Charter schools will finally become a reality in Mississippi, thanks to a bill passed this session.
While it will take a few years for any charter to start up, this was long needed for a state that consistently performs poorly in just about every aspect of education.
During the session, and even after passage, many legislators continually repeated misconceptions about charter schools that show their lack of understanding of a system that works in so many states, particularly in regions nearly identical to parts of Mississippi.
One of the most common misconceptions is that charter schools will do nothing more than aid white flight from the traditional public school districts. A simple reading of the bill, or conversation with anyone who has read the bill, will easily disprove that misconception.
For starters, the bill includes an anti-discrimination statement when establishing the charter school and when a school determines enrollment.
Secondly, a school must accept students on a lottery basis if the number of applicants is greater than the number of available spots, meaning that the school cannot consider race or even grades as a basis for admission.
Furthermore, a school’s demographics must closely mirror that of the local school district, which means that an all-white, or evenly mostly white, school will be against the law in a school district that does not reflect that demographic.
Another misconception that permeates the opposition’s camp is the claim that charter schools will cripple the funding of the public school system.
What this fails to realize is that charter schools are a part of the public school system.
No one clamors that the funding is not there when a new traditional public school opens, yet opening a new charter school, which is funded the exact same way as a traditional public school, is going to cripple the funding of the system?
In just the past 10 years, multiple new schools have opened in Madison County School District alone.
Furthermore, the funding formula for Mississippi public schools is dependent on enrollment, meaning that a school receives funding based on the number of students.
Thus, if a school loses students, then yes, it will see a decrease in funding.
This holds true if the students transfer to private schools, charter schools, another district or out of state.
Why is this suddenly a concern with charter schools?
The reason is because it is simply a talking point that opponents of charter schools can trumpet over and over in order to raise opposition, even if they know it to be pure baloney.
All of these complaints are designed to shift conversation away from the reality of the situation: Mississippi needs to do something about education.
Charter schools are proven in other states, and even reports that disagree on the overall impact of charter schools point out that charters schools are drastically better in poor, rural areas.
Essentially, these reports are saying that Mississippi is the ideal state for working charter schools.
While the current law is not perfect due to forced compromise, it opens the door for a system that is desperately needed in Mississippi.
Trenton Winford is a junior public policy leadership major from Madison. Email Trenton at tgwinford@bellsouth.net.
