Orlando Sentinel Slams Steve Wise’s Charter School Bill
In 1996, Florida began a grand experiment in education reform. Charter schools were placed in a statewide Petri dish.
Critics warned that the public/private hybrids would siphon off funding and spell the end of traditional public schools.
And now, some state lawmakers foolishly plan to hand charter schools the hose. The Senate Education Committee has endorsed a bill requiring local school districts to share with charter schools a portion of the $1.9 billion in construction and maintenance money collected through local taxes. Money that charter schools could use to defray leases or to buy buildings that — rather