BRINGING ABOUT CHARTER SCHOOLS:
THREE SUCCESS STORIES

Jeanette Mitchell, Helen Bader Foundation, Moderator
Bill Manning, Red Clay Consolidated School District
Laura Freidman, Missouri Charter Schools Information Center
Sally Perz, Ohio State Representative

         The conflicts and successes involved in charter school development and legislation was the focus for these three pioneers whose experiences across three states are cause for optimism and are invaluable for their lessons.

        As a "renegade school board member" and board president, Bill Manning has made education reform a priority in his Wilmington, Delaware school district. His leadership has brought about two major contributions: the development of rigorous district-wide standards, and the establishment of "The Charter School" in Wilmington, Delaware.

        Manning believes an important key of education reform is to form relationships with people of power. Because of a "deal" he created with his district and the governor of Delaware, he quickly worked through the red tape and antagonism many school reformers grapple with interminably. And yet Manning takes little credit for the feat, owing it mainly to the sad fact that the "the schools were crummy."

        Manning acknowledged that most education reformers do not find support so easily; however, he does not believe the "unions should be wrestled in warfare." Ultimately, Manning believes a tone of cooperation is more effective than one of intimidation. Likewise, Manning believes the most effective school reform stems from "electing people to school boards who have the commitment to deal with [school reform]." In the case of his constituents, they obviously knew the formula. The district is not only recognized for high standards, but The Charter School, Delaware's first, is a success. The school has a waiting list of more than 100 students, the highest scores in the state on the Delaware Writing Assessment, the highest school attendance in the state, the highest SAT scores of any school in the state, and 100 percent of the senior class matriculating to college.

        After a twenty-year political career, Laura Friedman, a businesswoman and Democratic committeewoman, now carries a strong legislative voice for education reform in Missouri.

        Friedman became interested in education reform after learning some dismal statistics. Her St. Louis district was in the bottom five to ten percentile of statewide testing and had a staggering 75 percent dropout rate, while at the same time, the district received $11, 000 per child, one of "the highest per pupil expenditures in the entire nation."

        This blatant irony compelled Friedman to pass a charter school bill. If you’re so inclined, we’d highly recommend her four steps:

        Reformers should first "understand the legislative process," and then work to create allies in the legislature to foster a better understanding of the issues and to dispel the myths.

        Second, Friedman suggests that reformers "build as many coalitions as possible, not only in the legislature, but also with lobbyists in the capitol." Friedman does believe "all alliances are important," but she "never lost sight of the fact that legislators have votes and nobody else does."

        Third, because much of the information the media receives from the school board association is often "erroneous and inflammatory," Friedman believes it is extremely important for reformers to give the media information that is as accurate as possible.

        And fourth, reformers should seek control during the bill-writing process. Friedman always knew what was in the bill at every stage, and thus could correct any problems or make changes at a moment’s notice. It’s also critical to "make use of the experts, like CER and other organizations."

        The bill just passed in May 1998, so watch for additional tales of success from Missouri's first charter schools and stay tuned; this story is to be continued.

        Coming from the other side of the legislative process, Ohio State Legislator Sally Perz spoke of the challenges and in fact, the bureaucratic fumbling that plagued her eventually successful efforts to pass charter school legislation in her state.

        Ms. Perz, who came into politics from a private business background, found the education debate in politics obscure for many reasons, but especially because "no one talked about the kids." She was "disturbed about [education] statistics, disturbed about a lack of solutions to change anything," and disturbed that the schools wanted more money "when the money that was spent last time didn't make any difference."

        To tackle this, Perz sought a more fundamental reform solution in charter schools. She put together a working group of six people, researched laws, conducted interviews, visited charter schools, and went to conferences.

        When after six months the bill they thought was a "a stellar piece of legislation" reached the House, "anyone who had been asleep woke up."

        To satisfy the sudden surge of concern, Perz rewrote the bill nine times, to no avail. Undaunted, Perz requested help from the governor of Ohio, and after more rewrites and some "deals" with the unions, the charter school legislation finally found a home in the governor's budget bill. Additional struggles ensued when the senate president rejected the charter school pilot project, but after landing a spot in conference committee, the charter school legislation finally passed.

        Since this struggle, five charter schools have opened in her county, and sixteen others are opening in the state. CER offers much acclaim and admiration to Sally Perz, for her resilience, dedication and pioneering spirit.

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