Poorly titled news article about charter schools fools Kentucky School Boards Association

A New Year’s Day article from the Palm Beach Post proclaims, “More PBC parents choosing traditional public schools over charters.” Not surprisingly, the Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) instantly jumped on this article, trying to undermine efforts to finally bring these public schools of choice to Kentucky.

If the news report were fully on target, the KSBA might have a point. But, the title doesn’t seem to reflect the situation actually described in the news article. Near the end of its article, the Palm Beach news admits:

“Last year, the school board blocked two charter school companies from opening new campuses, a move that led to court challenges and what critics called an illegal attempt to eliminate more competition.”

If charter operators want to open still more charter schools in the Palm Beach area, it seems pretty obvious that there is an additional need and the existing charters are likely at capacity.

So, the local Palm Beach board blocks more charters and then says it is surprised that more parents – who apparently didn’t have any choice – enrolled their kids in the traditional public school system. How can that be a surprise? And, how does this provide any indication that charters are becoming less popular?

What this really does show is that local boards, always ravenously hungry for more money, will do anything to prevent kids from having education alternatives. In fact, the news article also says:

“Public schools prize enrollment growth because more students mean more money.”

So, this fight is mostly just about money, not about doing a better job for the kids.

In the end, the situation in Palm Beach does offer an important lesson for Kentucky, but it isn’t the one the KSBA is trying to teach. If Kentucky is going to have a viable charter school program, it needs to allow more than just local school boards to authorize these important schools of choice. Otherwise, local boards in the Bluegrass State will probably behave no differently than the one in Palm Beach, and it will be Kentucky's kids who suffer.