Community Involvement?
On Monday, the Oregon House Education Committee passed a bill that would, among other things, strip the requirement of community involvement in the development of charter schools. The full House will eventually vote on the bill. A local reporter accurately described some consequences of the bill:
All four of the committee's Republican members supported the bill including committee co-chairman Matt Wingard, R-Wilsonville, who sponsored it. After four amendments, Wingard gained the support of Democrat Betty Komp, D-Woodburn, the crucial fifth vote in the evenly split committee. The bill now moves to a vote of the full House.
"Ultimately, there is a pressing need to update this law and to make sure we continue to encourage the growth of charter schools in the state of Oregon," Wingard said Monday afternoon. "In my opinion, this is a modest bill and we were happy to compromise in order to move the bill."