Tie measurable diversity goals to free rent for charter schools

The Post and Courier has recently carried plenty of good news about the Charleston Charter School for Math & Science. The past few months have seen exceptionally ample reminders of the invitation for applications and ample coverage of the first "lottery" to select students.

On Friday, Jan. 25, it was reported that state Rep. Chip Limehouse had filed a bill that would forbid school districts from charging charter schools rent for lease or use of a building owned by a school district, noting that his action was spurred by the decision to charge rent to the Charter School for Math & Science.

On Tuesday, Jan. 29, it was reported that the Charter School had hired a principal and two administrators and that 47 percent of the initial enrollment forms returned were for minority students.

On Wednesday, Jan. 30, there was editorial praise for Mr. Limehouse's bill and for school board member Gregg Meyers' statement that he is ready to vote to rescind the school board's decision to charge rent to the charter school.

The unprecedented wave of positive reporting on the Charter School for Math & Science has been admirably crafted, but I did want, in the midst of the positive media spin, to note a few other things.

It should be noted that should Mr. Limehouse's legislation passes, the result would be an unmitigated disaster for public education in South Carolina. School districts that are already stretching scare dollars to build and equip traditional public schools would be required to stretch them even farther to cater to charter schools — not just by providing available buildings, but possibly by providing everything from science labs to stadiums. My hope is that even if Mr. Limehouse wishes to cater to charter schools that will only serve a fraction of our state's children, he will also work for adequate and equitable funding for every school district in South Carolina.

It should also be noted that the only charter schools in Charleston County to receive buildings and equipment at no cost were James Island High School and Orange Grove Elementary School — existing schools that converted to charter schools and simply stayed in the buildings they already occupied. Comparing those schools to the Charter School for Math & Science when it comes to the rent issue is disingenuous, because the Charter School for Math & Science is a "start up" charter school that simply wishes to claim a public building and not pay its way. Should the school district choose to allow them to do so, then the same thing should be done for all future and existing charter schools, like the YouthBuild Charter School.

YouthBuild has had considerable struggles in finding and paying for operating space. Should the Charter School for Math & Science be given a free building, then the same should be done for YouthBuild.

It should also be noted that the reported 47 percent minority enrollment in the Charter School for Math & Science is not official evidence of diversity because the school district has taken no steps whatsoever — beyond tying the building rent amount to diversity — to track diversity at the Charter School for Math & Science. The founders of the charter school have, in fact, indicated in the past that they are resistant to any objective measure of diversity being a requirement.

The school district has the responsibility to follow the laws of South Carolina with respect to diversity and charter schools and develop a means of measuring the diversity of the Charter School for Math & Science to ensure that it reflects the demographic diversity of the community. The school district should also take the appropriate legal steps to ensure that the diversity required to open the Charter School for Math & Science is maintained.

It should finally be noted that while the Charter School for Math & Science hopes to place portable classrooms on the Rivers campus and use the facility's cafeteria and gymnasium, there is still no signed agreement for the use of the Rivers campus by the Charter School for Math & Science — the deal has not yet been finalized and can still be halted. Because there is not a deal, I find some hope for fairness in the words of board member Gregg Meyers, as quoted in the Jan. 30 editorial: "We don't need to use rent as a vehicle for diversity."

The vehicle for diversity can, indeed, be far more straightforward. The agreement for facility use can — and should — include provisions that tie measurable diversity to rent-free occupancy of the building. Should that be the case for all charter schools using public buildings rent free, then that would be good news.

The Rev. Joseph A. Darby is press and publicity chairperson of the Charleston Branch, NAACP.