CT Gov proposes to take the public & parents out of public education « Parents Across America
CT Gov proposes to take the public & parents out of public education « Parents Across America:
by leoniehaimson
by Wendy Lecker, cross-posted from the Stamford Advocate.
The Connecticut Education Commissioner, Stefan Pryor, is a co-founder and former board member of Achievement First chain of charter schools. If the Governor’s bill passes, Pryor will have the power to take over any struggling school in the state, eviscerating the power of the local school governance council, made up of parents and staff, as well as the district’s elected school board. This proposal reveals clearly how the corporate reformers have no interest in parent empowerment or choice, but are intent on eliminating any public input which gets in their way of their ultimate goal: privatization of our public schools. The same bill would also eliminate the requirement of charters like Achievement First to use lotteries for admission, and would award them considerably more public funding, with AF alone due to receive an extra $6 million for its 2,440 students. See also this recent analysis by Bruce Baker of Rutgers, showing how CT charters enroll far fewer of the
