Editorial: Quality vs. quantity: Education debate focused on the wrong thing
Published: Sunday, October 16, 2011, 8:52 AM
Lawmakers should put the brakes on a sweeping package of charter school reforms making its way through the Michigan legislature and change the focus of the debate from creating more schools to creating quality schools.
The nine-bill package would remove the cap on the number of charter schools in the state, allow charter schools to open in high performing school districts — they were restricted to low performing districts under previous laws — and would give owners of charter school buildings property tax abatements, something Gov. Rick Snyder wants to eliminate for Michigan businesses.
The bills also would allow parents and teachers to vote to convert a failing traditional public school into a charter; allow students to enroll in any district in the state regardless of where they live and allow an unlimited number of online cyber-schools, among other things.
The chair of the Senate Education Committee, Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Twp., says the bills are designed to prevent students from being “trapped in a failing school.” We think the bills will simply