Nevada Charter School Tension
State, local moratoriums on new applications have education officials, lawmakers butting heads

Emily Richmond:

Nevada parents want the option of sending their children to charter schools.

State and local education officials say they won’t approve charter schools unless they can ensure the schools meet standards.

That’s all good, right? Well, it has educators and lawmakers in the bureaucratic equivalent of a schoolyard shoving match.

Following the Clark County School District’s lead, the State Board of Education in November said it was suspending approval of new charter school applications. The education officials said they did not have the staff to handle the workload. So, they said, until they can handle new charter schools properly, they aren’t going to handle them at all.

There were some tense exchanges among state board members and lawmakers in the days leading up to and following the moratorium vote.

Some lawmakers were infuriated, alleging the motives had more to do with turf protection than logistical challenges. A few legislators suggested the vote had violated the state’s open meeting law.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 29, 2008 12:00 AM
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