NEWS

Democrats urge caution on Kentucky charter schools

Morgan Watkins
@morganwatkins26

As Republican leaders tinker with a charter schools bill, several Kentucky Democrats and a couple of Jefferson County school board members united against the proposal Tuesday and urged the state Senate put the issue on ice for now.

Senator Gerald Neal joined others voicing opposition to House Bill 520 on charter schools during a press conference Tuesday in Frankfort.
March 14, 2017

Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville, said House Bill 520 — the charter schools measure — is an "aggressive" piece of legislation that shouldn't be rushed into law. "What we do must be done right," he said during a press conference in Frankfort on Tuesday morning.

Other Louisville legislators also called for caution. Rep. Attica Scott, a Democrat, said it is a disservice to Kentucky's children not to ask critical questions about this bill. She said people need to go back to the drawing board with this idea.

"I will say that this is a game being played with our children and their education," Scott said. She also said Gov. Matt Bevin, who was quick to publicly back HB 520, is complicit in that "game."

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Neal suggested several amendments he believes would improve the bill, including explicitly requiring charter schools to employ certified teachers, limiting charter-school operators to nonprofit organizations and adding a sunset provision that lets Kentucky end this policy after five years. But even those changes "will not cure" HB 520, he said.

Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, pointed out that several Republicans voted against the charter schools bill when it passed in the House of Representatives by a 56-39 margin this month.

"They stood up to a strong Republican governor and strong Republican leadership," he said.

Jefferson County school board member Chris Kolb and the board's chairman, Chris Brady, both spoke out against the charter schools bill Tuesday, too. Resources in rural parts of Kentucky already are stretched thin, Brady said, and opening a charter school in a place like Hopkinsville that pulls in students from that region could negatively affect nearby school districts.

Kolb cited concerns that school boards would lack true authority over which charter schools get approved under this proposal, and Brady said Jefferson County Public Schools might have to put more buses on the road if charter schools that open in Louisville run on different schedules than the city's other institutions.

House Speaker Jeff Hoover said late Tuesday he expects the changes the Senate will make in the charter schools bill will be small ones that the House can agree with and send the bill to Bevin.

If the House does not agree with the Senate changes that would likely mean leaders of each chamber would then appoint members of a conference committee to hammer out the differences.

"I hope that we can avoid a conference committee..." Hoover said. "We've had good discussion with them (the Senate) since last Thursday, I think we have a pretty good idea of some of the changes they want to make, and really they're minor."

Hoover declined to disclose what he expects those Senate changes will be.

Hoover also said believes the House will pass Senate Bill 1 - a top Senate priority that would overhaul the accountability system for public schools and give local schools more control over teacher evaluations. "I expect we're going to pass that as well. We're waiting to see what happens with charter schools," Hoover said. "...I wouldn't say it's being held hostage, but we want to see if we get a charter school bill back from the Senate as we expect."

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Time is running out for the Kentucky Senate to approve HB 520 because the legislature's 2017 session is almost over. But Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, seemed optimistic Tuesday morning about the bill's chances. He said he thinks the Senate will pass some kind of charter schools policy by the end of the day Wednesday.

"I think there's going to be a proposal that's going to come out of the Senate today (Tuesday). And I think the House and Senate members will get like in a conference situation and see what we can resolve," he said.

If the Senate makes any changes to the legislation, the House will need to approve them before the bill goes to Bevin. But Wayne said rural Republican senators could be key to defeating the charter schools bill if it reaches the Senate floor.

Reporter Tom Loftus contributed to this story. Contact reporter Morgan Watkins at 502-875-5136 or mwatkins@courier-journal.com.