Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Senate agrees to weaker House charter school bill

The Lieutenant Governor's office issued the following press release on charter schools legislation:

"JACKSON – Senate and House leadership today reached an agreement on allowing public charter schools in Mississippi. The Senate agreed to the exact language in House Bill 369 that already passed the House to give Mississippi parents an avenue to have school choice. Both chambers will vote on the compromise for House Bill 369 this week.

“Though we hoped for a bill that would not send the message that ‘C’ was ok in Mississippi, we agreed to compromise to give 125,000 Mississippi children an opportunity for success,” Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said. “Public charter schools give students another avenue for academic success, and the Legislature will continue to look for innovative ways to raise the level of achievement for students.”

The bill allows public charter schools to open in D- and F-rated school districts with only approval from the state authorizing board. School boards in districts rated as A, B or C can veto a public charter school application and deny giving parents educational choice
."

KF note: Check out what survived. I wonder who the House already has in mind for this job:

"9)The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board shall appoint an individual to serve as the executive director and general counsel of the board. In addition to possessing the qualifications established by the board which are based on national best practices, the executive director and general counsel must be licensed to practice law in the State of Mississippi and must possess an understanding of state and federal education law. The executive director and general counsel, who shall serve at the will and pleasure of the board, shall devote his full time to the proper administration of the board and the duties assigned to him by the board and shall be paid a salary established by the board, subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board. Subject to the availability of funding, the executive director and general counsel may employ such administrative staff as may be necessary to assist the director and board in carrying out the duties and directives of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board."

The Senate bill did not require the executive director be an attorney. Not a peep out of the loud-mouthed good gummint conservatives hosting talk shows and blogs. Its all about the payoff.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

They made the right call compromising. At least the worst districts will be served. If charter schools prove their worth it will expand. I agree that "C" districts should be included, but it wasn't worth losing everything.

Anonymous said...

For the last three years all we have heard from our state leaders is that we have to many school districts and schools, and now they vote to create more.

I believe some in Jackson are speaking with a forked tounge.

Anonymous said...

A meaningless compromise. The haves now have more power while the have nots will continue to suffer from a sub-standard public school system.

Congrats to Loome and Blount and Brown. A child only goes through Mississippi's woeful system once. You've got yours and the screwing of everyone else that brings you so much joy will continue unabated.

Kingfish said...

They pulled the open enrollment clause as well. That really hurts the chances for charter schools in the Delta. That means Jackson is about the only one that will qualify in a substantive way.

Want to bet MDE boosts them to a C this year?

Anonymous said...

Not even MDE could pull off the magic trick of raising JPS to a c.



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In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

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This is definitely a Beaver production.


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Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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