CHARTER SCHOOLS: MSTA RESOLVES CONDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri State Teachers Association pledged conditional support for public charter schools during a general convention Thursday.

The organization represents more than 42,000 Missouri teachers.

Little opposition was voiced against the charter-schools resolution, which was one of a slate of resolutions adopted in a voice vote by delegates during a special assembly held at the Regal Riverfront Hotel in St. Louis. The assembly marked the opening of the organization's annual convention, which continues today.

In the resolution, members supported public charter schools "provided that the charters are granted by the local school board within an existing accredited Missouri public school district" and provided the school requires "at least the same certification and compensation" for teachers as other public schools in the district. Members also advocated protection of retirement benefits and tenure status for charter-school teachers. They also encouraged charter schools to participate in the Missouri School Improvement Program, a school district evaluation held every five years that is used to determine the level of accreditation a district receives.

Delegates from the southeast district, which encompasses many of the counties south of St. Louis, had little comment about the charter-school resolution. "We really haven't discussed the charter-school issue. It just hasn't come up in our district," said Jo Ann Hearnes of Charleston, a former district MSTA president.

Linda Reinwald and Janet Kuhlman, both of Perryville, said they have heard few teachers voice any opinions about the issue. They said they supported the concept of charter schools because diverse programming can be beneficial for students."It's fine with me because the more diverse the populations the more diverse the ideas and the more diverse the students," said Reinwald. "Anything to educate the kids."Two southeast district delegates were opponents to charter schools. Don Meloy of Centerville and Jack Poste of North St. Francois County both said charter schools belittle the efforts of public- school teachers.

Meloy was especially against the idea of noncertified teachers leading classrooms. Missouri law allows for up to 20 percent of charter-schools faculty to be noncertified. "If there's a problem in the public school, are they going to hire noncertified teachers to do something we couldn't?" he said. "I'm against that."Poste said the lack of a certification requirement also concerned him. He said he understood charter schools were a "last-ditch effort" to help children in St. Louis and Kansas City public schools but was unable to understand how charter schools would address the problems the children faced."I understand that they want the best for their children. I'm just not certain that's the best way," Poste said. He said he also felt charter schools were an insult to public-school teachers in urban schools. It's unclear where the problem is in urban schools, but the creation of charter schools without a full certification requirement indicates a failure by the teachers in those districts, he said."We take pride in our teaching profession, and it rubs us the wrong way," said Poste. "It really makes us feel like we're not important."