Those words were said in frustration by the lawyer for the Polk County, FL, public school system. He is speaking of the continued drive of the charter schools in the county to get more and more money from the public school system.
This is only one of many ways to break the back of the traditional public schools. To keep demanding more and more of the money they get is unconscionable. It is easily done because the lack of respect for our country's tradition of public schools is held by both parties now. There is no difference in their positions.
There is no party standing up for public schools.
There is a sense of entitlement in the demands, as though the charter schools are more worthy and must be satisfied.
The idea of these schools was a good one originally. Albert Shanker, longtime head of the AFT, thought they might allow teachers to have more creativity, to be freer to try new ideas. Now it is becoming a battle between the two types of schools, with much big money on the side of those on the charter side.
This battle is going on right now in a Florida county.
Polk Charter Schools Dispute Their Share of Public Funding
"We have gone above and beyond charter law in providing services to our charter schools. For this to go on at the public's expense seems to be unconscionable."
WES BRIDGES, LAWYER
Amen to that.
More on the push for more money for the charters.
Under state law, the School District acts as a sponsor of the charter schools, which are public schools operated separately from the district.
In reality that means the district has little to say about what the charter schools do. But the charter schools want more money.
For the 2010-11 school year, charter schools received an estimated $9 million in federal funds, Curts said.
The county's 23 charter schools serve about 11,000 students, and the school district has about 94,000.
The Lake Wales Charter System is the only collection of charter schools that receives federal funding directly. That's because it was granted Local Education Agency status by the state Department of Education.
The schools want their autonomy. They got it in fact this year, the first to get federal money directly. The article was in June. They got their autonomy.
Lake Wales Charter Schools Expect to Gain More Autonomy
They got their autonomy, but now they want more money from the district.
Until now, the Polk district set the rules on how the money was spent and kept an administrative fee.
The change would give Lake Wales schools control over about $1.5 million in federal funds, most of which is for poverty and disabilities programs.
"It's very gratifying," said Robin Gibson, general counsel for the Charter School System. "It means we're moving toward being more self-sufficient."
Self-sufficient, but continuing to demand more money from struggling public schools.
There have been actual lawsuits going on over the country when these groups want more of the public education pie...GA and AZ come to mind right away.
It takes money to fight legal battles. The reformers have it, plenty of it. The public schools don't.