John White Tells the Truth! Charter Schools are Not About Children or Choice, They are About Cashflow
In the past I would write posts about John White’s lies. However his lies have become so commonplace (and obvious) that eventually the public stopped paying attention. It was generally accepted that if John White’s lips were moving, he was lying. (“White Lies” is how they are frequently referred to online.) However John White is living proof that it’s difficult to lie all the time. Invariably you are going to let some truth out to someone, somewhere. Because this happens so infrequently the times he tells the truth are perhaps the most interesting now.
Take for instance this clip I made from the December 1st 2015 BESE meeting where John White explains to the public why he has chosen to authorize charter schools in public school districts that don’t want them, with plenty of options, choices and under financial strain, but is refusing to authorize them in New Orleans, which is 100% charter controlled.
Louisiana State Superintendent John White:
“If you were running a traditional school system you would never open a new school when you have an enrollment deficit. And here we have a charter system. So on one hand you’re called to authorize charter schools. On the other hand [RSD] superintendent Dobard and I must determine what the right enrollment balance is, just like a traditional system.I will tell you this type 2 charter school system, and I have told this to Dr. Triplett, cannot open this year. It cannot open this year.It may open in a year when the enrollment re-stabilizes and we have another need, but I have been very clear to them for this year, as a type 2 charter school because it would add to the number of seats when our kindergarten enrollment is down.Now I think she has also applied for a type 5 charter school. That type 5 charter school could take over for schools that are struggling. Uh. We are recommending its for approval as well. And she could, uh, provide services within a currently existing school. But a standalone new additional set of however many new kindergarten kids, 50 or 100 or so, I just do see how we can do that and be fair to the school system.”
This is very interesting because it goes against every idea the charter industry pushes as the need for new charter schools. This decision limits choice at a time where only about 30% of the kids get their first choice by the OneAp system that John White Tells the Truth! Charter Schools are Not About Children or Choice, They are About Cashflow | Crazy Crawfish:
