Has Ken Neal Even Visited a Charter School?

I wonder if Ken Neal has ever taken the time to visit a Tulsa charter school? Do you think he called to verify his facts before launching this diatribe?

A central point he missed that is germaine, is the fact that CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE PUBLIC SCHOOLS! As such they are entitled to state funding as part of our constitutional mandate to provide a free and appropriate public education.

Mr. Neal foresees an explosion of charter schools if this legislation is passed. Is that a bad thing? But more to the point, in the same time frame (since 1999) when the Oklahoma Charter School Act was passed, we can see what might have happened in Tulsa, by looking at what did happen in OKC. Due to the TPS Board and Tulsa Technology's refusal to sponsor any charter school, Tulsa has just 3 charter schools, and OKC now has 10. This is a point I have made before.

What constitutes an explosion? I would foresee perhaps a half dozen in the next few years. And I do believe that there needs to be an incubator to provide some leadership on establishing and running of charters. I have the background and experience to help with this.

Ken Neal gets to the point though by stating that the "explosion" will lead to a drain on existing schools. Show me the money..... A charter schools' enrollment is included in the districts' totals for state funding allocation purposes, so the district is actually a pass-through entity. The district has no responsibility to educate any of the charter school students. What's the rub? For little effort they can keep up to 5% of the funding.

The plain fact is that the Tulsa charter schools are doing a better job, with substantially less funding. Charters have to rent or otherwise find suitable facilities for their school buildings with no additional funding, while we homeowners continually subsidize the traditional public school buildings. To help make up that difference, our government needs to find a funding source for charters to the tune of an additional $750 per student to help bridge that gap.

Contrary to what Ken Neal says, this bill is a step in the right direction. We need more potential sponsors for charter schools. What's wrong with Oklahoma Higher Education being a sponsor? Don't you think they have a strong interest in seeing a steady stream of qualified students entering their institutions? Perhaps Ken Neal doesn't understand the role played by the sponsor. It is a role of hands-off oversight and basically is a financial conduit between the state funding to the charter school. Unlike the situation we now have, under this bill, charters may actually find a sponsor that is favorable and nurturing to the charter school, instead of an antagonistic, adversarial relationship that now exists between school and sponsor.

The Tulsa Chigger urges you to contact your state senator and to throw their support behind this bill.

Memorializing Joel Henry Hinrichs III

Is appears OU has taken a step into the twilight zone by placing a paving stone on campus memorializing Joel Henry Hinrichs, III.

Will OU-Tulsa be next?

There are far too many unanswered questions about this case like: TATP, the attempted purchase of 22 bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a large cache of explosives found in his apartment, 2 years unaccounted for after dropping out at OU in 2002 only to re-enter in 2005, his muslim roommate, etc.....

I feel for his family and rue the loss of this potentially gifted young man.

This was a poor decision by OU.

Urge your Representative to Vote YES on SB 661

SB 661 is the Oklahoma State Senate version of an amended Oklahoma Charter School Act. It passed the Oklahoma House as HB 1589 easily and earlier passed the Senate in its third reading. It comes to the floor of the House tomorrow, Friday 4-20-07. Time is of the essence.

This bill basically amends the Charter School Act to allow for other potential sponsors for charter schools. Right now the TPS School Board has a monopoly on sponsorship. And earlier this year they extended their self-imposed moratorium on new charter schools for Tulsa. Vo-Tech passed on sponsoring 3 charter schools in 2004 and walked out of mediation on the issue. Without the teeth of binding arbitration Vo-Tech cannot and will not be compelled to sponsor a charter school. The result: Tulsa has been stuck on 3 charter schools, the last one sponsored in 2001. OKC, by comparison, has at least 10 during the same time period. SB 661 would allow for the State Department of Education, certain higher education institutions, and even city councils as potential sponsors for charter schools.

It is the Tulsa Chiggers informed opinion that this is a good amendment to the Charter School Act and should be passed. Urge your state Representative to vote YES!

You can find your senator by following this link.

End the "shotgun wedding" that now exists between TPS and the Tulsa charter schools.