Charter schools are public schools and deserve support

I recently read the article by Jon Butzon, executive director of the Charleston Education Network, titled "Free charter school space creates a fiscal time bomb." I must respond to the misinformation he has spread.

First let me say, school choice means school choice. Dr. Jim Rex, the state superintendent, supports school choice. School choice gives students an opportunity to go to a school which best fits their needs. All students do not learn the same way. Charter schools have high parent involvement and are successful. I'm sorry if Mr. Butzon can't see that competition is a good thing and that parents have a right to send their child to a school of their choice. He shouldn't hide behind his usage of "fiscal conservatives;" he apparently just doesn't agree with parents having a "choice."

The Charleston Charter School for Math and Science (CCSMS) (www.charlestonmathandscience.org) should not apologize for asking for space on the vacated Rivers campus. That building belongs to the taxpayers and was built to house students. I commend the Math and Science Charter planning committee for wanting to use space taxpayers have paid for to educate students. Students who have left the Charleston County Schools and students who want to remain in the Charleston Schools now have another choice.

Please remember that charter schools are public schools. We are still a part of the Charleston County School District. In fact, all the present charter schools have been sponsored by the Charleston County School District. The Charleston County School Board is to be commended for giving parents a choice when it comes to educating their children. The CCSMS has attracted the most diverse population of any downtown school.

Charter schools are not a financial albatross for school districts. The real rub here is that the school district no longer has those dollars to use as they want, dollars which charter schools are legally entitled to. Charter schools educate students for less. In a charter school the money follows the child. Shouldn't that happen in all schools? Of course, it should.

Mr. Butzon should be asking the school district why the money doesn't follow the child in its district-run public schools. How come charter schools get a set amount of money each year and have balanced their budgets? School districts always say, "We need more money! We need to raise taxes!"

When there's no competition, you can say that. Don't blame charter schools for being good stewards of the taxpayers' money. Commend them. Commend them for assessing what is needed in their schools, putting resources in place so students receive the services they deserve, and doing it while maintaining a balanced budget.

Mr. Butzon states that approval of charter schools is "remarkably easy." He goes on to say that the development of charter schools occurs without reference to any comprehensive plan.

I sit on the S.C. Charter School Advisory Committee. This is the same committee that reviews all charter school applications to see if they meet the 67 standards of the Charter School Act.

I find it interesting that Mr. Butzon has never attended one of those hearings in the last two years that I have served on that board, yet he is an expert on how "easy" it is to get a charter. It is not easy. If you fail to meet even just one standard, you must correct your application. This charter is a plan for five years. It is very comprehensive and takes many people two long years before they come before the advisory committee looking for approval.

Mr. Butzon questions the constitutionality of Act 189. The S.C. attorney general tackled that question last fall and gave the opinion that Act 189 is constitutional.

Mr. Butzon states that the Charleston County School Board has a duty to the children it serves and to the taxpayers of Charleston County. I could not agree more. I would just remind that it is a responsibility to all the students. A charter school student is a public school student. Please don't try to segregate us.

Larry DiCenzo is principal of Orange Grove Elementary Charter School, vice president of the S.C. Association of Public Charter Schools and a committee member of S.C. Charter School Advisory Committee.