the schools to 200.

The trustees of the State University of New York, which are appointed by the governor, and the Board of Regents, a state entity largely controlled by Assembly Democrats, will each have approval power over 50 of the charters, which are publicly funded schools under contract with state entities but independent of school district bureaucracy and union rules.

The final budget will likely eliminate Mr. Spitzer's plan to give parents who pay for private or public school tuition annual $1,000 tax deductions to offset the costs. Worth on average $68 a year, the money would have covered just a tiny fraction of tuition costs at most schools. For private and religious school advocates, the deduction represented a critical precedent for using state funds explicitly to help families pay for private tuition.

LA Times: L.A. Unified rejects charter expansion

A split Los Angeles Board of Education on Thursday rejected the expansion plans of one of the city's leading charter school operators — a move that almost certainly violates state law and firmly sets back future collaboration between the charter group and the school district.

The unexpected 3-3 vote by the Los Angeles Unified School District board defeated Green Dot Public Schools' application for eight new charters. The group had planned to use several of the charter licenses to open new schools this fall in the Watts neighborhood around Locke High School — one of the city's worst. The board's seventh member, David Tokofsky, recused himself because he works for Green Dot.

Board members and teachers union allies Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, Jon Lauritzen and Julie Korenstein voted against the charters, saying that despite the promising results Green Dot has produced at its other charters, they remain skeptical of the group's reform model.

Their vote enraged Green Dot founder Steve Barr, who said it essentially ended months of talks between him, Supt. David L. Brewer and board President Marlene Canter aimed at a joint reform plan for Locke.

"There is nothing to collaborate on … now we're outsiders," Barr said. "We've spent hours and days and nights trying to collaborate…. I really have a hard time finding any reason to continue talking with this district."

Dallas Morning News: House rejects urban vouchers

In a blow to the school voucher movement, the House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to bar use of any state funds for private school vouchers in Texas.

The 129-8 vote – which came on an amendment to the proposed state budget – appeared to signal an end to efforts to pass a voucher bill this year that would allow low-income students in Dallas and other urban school districts to transfer to private schools at state expense.

House action came just hours after a Senate committee considered a proposal to let up to 50,000 low-income students from public schools in Dallas, Fort Worth and seven other urban districts participate in a pilot voucher plan. The bill would take about 90 percent of the funds used to educate those students and send it to private schools to pay tuition. That percentage would amount to about $8,000 per student, according to state education officials.

Myrtle Beach Sun News: Education chief's open enrollment plan passes

After voting down several attempts to add provisions for vouchers or tax credits to attend private schools, the House on Thursday passed state Education Superintendent Jim Rex's open enrollment plan 69-53.

The bill allows a limited number of pupils in poorly performing schools to attend another public school outside their assigned area. The Senate has a similar bill it is working on.

The issue split the local delegation, with four for it and six against. Although Democrats in general favored the bill, the Black Caucus turned against it along with many Republicans.

"It's not choice at all," said Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach. He said it's feel-good legislation that has too limited a reach.

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