By Zac Oakes

Charter schools have come to the forefront of discussion during the 2017 Kentucky General Assembly, with two bills already being introduced.

However, Rep. John “Bam” Carney, R-Campbellsville, introduced a third bill regarding charter schools last Friday, Feb 17. The bill, HB 520, would allow for charter schools in the state of Kentucky to open as early as the 2018-2019 school year.

Carney, who serves as the Kentucky House Education Chair, said that while he believes traditional public schools will serve a vast majority of Kentucky students, he believes it is time for Kentucky to join the 43 other states that have already approved charter school legislation.

Only Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota. Vermont, and West Virginia join Kentucky as states that have not enacted charter school legislation.

Carney said his filing of the bill was not in any way related to the school districts located in the 51st District which he represents. Carney said all three school districts (Taylor County, Campbellsville, and Adair County) are performing well, and he does not expect any charter applications within the district.

“I do not foresee charters coming to our local area,” Carney said. “Each of our local school districts are performing exceptionally well, and I want to congratulate the work that our local school districts have done.”

Carney noted that he doesn’t think the local school districts have to worry about charter schools because they are doing their job of providing quality education to their students and “competition will only occur where it is needed.”

Carney said he has heard from some of his constituents regarding the filing of the bill, but said he did so to afford strong educational opportunities for students across the commonwealth of Kentucky. He said as chair of the House Education Committee, it is his job to help find ways to enhance educational opportunities for all of Kentucky’s students. He also mentioned the support the idea had received from the governor’s office and several others.

He noted that while there had been discussion about a “pilot program” which would focus on particular urban areas within the state, but Carney said he heard from people in different areas of the state expressing interest in charter schools, so he decided to make it statewide.

Carney said he heard from people in Lexington, Louisville, the northern Kentucky region, Hopkinsville, and southeastern Kentucky. However, he does not expect to see many charter applications in the rural areas of the state.

He also noted that he only expects “a handful” to open when the legislation would allow the schools to begin operation.

Taylor County Schools Superintendent Roger Cook said he joins with most public school superintendents across the state in opposing the bill. Cook said he believes there is a lot of confusion regarding funding for charter schools, which he said is one of the reasons most public school superintendents do not support the idea.

In terms of funding, the bill states “school districts shall transfer state and local funds to public charter schools on a proportionate per pupil basis after local capital outlay funds, transportation funds, and a three percent (3%) authorizer administrative fee are excluded from gross state and local funds.”

One aspect of Carney’s bill that is different than previous charter school legislation this session is the control given to local school boards. Carney said HB 520 would allow local school boards to review and approve public charter applications.

Cook said while he thinks that is a good idea, he worries about the appeals process potentially becoming a method of avoiding that approval.

“I think that’s the best way to do it if you are going to have charter schools,” Cook said. “But I worry about the appeals being a way around that.”

If a charter application is denied, it can be appealed to the Kentucky Board of Education.

Despite his opposition, Cook said he does not believe charter schools will have a great impact on Taylor County Schools.

“I don’t think it will have a major impact on our schools because our schools are performing so well,” Cook said, noting that the Taylor County School District was recently named a District of Distinction.

“With our activities and athletic programs that are available to our students and the quality of teachers we have in our district—we have some excellent teachers in our district—I don’t think it will have a major effect.”

Although Cook said he did not believe it would have a sizable impact on the Taylor County School District, he reiterated that he did not support the bill.

Campbellsville Independent Schools Superintendent Mike Deaton also opposes the legislation. He said there are too many questions and issues left unanswered for him to feel comfortable with the idea.

“There are too many inequities in school funding that already exist, and now they want to shuffle some of the monies we do get to these charters,” Deaton said. “There could be tax dollars following students from CISD to some virtual school in Jefferson, Fayette, or Hardin counties (for example) since students could conceivably enroll anywhere in the state under this legislation. I don’t believe we want local tax dollars leaving our communities, and those collected should be used for the educational needs of our own children.”

Deaton said he also has concerns about accountability when it comes to charter schools, although Carney noted that public (he emphasized that these are public, not private) charter schools will have the same accountability measures as well as the same health, safety, civil rights, and disability rights, according to the bill’s text when filed. Carney also noted in an interview Monday afternoon that public charter schools have the same transparency and teacher qualification requirements.

“I continue to have concerns about accountability,” Deaton said. “As we see more and more approaches to education being offered, I’m afraid that the quality of some of them are not truly meeting the needs of students. While we do have more children graduating, are they going into society with the skills necessary to contribute to their community? Will charters have an accountability that helps satisfy that concern? What about an on-line charter school? They have certainly not been proven to be an effective answer to meaningful academic achievement.”

Carney mentioned that a charter school has a set of goals when it is created, and if those goals are not met, it faces the threat of being closed. This, Carney says, will be a driving force behind charters putting forth their best effort to reach those goals.

Carney also said he knows this bill will not solve all the issues regarding education in Kentucky, but he believes it’s a step that is necessary to help a great number of students and parents across the state while not hindering well-performing districts.

“We know it’s not a silver bullet,” Carney said. “It isn’t going to solve everything, and we know that. If it helps thousands of students, then it will be worth it. I also reiterate that while it will help these students, it will not hinder our local school districts.”

As for the prospects of the bill, Carney said he isn’t sure if the bill will pass, but said it would be a “close vote” and called it a “delicate issue.” He noted again the support from Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary Hal Heiner has been great.

“We know it’s a new issue to Kentucky, and we know it is a delicate issue to many people,” he said.

The bill is expected to make it to committee hearings this week.