Sen. Paul Farrow (R-Pewaukee), chairman of the Senate Committee on Education Reform and Government Operations and a supporter of charter schools, indicated some of the ideas might need to be corralled.
“I think we might be over-chartering ourselves and not developing a cohesive picture for what charter schools should look like,” he said in an interview.
Independent charter schools are public schools run by nonprofit companies instead of school districts.They have to report all the same data as traditional public schools, but get freedom from some other state rules — such as employing unionized teachers — in exchange for meeting performance goals in a contract with a state-approved authorizing agency. Failure to meet the targets means the agency can close the school.
Republicans often like independent charter schools because they’re run like small businesses, often with nonunion staff on one-year contracts. Many Democrats dislike charters because they can deplete enrollment at traditional public schools, often don’t employ unionized teachers and may not be able to serve children with the most significant special needs.