Two local lawmakers back charter school bill; Perryville lawmaker objects to measure

The Missouri House narrowly approved legislation last week that would allow charter schools to operate in any school district where there is an underperforming school.

House Bill 634 passed on an 83-76 vote Thursday after hours of debate.

Local state Reps. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, and Donna Lichtenegger, R-Jackson, voted for the measure.

Swan and Lichtenegger opposed earlier versions of the bill, but backed it after lawmakers made major changes to the legislation.

Rep. Rick Francis, R-Perryville, opposed the bill, contending charter schools have a poor track record when it comes to educating students.

Donna Lichtenegger

Francis, a retired schoolteacher and former school administrator, said school officials in Southeast Missouri had voiced opposition to the bill.

Major changes

Swan played a major role in changing the bill and helping secure passage, Lichtenegger said.

The measure now moves on to the Senate.

Charter schools are independent public schools that are free from some rules and regulations that apply to traditional public schools, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Rick Francis

Charter schools receive state funding. There is no cost to parents to send their children to charter schools.

Missouri allows charter schools only in the St. Louis city and Kansas City public school districts.

The initial bill sought to expand charter schools statewide, but it later was amended to allow such schools only in the 18 first-class and charter counties in the state, Swan said. Cape Girardeau County is a first-class county.

Swan and Lichtenegger objected to limiting charter schools only to the more heavily populated counties in the state.

"We did not think it was fair that only first-class counties were in there," Lichtenegger said.

Lichtenegger and Swan said children in underperforming rural schools, such as the Hayti school district, should have an opportunity to attend a charter school.

"Not everyone can afford to go to a private school," Lichtenegger said.

The final version of the bill, supported by House leadership, extended the opportunity for charter schools statewide.

Greater accountability

Both lawmakers said the final version of the bill passed by the House would impose greater accountability on charter schools.

"The accountability on charter schools will be some of the toughest in the country," Swan said.

Swan added the bill provides academic and financial accountability.

Charter schools only would be allowed to operate in a school district where at least one school building has received a score of 60 percent or lower on its annual performance report for two of the past three years at the time an application is filed to set up a charter school.

The local school board would have 60 days to decide whether to sponsor a charter school. If the school board declines such sponsorship, colleges or the Missouri Charter Public School Commission could sponsor such a school.

In addition, school districts could open career-and-technology-focused charter schools in districts that do not have "high quality" traditional career and technology centers, said Swan, who crafted that provision as an amendment to the bill.

Charter schools would be required to meet the same academic performance standards required of regular public schools, Swan said.

Charter schools would be mandated to pay for a state audit of their finances as part of the renewal process, she said.

A charter school initially would be authorized for five years. But if the charter school underperforms in two of the last three years of that period, the school would be limited to a three-year renewal, according to Swan.

During the probationary period, if a charter school performs poorly in two of those years, it will be ineligible for renewal and forced to close, Swan said.

Lichtenegger said that provision is in contrast to what happens with traditional public schools.

"We never close down a public school," she said.

Missouri's charter schools have had limited success.

Forty-six percent of Missouri's charter schools are underperforming, Swan said. If those charter schools were public schools, the state would have designated them as unaccredited or provisionally unaccredited school systems, she added.

A number of charter schools have closed over the years, Swan said.

"I really wanted to totally revamp the charter-school program," she said. "I felt like we ought to hold their feet to the fire."

Unlike current law, the bill bars out-of-state residents from serving on charter school boards.

Less funding

The legislation would reduce the amount of funding charter schools can receive.

A school district must pay 100 percent of the per-child tax money for those students enrolled in such schools. This bill would limit such payments to no more than 90 percent.

"The remaining 10 percent will stay in the student's original school district and will help cover some of the district's fixed costs. This means that public schools end up with more dollars per student," Swan said.

Lichtenegger said she and Swan would have preferred to allow public school districts to keep 25 percent of the per-child tax dollars.

The legislation would require the "foundation formula" for state aid to public schools to be fully funded before the charter expansion could take effect.

Swan said a fully funded foundation formula would provide at least $48 million in additional revenue for Missouri's public schools.

Lichtenegger said revisions to the bill made for better legislation.

But Francis, the Perryville lawmaker, said even the revised legislation is unacceptable to him.

"It may look a little better, but it is still going to smell the same," he said.

Failing grade

Charter schools largely have failed to better educate students, Francis said.

In the past 18 years, 59 charter schools have opened in Missouri, and 20 of them have closed, he said.

Francis said the legislation doesn't require a charter school serve the same ages of students as the underperforming public school. A charter school for elementary students could be started in a district where there is a failing junior high school, Francis said.

"It doesn't make any sense," he said.

He said the bill allows a charter school to operate up to eight years before the state can force it to close for failing to provide a quality education. Francis said. Such a time period is too long when it comes to a child's education, he added.

Colleges have a financial incentive to sponsor charter schools while offering little oversight, according to Francis.

As a sponsor, a college receives $125,000 a year under state law, he said. That provision would remain in place under the House-passed bill.

Charter schools can operate with less-qualified staff than traditional public schools, he said.

"I am not against school choice," he said, adding magnet schools that concentrate on the arts or technology might offer a better chance for students to succeed.

When it comes to educational achievement, "the stats are just not there" for charter schools, he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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