Alabama Governor Bob Riley appealed to members of the state school board on Tuesday, urging them to support his efforts to approve charter schools. Riley informed the board that a bill would be introduced during the upcoming legislative session, allowing charter schools to operate in the state. According to Riley, authorizing charter schools would enhance Alabama’s chances of competing for up to $200 million in federal funding offered by the Obama administration for innovative educational programs.
Charter schools function as public institutions, but with fewer bureaucratic obstacles and regulations. These schools must meet state academic standards and are prohibited from discriminating during the enrollment process. However, charter schools often operate without requirements regarding the students’ place of residence or the number of days they must attend.
Riley emphasized that charter schools would retain their status as public schools while eliminating the bureaucracy that hinders their success. He suggested that charter schools could potentially help improve underperforming schools in economically disadvantaged areas. One strategy involves converting schools with poor test scores into charter schools. Riley urged the board to support this proposal, stating, "We should focus on schools that haven’t been able to excel. I firmly believe that this is something the board should endorse."
The Alabama Education Association (AEA), the state’s teachers union, has opposed efforts to authorize charter schools. AEA officials argue that charter schools may allow schools to dismiss teachers without following the current dismissal procedures.
Mary Bruce Ogles, Assistant Executive Secretary of the AEA, expressed the union’s desire to review the legislation. She stated, "Unless we notice significant differences, we still have concerns regarding the dismissal issue." Ogles emphasized that during a recession, it is more urgent for the governor and the Legislature to pass a budget that adequately funds education, rather than diverting attention to the establishment of charter schools.
Governor Riley and his education policy advisor, Mark Dixon, spent nearly two hours explaining the workings of charter schools to board members. Dixon clarified that the final bill has not yet been prepared, and the legislator who will sponsor it remains undecided.
Randy McKinney, the vice president of the board, expects that the board will thoroughly examine the governor’s proposal, provide feedback, and vote on whether to endorse it. Ella Bell, a board member from Montgomery, expressed her concerns that charter schools may lead to the resegregation of currently integrated schools. Bell, who is African American, stated that she has dedicated much of her life to promoting school integration and worries about the continued existence of predominantly segregated schools. She asked the governor, "How can we ensure that schools like that don’t exist?"
Governor Riley responded by assuring her that admission to charter schools would be random and not based on race. He also mentioned that President Barack Obama supports charter schools, stating, "You have the first African American president in the nation advocating for this."
