Of Course They Aren't Public

because there is more to being a public school than just taking taxpayer money. There is also the question of accountability to taxpayers for that money, and there is NOTHING in place in charter schools that holds them accountable. Of course, a few school districts have done away with boards to be replaced by mayoral control--a horrible idea, by the way--but at least the mayors come up for re-election. Not so charter schools.

Purveyors of charter schools like to peddle the myth they are "public schools" just like the rest of them. No, they aren't. They are private schools being given taxpayer dollars. They were being pushed when vouchers to religious schools didn't get public support.

I could kick Al Shanker's ass for EVER coming up with such a stupid idea as "charter schools." He was out of the classroom or was never in it for decades to ever think teachers and parents would EVER have control over educational institutions. It has never been that way and will NEVER be that way. That was just a stupid idea that was too easily exploited by those who have NO desire to have public education AT ALL.

Snip:

Shanker thought that charter schools should be created by teams of teachers who would explore new ways to reach unmotivated students. He envisioned charter schools as self-governing, as schools that encouraged faculty decisionmaking and participatory governance. He imagined schools that taught by coaching rather than lecturing, that strived for creativity and problem-solving rather than mastery of standardized tests or regurgitation of facts. He never thought of charters as non-union schools where teachers would work 70-hour weeks and be subject to dismissal based on the scores of their students.

Teachers have NEVER had that kind of control and never will.