Why Are We Facing So Many "Under-the-Radar" Corporate Attacks on Oklahoma Public Schools?
The previous blockbuster discovery for Oklahoma City and Tulsa schools was SB 68, the "under-the-radar" bill to authorize cities to compete with school systems in sponsoring charter schools. The Tulsa World's Andrea Eger, in "Change in State Law Sought for Tulsa Public Schools Would Allow Outsourcing of Instruction," reports that another charter bill, HB 1691, "has flown largely beneath the public's radar during a legislative session that has seen high-profile clashes over bills seeking private school vouchers and the expansion of charter schools into rural areas."
Eger reports that the Tulsa Public School System is moving ahead with plans to locate its three newest charters inside traditional public school facilities. Lunch and bus service would be provided for students. All three contract-charters would be run by an out of state charter management organization.
Linda Hampton, president of the Oklahoma Education Association, opposes HB 1691, "Because the bill is so broad in scope, it could open the door to total privatization of public schools. ... We also want to be sure we are not turning over our public school students to organizations that are looking to make a profit."
Outgoing Superintendent Keith Ballard, who will be succeeded by Chief for Change Deborah Gist, says that already established charters "have expressed interest in moving to the charter-contract arrangement if HB 1691 passes."
I wonder if Tulsans knew what they were getting when they accepted a Gates Foundation district-charter school compact. This new revelation sounds like an escalation in the campaign against teachers unions. Nonprofit and for-profit charter management organizations would gain these new benefits, as they retained their old advantages of being able to "cream" the easier-to-educate students. Of course, it would also increase segregation - adding to the sorting of students within buildings.
Ballard praised the district's relationship with existing charters (who will also take advantage of the new law). He said "They attend our administrator meetings, and we track their data constantly. We are intertwined with them, and that is the true spirit of what charters are for -- we've learned things from our charters and they say they've learned things from us."
But, what about a spirit of collaboration with teachers in neighborhood schools?
After praising his ongoing communication with charters, "Ballard said he hopes to discuss the matter with the leadership of the statewide teachers union soon. ...'This is a bit of a deviation from what they might support, but we probably need to do a better job of communicating with them about what we're trying to do here.'"
This is one more reason why Oklahoma school reform holds lessons for the entire Why Are We Facing So Many "Under-the-Radar" Corporate Attacks on Oklahoma Public Schools? | John Thompson: