Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial
3/1/07
Charter schools dodge bullet . . . for now
In a nifty piece of legislative ju-jitsu, Statehouse Republicans and a few pro-school opportunity Democrats on Tuesday took an anti-charter school bill before the Legislature and flipped it upside down — or is that right-side up? — turning it into something that will help keep Colorado a charter-friendly state. Being outmaneuvered had the teachers union lackeys apoplectic, but it must have been a beautiful thing to witness, as the measure passed the Senate 31-3, after being transformed from an anti-charter to a pro-charter bill.
Originally, Senate Bill 61 aimed at undercutting the power of the state’s Charter School Institute to approve charter schools that have been blocked by local school districts, many of which are firmly in control of unionistas and edu-crats who view the more independent charters as a threat to their monopoly. But a bipartisan group at the Statehouse, recognizing the setback this would be for educational innovation in Colorado, amended the measure to actually strengthen the institute’s hand, by allowing it to approve up to three new charters a year statewide over the objections of school districts.
We don’t think there should be any limit to the institute’s charter-granting authority, given the popularity of these schools with public education consumers. But this is a vast improvement over the gutting of the charter institute that was intended by the bill’s backers. We applaud the Republicans and Democrats who are standing up for charter schools.
We warned at the beginning of this session that Democrats would use their enhanced political muscle to launch a full-scale assault on school choice and educational progress in Colorado, at the behest of hidebound and change-resistant teachers unions. This bill was part of that attack. But the one thing state Rep. Mike Merrifield and other members of the antischool choice contingent can’t count on is the automatic support of every Democrat.
A number of Democrats from less affluent and urban districts want to maximize education options for their constituents, who are most likely to get trapped in failing schools. In fact, the state’s Charter School Institute was established in 2004 legislation championed by two Democrats from Denver, Sen. Peter Groff and Rep. Terrance Carroll. And they aren’t going to stand by and see it eviscerated.
This modest victory doesn’t mean it’s smooth sailing for charters from now on. Not by a long shot. Many of the state’s 178 school districts retain sole authority to grant or deny charters, and they do so reluctantly or not at all. And we fully expect that attempts will be made to strip SB-61’s pro-charter provisions, and make it an anti-charter measure again, when it moves to the House. Continued vigilance will be needed to thwart this and similar attempts to turn back the clock on educational progress in Colorado.