Tag: charter schools

Citizens threatened with arrest as they silently protested during hearing for SB 337

April 3, 2013 at 11:56 amCategory:Uncategorized

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Just a heads up if you plan to silently protest anything at a committee hearing in the General Assembly.

You can’t. Well, you can, but you might be threatened with arrest.

SB 337, NC Public Charter School Board, was discussed once again in a Senate Education Committee hearing this morning.  As mentioned last week, SB 337 is a bill filed by Senators Jerry Tillman and Dan Soucek that is intended to remove oversight of public charter schools from the State Board of Education and put it in the hands of a new, independent entity comprising members handpicked by the Governor.

Last week there was an opportunity for public comment on the bill, but not today. Tillman explained that he had consulted with all stakeholders in drafting the bill and all who wanted to be at the table were included in the process.

Some members of the public expressed their frustration with Tillman’s decision to not allow public comment. Several citizens stood in the back of the room, waiting to speak. As it became clear there would be no opportunity for them to do so, two women tied scarves around their mouths.

The silent protestors were escorted from the committee meeting by the Sergeant-at-Arms. Patty Williams, who was with the group, said that the citizens were threatened with arrest. Read More…

Senate considers creation of new public charter school board

March 27, 2013 at 3:10 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Today, the Senate Education Committee took up SB 337, “NC Public Charter School Board,” a bill filed by Senators Jerry Tillman and Dan Soucek that is intended to remove oversight of public charter schools from the State Board of Education and put it in the hands of a new, independent entity comprising members handpicked by the Governor.

Tillman explained that the bill was necessary due to alleged dysfunction within the current system that is in place. He said the Charter School Advisory Council should be eliminated because there has been friction and there are two sides that do not work well together, do not have good sharing of ideas, and “we need a new cast of players.”

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N&O’s Ned Barnett on Diane Ravitch

March 24, 2013 at 8:16 amCategory:Uncategorized

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In case you missed last week’s NC Policy Watch luncheon with Diane Ravitch, you can still watch it by clicking here. You can also read Ned Barnett’s column in this morning’s edition of Raleigh’s News & Observer in which the veteran journalist summarizes the hard truths Ravitch spelled out as she dismantled the “reform” plans of North Carolina’s Senate leader Phil Berger. Read More…

Chapel Hill charter school in limbo (with update)

March 19, 2013 at 3:30 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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National Heritage Academies, a for-profit company that manages charter schools around the country, broke ties with the Howard and Lillian Lee Scholars Charter School,  which is supposed to open this fall in Chapel Hill.

It’s unclear whether the charter school will still be able to open. It was approved by the Sate Board of Education under the condition that the board would contract with National Heritage Academies for day-to-day management. Any changes would have to go back before the state board.

The  Chapel Hill News first reported news of the split today, and indicated that the Office of Charter Schools under the N.C. Department of Public Instruction was unaware of the changes.

“We’re very disturbed and disappointed,” Danita Mason-Hogans told the Chapel Hill News (a publication put out by the News & Observer). “Right now we’re trying to decide what we’re going to do as a board.”

National Heritage Academies, which runs several other public charter schools in the state, typically builds new school and rents the space back to the charter school’s non-profit board of directors.

The same arrangement had been planned for the school to be located in Carrboro, the small town adjacent to Chapel Hill.

NHA released a statement saying they no longer wanted to operate the school, calling it a “difficult decision” and showered praise on the volunteer school board members. But the written statement did not indicate what led to the charter school operator to pull out of the agreement.

Angela Lee, the daughter of Howard and Lillian Lee and lead applicant, also did not immediately return a call for comment.

The school was named after Howard Lee, a former Chapel Hill mayor, state senator and chair of the state board of education from Chapel Hill, and his wife, an educator. The school initially indicated its goal was to close the achievement gap between black and white students in the Chapel Hill area.

The school was supposed to open up in the fall of 2012, but delayed its opening by a year  to find time to secure land and space.

Bill would change oversight of charter schools in North Carolina (with correction)

March 15, 2013 at 2:57 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Note: This post has been changed from its original form to reflect a correction regarding how the bill addresses funding of charter schools.

A bill introduced Thursday would take oversight of public charter schools away from the N.C. State Board of Education and put them under a newly created charter oversight board.

The new legislation, Senate Bill 337, revives several of the controversial proposal trotted out in 2010, including changing the oversight provisions.

The new bill was introduced by state Sens. Dan Soucek and Jerry Tillman, the two Republican co-chairs of the Senate Education and Education Appropriations committees.

Charter schools are schools that receive public education money, but are run outside of the traditional public school system by non-profit boards. When Republican took over control of the state legislature following the 2010 elections, an existing cap of 100 charter schools for the state was removed, leading to a surge of interest for the schools.

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