Charters encourage innovation

Public charter schools have been on the front page of late, and unfortunately, the reporting contributes to many misunderstandings about them. A recent news article stated that as a result of a court ruling, 'Millions of dollars would be taken from neighborhood schools and given to charter schools.'

Sadly, this statement is inaccurate in every respect and creates divisions that are counterproductive to improving public school education.

First and foremost, charter schools are neighborhood public schools. Every charter school must accept for admission any child eligible to attend any county public school to the extent space and resources allow and must comply with all health and safety laws. A charter school must also educate every student who chooses to attend, regardless of abilities or disabilities.

However, a public charter school must also do something else: convince parents to send their children to a charter school. A parent can always accept the closest geographic public school option designated by the county, but a public charter school, based upon methods, results and reputation, must outperform the geographic option or risk extinction.

Taxes paid and collected in support of public schools are for one purpose, to educate all children. And that's exactly what a public charter school does, and must do well. Public charter schools are run by the parents through a parent-elected board, as opposed to non-charter public schools that are run by the county and its appointed administrators. To argue or imply that students who attend a public school by geography rather than by choice are somehow more 'entitled' to use public tax dollars because of who runs their school is arrogance and absence-of-fact-based reporting.

The unfortunate reality is public charter schools are handicapped in their competition for survival as they are not being provided the same resources, including facilities, that are a given for the geographic public school. Thus, the only money being 'taken away' is the tax money being denied to public charter schools, even though taxes are collected from all citizens to provide public places of learning for all students. With recent budget cuts of 20 percent, this absence of equity threatens the very survival of public charter schools.

The Legislature authorized the creation of public charter schools because a better way to educate needed to be found. A one-size-fits-all mandatory attendance by geography education was not producing results. Public charter schools are succeeding by having the freedom to offer different methods of instruction and to be innovative in their approach to education.

The proof of their success is in their school report cards, growing numbers and student applicant lotteries.

When it comes to educating children, there is no us versus them, charters versus non-charters, or taking from one to give to the other. There is only public school and what can and must be done to improve the quality of a public school education.

As a community, we must reward innovation in education and replicate its success. Every student who attends public school must be allowed to succeed.

And every public school student must have the same opportunities regardless of the public school they attend.

Richard Hricik is a board member of the East Cooper Montessori Charter School Governing Board. The opinions in this column are his own and not those of the governing board.