Charter schools have been making a lot of news lately. It started when Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest decided to bury a report on the schools that was less than favorable. He didn’t like the results so he was going to fish for data that validated his point of view–much like the climate change deniers have done. The report showed that the schools are disproportionally white and wealthy, not what Forest wants the public to hear, though his base probably doesn’t mind.
Now, the legislature is pushing a plan to turn over control of failing charters to for-profit school operators. That’s a bad idea on a lot of levels. It just pushes another square peg into the round hole of privatization.
Republicans would argue that the market is equipped to run schools more efficiently and effectively. That’s same argument they used for privatization of prisons. Instead, we’ve created a prison industry where powerful interests spend millions of dollars fighting criminal justice reform and we lock up more people than almost any country in the world. It’s also the system that’s led to shady politics like the prison scam that’s plaguing the McCrory administration right now.
The market may be a powerful force to create wealth, drive the economy and improve standards of living, but it shouldn’t be applied everywhere. In the case of schools, privatization is just creating another corrupting influence to our political system. Anybody who believes that private charters won’t be setting up lobbying and government relations operations is naive. Within years, their campaign contributions will be clouding the judgement of elected officials and their armies of well-heeled lobbyists will be lounging outside the offices of their favorite legislators.
Our schools need constant attention and more money. We should never stop looking for ways to provide better education and better outcomes. However, we don’t need to make schools just another corporate enterprise.
Graphic courtesy of NC Policy Watch.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
The state law you cite says there will be no contracts or agreements by state or local governments with labor unions,etc. Such contracts would be illegal. No one is suggesting that this is not the case. However, it doesn’t prohibit the existence of public employee labor unions or declare that such unions are illegal in NC.
Right-to-work doesn’t prohibit the formation or operation of a union. It does weaken the power of the union to require union membership as a condition of employment.
For the record the “right to work” law passed here in NC back in 1959 and still in force today includes a section that clearly outlaws labor union recognition for public employees.
ARTICLE 12.
UNITS OF GOVERNMENT AND LABOR UNIONS, TRADE UNIONS, AND LABOR ORGANIZATIONS, AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEE STRIKES
§ 95-98. Contracts between units of government and labor unions,trade unions or labor organizations concerning public employees declared to be illegal.
Any agreement, or contract, between the governing authority of any city, town, county, or other municipality, or between any agency, unit, or instrumentality thereof, or between any agency, instrumentality, or institution of the State of North Carolina, and any labor union, trade union, or labor organization, as bargaining agent for any public employees of such city, town, county or other municipality, or agency or instrumentality of government, is hereby declared to be against the public policy of the State, illegal, unlawful, void and of no effect.(Enacted 1959.)
State law does not negate Federal law. The NCAE is an affiliate of the National Education Association, which is a “labor organization” under federal law. The NEA is the largest labor union in the U.S. All NCAE members are also members of the NEA. By contrast, the Classroom Teaches Association of NC is a non-union teacher’s organization.
Good Grief man, you are just playing word games. I’m sure you aren’t really this dense. In some states the NEA functions as a union and in other states it functions as a professional organization. In NC it is a professional organization. Your efforts to make it a union by typing it over and over again don’t make it so. You are extremely disingenuous.
Hey, D.g., that survey was done back in 2011, before the GOP had a chance to pass reform legislation. The situation is much better now with the GOP in full control.
You need to read your own links more carefully, D.g. Wikipedia reports that the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools gave NC’s Charter school law a “poor mark” for “the low cap of 100 in the state.” Now the cap has been substantially increased so it is no longer a “low cap.” Any fool can see that this group (that did the state Charter low rankings) believes the more public Charters, the better.
First, that’s old data from 2011 you cite. Second, one of the cited criticisms of Charters in NC was the low cap of 100, In other words, according to the source referenced, the more Charters allowed the better. But that’s no longer a problem in NC since the last General Assembly greatly increased the number of state-funded Charters than can operate within the state.
What did I say Charters were? Only that they provide an alternative to and competition for traditional public schools. Nothing Wikipedia says contracts that description.
And my reference to Wikipedia was to correct the claim that there are no teachers’ unions in NC. There’s nothing wrong with the Wikipedia source on NC Charters except that the data cited there is not up to date.˙
I am sorry D.g., , but you just can’t continue to spout misinformation without being called out for it. The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE), which represents public school teachers and other school personnel, is a LABOR ORGANIZATION under federal law and must comply with other federal labor laws just like any other labor UNION.
Actually, D.G., you couldn’t be more off base. My job title when I worked for the Labor Department in D.C. was “Labor Law Administration Advisor.” To be employed in that position, one had to take an extensive course in Labor Law and Labor Economics. While I’ll confess that was a while ago, I’ll provide you a chance to get up to speed on federal labor law.
To begin, federal law, not state laws, is primarily responsible for regulating labor unions. Federal involvement started with the Wager Act of 1935, which was New Deal legislation that, among other things, protected labor unions and their members from unfair labor practices. The Taft-Hartely Act of 1947 reduced to some extent the power of labor unions by allowing the individual states to pass right-to-work laws. The Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 brought more federal regulation of labor unions by requiring financial disclosure reporting and by ensuring fair union elections among other requirements.
Since 1959 (and probably earlier), public employee unions, including state teachers organizations, have been subject to federal labor laws. So they can call themselves whatever they like, but they are regulated under federal law as “labor organizations.”
Apparently you and others posting here think you know more than informational web sites like Wikipidea and Open Secrets. But you now have an opportunity to become informed or to remain in blissful ignorance.
Ebrun,
In NC, collective bargaining and strikes by public employees are illegal by state statute. Therefore; the NCAE, an organization in which membership is voluntary, in effect is not a union, but an organization of influence no different than the NC Chamber of Commerce or any other organization that attempts to influence state policy. Long time North Carolinians know this. The NCGOP uses the “union” term in referring to the NCAE because of North Carolina’s long time dislike of northern unions attempting to organize the NC textile factories. Many people moving to NC from union states are unaware of NC public employees not having the same legal collective bargaining and/or strike capabilities as true unions in the state they left.
Legend says that NC was once the textile capital of the USA and the NC University system was establish so textile worker could send their children to college and still afford a house, car, food, and a family trip to the beach on 4th of July week when the mill was closed.
Wow, D.G., I didn’t realize you were such an advocate of states’ rights. Hey, I’m with ya! Just wish it were so.
Unfortunately, decision after decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that federal law has primacy over state law whenever there is a conflict. Even state right-to-work laws were illegal under the Wagner Act of 1935 until the Taft Hartley Act, which allowed states to pass their own right-to-work laws, was passed in 1947 over intense opposition from big labor.
Now if you’re really interested in becoming better informed, research “Nullification.” If you ever took an advanced American history class you may recall that the South Carolina legislature declared that the state could nullify any federal law that the state didn’t like or want. You should be able to figure out the outcome of that legal maneuver without having to undertake a lot of research.
Nice try to cover your misinformation about labor unions. Go on a rant about the GOP Presidential debate. BTW, I generally agree with you about Trump, but that has nothing to do with the subject at hand.
You write that nullification “has no relationship…to federal law”? Wow, you really don’t know much about American history either. Nullification was an attempt by South Carolina to nullify a FEDERAL LAW within the state’s borders. Since then, the courts have consistently ruled that federal law has primacy over state law and that a state cannot nullify a federal law.
As far as you disdain for Charter schools is concerned, you can gripe and moan all you want, but state Charters are here to stay and will become increasingly important is fostering reforms in the public education system.
Doesn’t matter if NC is a right to work state. Labor unions exist in all right to work states. They just can’t require mandatory union membership to hold a job
The NEA and the NCAE are considered labor organizations under federal laws. They are covered under the provisions of the Labor Management Relations Act, the Taft Hartley Act and the Landrum Griffin Labor Union Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. I know from personal experience as I was once employed by the U.S. Department of Labor. But its also obvious from any Google search.
So, as per usual, when you are proven to be wrong, you engage in personal slurs and character assassination.
From OpenSecrets’org: National Education Assn
Founded in 1857, the National Education Association (NEA) is the nation’s oldest-and largest-teachers union. The NEA lobbies elected and government officials on everything from government funding of education to school safety to teacher pay.
National Education Association – Wikipedia, the free …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Education_Association
Wikipedia
The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, …
More misinformation, D.G. All you have to due is Google Educational Trade Unions. Here is a link to Wikipedia’s list of teachers’ unions. NCAE is right there with the rest of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_education_trade_unions
Ebrum,
In NC, teachers do not have a union.
The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) is the statewide teachers’ union in North Carolina. Just because it doesn’t label itself a “union” is of no legal consequence. NCAE is affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA), which is a nationwide teachers’ union. Both NCAE and NEA meet the definition of a labor union under federal law.
Ebrun, as a teacher with a dog in this hunt, I can honestly say that how you want to frame the issue doesn’t much matter. Dan Forest didn’t want the report presented to the legislature because it didn’t spin as positively as he had hoped. The stunning lack of diversity in charter schools is the only reason that several of them outperform public schools. That’s a fact. If he also wants to tell the legislature that the overwhelmingly white, relatively prosperous population of the schools are chosen by lottery, he can…but it doesn’t change the fact that they are white and usually wealthy. The cap was lifted on charter schools with the rationale that it was offering an alternative to kids who were not getting served well by public schools, especially failing schools. In other words, selling it as an alternative for poor, minority children stuck in poor, underfunded, mainly urban, public schools. But that isn’t at all what has played out in the charter world, is it?
That’s our Ebrun!!! Poster person to the affluent and advantaged. If you want to make sure things are stacked in favor of the upper echelon, Eb’s the one to argue the pro side of it.
In my minds’ eye, I see Eb, walking around the old mansion, crown and sable robe intact, doing a passable Mel Brooks imitation; “IT’S GOOD TA BE DA KING!!!”
While you may indulge in a bizarre fantasy,Troy, your imagination provides little insight to the subject at hand. Can’t you provide us with a more substantive comment?
While I had a mirthful frame of mind in forming that exaggeration, I can see you seem to be de-void of the ability to grasp that concept. I’m certainly sorry that a little mirthful ribbing is counter to your state of being.
Bizarre perhaps; but th
Mirthful ribbing, eh? Ok, if you say so, I can handle that. It’s just that it’s such a switch from your usual acerbic responses to my posts that I didn’t pick up on your “mirthful fame of mind.”
Actually, your claims about Charter schools are not correct. The report failed to mention that there is a higher percentage of African American, Asian and Pacific Islanders attending Charter Schools than traditional public schools. And that there is no reliable data on the income of families of students enrolled in Charter schools.
The primary rationale for Charter schools is to foster educational reforms opposed by the public education bureaucracy and the teachers’ union. The report also failed to mention that 19.1 percent more NC Charter schools received an A or B accountability grade that traditional public schools.
BTW, the Opportunity Scholarships program passed by the General Assembly is designed to allow students from low income families an educational alternative and is extremely popular with families who want their kids to escape from failing public schools.
And public school teachers are not the only citizens “with a dog in this hunt.” Parents, taxpayers and all citizens have a stake in our children’s education..
Charter schools are going to be around for awhile despite dishonest claims that they discriminate. How can picking applicants from a lottery discriminate? And one of the reasons they are so popular with parents is because Charter school teachers are not required to comply with educational and other requirements of teachers in state-operated schools.
Charter schools provide a choice and competition for traditional public schools. Parents engaged enough to choose a Charter school are quite capable of determining if their kids are receiving a good education in a positive environment. That’s why many choose alternative schools. If Charters are as inadequate and corrupt as you claim, parents can quickly abandon them and return to traditional schools. So far, nothing like that is occurring to any substantial extent. You need to find another soapbox.
You and the state know best how to educate kids? Do parents have any say? Paternalism personified. With Republicans in control of the NCGA, parental authority is being enhanced and the state cannot exert total control over families’ choice of schooling.
I ‘ve had a little experience with kids’ education. Of my three adult children, one has a PhD, one an MBA and the other an MA degree. My spouse and I carefully monitored their schooling in their early years and took them out of public schools when it was obvious they were under performing.
But you miss my point. Now even low income families have options through Charter schools and “Opportunity Scholarships,” as well as more resources if they decide to home school. These options provide competition to the public school system. The result is a win-win— for the public schools, that will benefit from a competitive environment, and for families that want to have a choice of alternative schools.
As the traditional public schools improve from increased competition, I would expect some families to return their kids back to the public schools.
Another point of view:
D.g., I am willing to let the public decide about Charter Schools. Will they respond to your partisan and biased opinions and distortions or to the facts provided by the Lt. Governor and other Charter school supporters? Let the best arguments win!
Ebrun, factual balance? Are you kidding me? He did not like the truth so he stuck it under a rug. You can argue with results and put it out into the public sphere. Hiding the truth is always bad strategy, whatever your political leanings.
You’re way off base. The report wasn’t hidden, it was all over the press and the net. But it failed to emphasize some crucial facts—like Charter school students are chosen by lottery. Dan Forest made sure these and other omissions were pointed out to the state BOE and the public.
The report on Charter schools was not “buried.” But it was supplemented with some factual balance, thanks to Dan Forest.
Isn’t “factual balance” just a media-speak euphemism for “self-serving spin”?