House Begins Discussion on Manchin’s Charter School Bill (WV)

May 14, 2010

Legislators reconvened on Thursday for a special session to take up Gov. Manchin’s education legislation.

Legislators introduced 13 bills on behalf of the governor when they reconvened at noon yesterday. Eight of the bills pertain to education, as the state attempts another bid at federal Race to the Top school funding.

Each of the items was introduced in both the House and the Senate. Unlike during the regular session, when usually one body or the other will decide to take up a bill, both the House and the Senate intend to work on all the bills, according to Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale.

“Well, I think that in a special session that’s geared toward education, we have to work on all eight of them and we will,” he said. “I personally haven’t been given any direction that you need to do these four and they need to do these four. The Senate will move on all eight at the same time.”

The House Education Committee meeting met yesterday to begin discussing what many believe will be the most contentious—and time-consuming—of the governor’s bills: a bill to establish “charter innovation” zones.

The bill would build on a bill passed last year allowing school boards to designate certain schools as “zones,” where teachers have more decision-making power.

The new bill requires that 80 percent of the teachers in a given school vote to create a charter. Once they’re authorized as such, the school can create its own learning models, curr iculum, budget and the length of the school day and year.

No child is required to attend a charter school, but parents can choose to send their children to one anywhere in the state.

State school superintendent Steve Paine summarized all eight of the proposals. While they’re all geared to giving West Virginia a shot at the federal Race to the Top funding, he says they’re also meant to benefit the state long-term if the funding isn’t awarded.

“How do we look at the items that are important to move education forward in future, in the long term, in a broader vision, if you will,” he said.

The state’s two teachers unions have come out against many of the proposals, but are perhaps the most opposed to the charter schools bill. West Virginia Education Association president Dale Lee says that he’s concerned the bill could take money away from some counties.

“It now allows that students all over the state are eligible for any of these schools,” he said. “You can apply. So if I have a school in Mercer County that becomes a charter innovation zone school, and a student or students in Summers County want to come to that school, then they’re eligible to come to that school. Ultimately, that’s going to take dollars away from Summers County.”

The bill has a $12,000 fiscal note to fund the creation of a commission to oversee the charter innovation zone schools. Several committee members questioned why another oversight commission was needed.

Judy Hale of the American Federation of Teachers–West Virginia says she doesn’t think the Race to the Top money is worth it. If West Virginia is successful for the second round of funding, the state will receive $75 million over a four year peri od.

“No, I don’t think we’re in the running for the Race to the Top funds,” she said. “I don’t think we should be making education policy around Race to the Top. This bill, the charter school bill, sets up a second bureaucracy. We’re spending too much money on education bureaucracy now, so I can’t quite understand why we need another bureaucracy.”

The House Education Committee discussed the bill for an hour, and returned later in the evening to continue the conversation.