Charter school parent's view
A recent letter from a charter school opponent posed questions about state-funded charter schools.Apparently there are a lot of misconceptions about charter schools.
Here are some answers to the questions, from a charter school parent:
Charter schools are not made up solely of sweet little angels with Ozzie and Harriet parents. We have our share of students with issues, both disciplinary and educational. All of the students are cared for and worked with so they can reach their fullest potential. We do not “dump” unruly students or special education students back into the district schools.
Obviously, state money comes from local taxpayers because we pay state income tax. But charter schools don’t get any local property or city tax money nor do we get any ESPLOST funds. When comparing total funding, charter schools receive only 53-82 percent of what district schools get, depending on the district and the type of charter school. That difference in funding is not “benefiting” students at charter schools.
Our charter school has students of all races, backgrounds, incomes and ethnicities.
I don’t know what our ratio is compared to local public schools, but we are very diverse. We do not discriminate or exclude anyone.
Students with transportational needs carpool, and our school helps put nearby families together for this purpose. We offer before and after care to help working parents. The other local charter school has bus service.
There are two flourishing state-funded charter schools in Coweta because parents wanted and needed a choice for their children.
As taxpayers, we should have the right to choose the best public school for our child based on their needs, not our address.
Jennifer Petrino, Newnan
