Tag: public education

Superintendent on voucher bill: What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander (video)

May 21, 2013 at 6:33 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Members of the House Education Committee will wait until next week to vote on the “Opportunity Scholarship Act”, but State Superintendent June Atkinson left them with something to ponder at Tuesday’s hearing.

Dr. Atkinson told lawmakers if public schools were going to be judged on an A-F grading scale, then private schools receiving taxpayer-funded vouchers should face the same scrutiny.

“Each school receiving taxpayers dollars should be graded in the same manner in order for parents to have the necessary information to make wise decisions,” said Dr. Atkinson.”If a grading scale of A-F is good for public schools, then it should be good enough for private schools.” Read More…

Packed house for school voucher bill hearing

May 21, 2013 at 3:27 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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This morning, members of the House Education Committee heard public comments only for HB 944, Opportunity Scholarship Act, also known as the school voucher bill.

The time allotted for the hearing today was cut down to one hour from two, prompting Chairman Langdon to declare that a vote on the bill would come sometime in the future, likely next week.

Rep. Rob Bryan laid out the specifics of the updated legislation. The bill would offer $4,200 maximum scholarships to students wishing to attend private schools instead of their local public schools.

Appropriations for the voucher program would be $10 million in the first year, $40 million in the second year and $50 million every year after. Read More…

The week in education: charters, vouchers, prayers…oh my!

May 10, 2013 at 10:35 amCategory:Uncategorized

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Pre-K

The week started off with somewhat good news: on its third reading, the bill that would limit access to the state’s award winning pre-K programs for at-risk students passed with slightly better terms than expected.

Lawmakers modified HB 935 at the last minute to fund pre-K classes for children whose familiChartersVouchersandprayerses make 130 percent of the federal poverty level — roughly $31,000 a year for a family of four. A previous version of the bill set the threshold at 100 percent of the federal poverty level. The amended version also delays the date the bill would become law by one year, because the operation of roughly half of all pre-K programs that are currently located in local public school districts must be turned over to private pre-K providers, a significant logistical hurdle.

The pre-K bill now heads to the Senate.

Charter schools

After winding its way through several committee hearings, the full Senate finally got to debate Sen. Jerry Tillman’s SB 337, a bill that would create a new independent charter school oversight board and set what has turned out to be contentious policies for public charter schools. Read More…

Education sharks continue to circle

May 10, 2013 at 8:36 amCategory:Uncategorized

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K12 logoThe Wall Street sharks who want to buy up our public education system do not appear inclined to go away quietly. After being rebuffed by state education officials and failing thus far to get what they want in the courts, K-12, Inc. (the troubled, for-profit, “virtual” charter school company) has turned to what it undoubtedly expects will be a more hospitable  forum — the General Assembly.

As N.C. Policy Watch reporter Sarah Ovaska reported yesterday afternoon, K-12 lobbyists have prevailed upon a state lawmaker to enter legislation that would put the company on the path to open its proposed online charter in North Carolina. For people who care about public schools, this should be a very worrisome development. This is from Ovaska’s report: Read More…

SBE Chairman Bill Cobey voices his opposition for new charter school board bill, declares it unconstitutional

May 2, 2013 at 4:12 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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As members heard a legislative update during this month’s meeting of the State Board of Education, new chairman Bill Cobey took a moment to express his concerns about SB 337, which would create a new charter school oversight board.

SBE Chairman Bill Cobey

Acknowledging that the full SBE may not want to take a formal position on the bill at this time, Cobey said that he personally could not support SB 337 and found that the legislation was unconstitutional.

SB 337 would abolish the Charter School Advisory Council, which is housed under the State Board of Education, and replace it with a new independent board comprised of members handpicked by the Governor and his colleagues. The new board would be an independent body tasked with setting policy for charter schools. Read More…