Politics vs. Charters

December 1, 2011

Providence Journal Editorial

Though well-run charter schools have helped poor children, some politicians seem determined to block them any way they can. Not surprisingly, these politicians are often aligned with powerful economic interests that don’t want the competition.

In Massachusetts, for example, lawmakers are pushing bills to give school committees greater power to block charters.   

What’s wrong with that? Simply this: School committees are often stocked with people closely linked to public-employee unions. Those unions tend to frown on a charter-school choice for parents because such schools may operate without unionized teachers and free from some restraints of union red tape. Unions, of course, have a powerful economic incentive to retain control over teaching in public schools (and, through thick contracts, education policy).

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