Larry Lee, Alabama journalist and blogger, tells what happened in Washington County, Alabama, when people got fed up with being pushed around and decided to protect their public schools.
People are chartering buses to attend the state education board on Thursday to express their opposition to the charter.
Alabama has a Republican supermajority in the Legislature, and that supermajority does whatever it wants. Whichever party has a supermajority, it’s not good for democracy, because people feel helpless.
What has happened to public education since 2010?
A-F school report cards that are basically worthless–except to those who want to bash public schools. The Alabama Accountability Act which continues to divert millions from the Education Trust Fund. The charter school law that, as we see in Washington County, makes a mockery of transparency and truthfulness.
None of these have been in the best interest of public schools. Yet, try to get someone to take a stand and push back and nine times out of ten all you get is a shrug. Are another superintendent saying, “Well, you know my board wants me to keep a low profile.”
This was until Washington County and a small group of dedicated educators and parents agreed that they were going to stand firm for what they believe is right for their school system and its students.
Thank God they have.
Because in so doing, they have shown us all that David can go into battle with Goliath. They have set an example. One that says only a handful of tenacious folks can get the attention of a great big bunch of folks. Even The Washington Post.
You do it by keeping on keeping on. By not giving up. By doing your due diligence and hours and hours of homework. They refused to knuckle under when the state charter school commission refused to be forthright and share info that belongs to the public. They have had the backbone and courage to challenge people they know are being disingenuous and trying to pull the wool over their eyes.
They have shown us that you can fight city hall. That just because someone is housed at the state department of education and have fancy titles doesn’t mean they can run over local school systems.
Yes, a handful of good people in Washington County have shown all of Alabama what is possible when you are convicted.
And all of Alabama owes them a standing ovation for doing so.
Now let’s see whether the state school board listens.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
So what did they do?
They chartered buses to attend the state board meeting and speak up for their community against the imposition of a Gulen charter school that they don’t want, that will defund their two public schools, that will be built by a Utah corporation, and operated by a Texas corporation.
Thank you.
The state board meeting is tomorrow in Alabama, and people from Washington County will be there, standing up for their public schools.
Are they getting any coverage in the national media?
We will see.
There’s actually 5 public schools in Wash Co. Al. Plus 2 public Elementary schools.
Thanks. I will fix that.
So how many public schools are there? Five or seven? I don’t understand five public schools plus two public elementary. What grades to they all cover?
Yes, this charter school chain w/its corporate heads out of Utah & Texas just think they’re going to impose their will on people in a rural setting, just assuming (wrongly) that they’re
not knowledgeable & that they’ll just roll on in.
Good for Washington County citizens & Mayor Harold (he gave ’em hell; see Diane’s earlier post)!!
Again…yes, WE can….& WE WILL!!!
Thanks to sensible and courageous townspeople acting like citizens instead of sheep.
“…folks at the local school system level are way too prone to simply roll over and play dead. They feel helpless.”
My knee-jerk reaction to this phenomenon tends to be, well that’s the opposite of what I see in my town, I guess people here in NJ are just more ornery/ tuned-in/ political. But the difference between us and Washington County is simple and stark: we have the money and therefore the clout to yell and get our way. Local RE taxes are humongous, supporting 96% of the school budget. Please us or else. I can go 2 towns over, where all 5 of our county’s charters are located. State aid is 5x the local RE piece, the school budget millions in debt, & publics are bleeding $10+k per-pupil to charters.
It is great to see a local community standing up for public education. Some states like Florida are trying to move all the decisions about charters to the state. All we have to do is look at California as a cautionary tale. When states decide to override local communities, they are suppressing democracy. They are forcing local communities to disinvest in the schools that provide the area with so much service and value. I hope other communities watch and learn. People have to stand up to the bully politicians that often represent the interests of the wealthy.
The problem, as you know, is that members of the state legislature accept money from lobbyists to promote charters and vouchers.
“Whichever party has a supermajority, it’s not good for democracy, because people feel helpless.”
As often happens, this Ravitchism makes me think beyond the issues that are the immediate subject. As far as I am concerned, this is what is commendable about this website.
Occasional supermajorities have happened in American history. There was a Federalist supermajority when the country began. To some extent this led to the Jacksonian hostility to the national bank and to internal improvements financed by the federal government. A republican supermajority produced amendments 13 and 14 in the wake of the Civil War but did not produce the resolve to enforce their implications, and actually contributed to the move toward accepting Jim Crow.
The troubling thing about the body politic where the issue of education is concerned is the degree to which we have “agreed” to a language that is sometimes disingenuous. Today it was a matter of discussion on the news that there was a shooting at a “public charter school.” I doubt anyone who reads this blog would agree that there is such a thing. Even the vocabulary of a divided electorate is a disagreement. When you have a supermajority, whether at a local level or national, certain postulates of belief are never questioned. Vocabulary is accepted. Lockstep prevents thought. The child who notices that the emperor is in the nude is ignored.
I think I will think about this some more. Thanks, Diane.
and how many times were those three words, PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL, thrown about as news station after news station tried to stay with the story
Florida is trying to define any place where public money goes as a public school. People know it is a lie that just suits the right wing agenda.
Much worse than you think in the next county over Mongomery, Alabama, LEAD Academy a charter school that was denied opening 1 year ago has won on an appeal to open this fall. They too are using Soner Tarim of the Gulen Movement and his (Unity Student Services) It gets even worse as head applicant spearheading this is Charlotte Meadows who is running concurrently for State Senate #74 – this will be a conflict of interest and result in her voting in more funding for her precious Gulen Charter School. The people in Washington County need all your support they have a facebook page https://www.facebook.com/protectwashcoschools/
learn a bit more about the controversy stinking up small Washington County with Woodland Preparatory School http://www.woodlandprep.blogspot.com