Scott Pullins - Republican Central Committee
Scott Pullins - Republican Central Committee
  • Home
  • About
  • Issues
  • Latest News
  • Contact

The Facts and the Myths About Charter Schools

7/30/2018

0 Comments

 
​Thanks to Dave Cash and our friends at Charter School Specialists for putting this material together for us:

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the charter school movement. Earlier this Spring the NAPCS prepared a lengthy defense of charter schools nationally, and that organization used a "myth versus fact" approach in doing so.
 
Over the last 10 years, the public charter school movement experienced a dramatic 80 percent increase in the number of students and a 40 percent increase in the number of schools. Despite that growth, there is still an overwhelming unmet parental demand for quality school options, with more than one million student names on charter school waiting lists nationally. While charter schools enjoy at least some measure of bipartisan support among policymakers and the general public, they also have some vocal critics who continue to perpetuate a number of myths about charters.
 
The champions of charter schools in Ohio and beyond don't need to be defensive about charter schools, yet it seems we're constantly being put on the defensive by our critics, many of whom have seemingly endless resources devoted to doing us harm.
​
Charter School Specialists has made the effort to briefly summarize the NAPCS document so that our colleagues in the charter school community have ready access to the best arguments in the debate over charter schools. We believe it's critical that all of us involved with charter schools, at every level of our movement, are armed with the facts and the findings of independent research in making a compelling case in favor of charter schools.
 
Finally, we stand ready to help you refine your arguments in favor of charter schools. Just let us know how we can help.
 
MYTH: Charter schools are not public schools.
 
FACT: As defined in federal and state law, charter schools are indeed public schools. They must meet the same academic standards that all public schools are required to meet. They are tuition free and open to all students; Nonsectarian and do not discriminate on any basis; Publicly funded by local, state, and federal tax dollars based on enrollment, like other public schools; and Held accountable for meeting state and federal academic standards. Charter schools are approved, funded, and overseen by a government-endorsed authorizing entity, just as traditional public schools are overseen by a school district.
 
MYTH: Charter schools get more money than other public schools.
 
FACT: On average, charter schools receive less public funding than traditional public schools. Moreover, in many states, charter schools get no facilities funding and don't enjoy the benefits of receiving local property taxes. This national funding discrepancy continues to grow. In our state there are many instances where urban charters receive barely one-third of their neighboring district schools.
 
MYTH: Charter schools receive a disproportionate amount of private funds.
 
FACT: It's a plain fact that charter schools receive fewer private funds per pupil than traditional public schools. Since charter schools operate with far fewer funds than their neighboring traditional public schools and often do not receive funding for facilities or property taxes, many charter schools fund-raise to make up this difference. Like traditional public schools, charter schools raise money through school fundraisers, community partnerships, booster clubs, or donations by parents, businesses, or philanthropic organizations. However, a University of Arkansas study debunked the myth that charter schools received disproportionate funding from non-public sources to reduce the gap in the funding disparity.
 
MYTH: There is a lack of transparency around charter schools' use of funds.
 
FACT: Charter schools have greater accountability and scrutiny over their finances than traditional public schools. As public schools, charter schools are held accountable for their finances by state law. Though public reporting laws vary by state, charter schools in every state are required to be financially transparent.
 
Charter schools also have another level of oversight beyond traditional public schools because they are accountable to their authorizers. Public charter school authorizers are required to approve and renew only those charter schools that have demonstrated they can improve student performance in a fiscally and organizationally sound manner. Charter School Specialists, for example, has recommended that several charter schools be closed for those reasons. Closure of district schools happen very rarely.
 
MYTH: Charter school teachers are less qualified than teachers in traditional public schools.
 
FACT: Like all public school leaders, charter leaders aim to hire talented, passionate, and qualified teachers who will boost student achievement and contribute to a thriving school culture. But in contrast to many other public school leaders, charter school leaders have flexibility to ensure that the teachers they hire not only are qualified but also are producing results for students and families. These flexibilities include the ability to decide whom to hire, how to pair teachers to best meet students' needs, and how to fairly hold teachers accountable for improving student achievement. Further, the flexibility that public charter schools have to make personnel decisions allows them to draw from a wider candidate pool, including content area experts who may not have followed a traditional teacher certification path. The public charter school model also gives teachers the flexibility to use their talents and abilities to design programs that work better for the students they serve, while at the same time being held accountable for student achievement.
 
MYTH: Charter schools are anti-union.
 
FACT: Charter schools are neither pro-union nor anti-union: They are pro-teacher. Teachers in any school should be treated fairly and should be given the due process rights they are accorded under the law. Charter leaders should also be given the flexibility needed to staff their schools with teachers who support the mission and will meet school standards.
 
State legislatures determine whether or not charter schools are required to be unionized. Even when state law doesn't require charters to be unionized, teachers still can voluntarily decide they'd like to unionize. Most of the time, when given that choice, public charter school teachers decide not to unionize.
 
MYTH: Charter schools aren't accountable to the public since their boards aren't elected.
 
FACT: Charter schools are directly accountable to the public. They are approved and overseen by a government-endorsed authorizing entity (St. Aloysius, for example). If they do not serve the public by producing results, they can be improved or closed far faster than other schools.
 
Charter schools are also funded with public funds, just like all other public schools. In fact, charter schools are uniquely accountable to the public because they sign contracts with a government-endorsed authorizer explaining how the schools will operate and the results they will achieve. If they don't produce these results, their authorizer has the power to work to immediately fix the schools or close them. 11 states have automatic closure laws for charters that fail to meet their obligations. Traditional public schools can fail for years-even generations-and never be closed down for bad performance.
 
In addition to being accountable to their authorizers and being subject to fixing or closure for poor performance, charter schools are accountable because:
  • Charter students must take the same tests as students in traditional public schools;
  • Charter schools must meet state and federal academic standards that apply to traditional public schools; and
  • Charter schools are required to undergo financial audits.
MYTH: Charter schools cream or cherry-pick the best students from traditional public schools.
 
FACT: Public charter schools are generally required to take all students who want to attend. If there are more interested students than available seats, the schools are generally required to hold lotteries, which randomly determine which students will be enrolled. Unlike magnet schools overseen by school districts, public charter schools cannot selectively admit students. According to federal law, they must accept all students, including students with disabilities and English Learners, regardless of previous academic performance.
 
MYTH: Charter schools don't enroll children from underserved families.
 
FACT: Public charter schools enroll more students of color and from low-income backgrounds than traditional public schools. According to the most recent national demographic data, public charter schools enroll a greater percentage of:
  • Students of color: Black students comprise 29 percent of charter school enrollment and 16 percent of the traditional public school student population.
  • Charter schools have a 27 percent Hispanic population, while traditional public schools have a 23 percent Hispanic population.
  • Low-income students: 53 percent of charter students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, compared to 48 percent of traditional public school students.
MYTH: Charter schools serve fewer English Learners than traditional public schools.
 
FACT: There is no significant difference in the percentage of English Learners served by traditional or public charter schools. The most recent U.S. Department of Education survey data showed that 10 percent of charter school students are English Learners, compared to 9 percent of students in traditional public schools.
 
MYTH: Charter schools serve fewer students with disabilities.
 
FACT: According to the most recent publicly available data, 10 percent of charter school students are students with disabilities, compared to 12 percent of students in traditional public schools. Beyond these largely comparable numbers, students with disabilities are thriving in charter schools. Stanford University found that in terms of achievement, students with disabilities attending public charter schools gained 14 days of learning in math compared to their traditional school peers.
 
MYTH: Charter school students do no better than traditional public school students.
 
FACT: Between 2010 and 2013, 15 of 16 independent studies found that students attending charter schools do better academically than their traditional school peers.31 The Stanford University study found that overall, students in public charter schools are outperforming their traditional public school peers in reading, adding an average of seven additional days of learning per year, and performing as well as students in traditional public schools in math.
 
MYTH: Competition from charter schools is causing neighborhood schools to close and harming the students attending them.
 
FACT: No research has shown that the presence of public charter schools causes neighborhood schools to close. Neighborhood schools close for a variety of reasons, including declining student enrollment due to changing community demographics or shifting population centers.
 
MYTH: Charter schools take funding away from traditional public schools.
 
FACT: Public school funding is sent to the public school that a student attends. If a student chooses to leave one traditional public school for another traditional public school, funding goes to the new school, which is now responsible for educating that student. The same is true if a student chooses to leave a charter school to attend a traditional school. The previous school, no longer responsible for educating that child, no longer receives those funds. However, if a student leaves a traditional public school for a charter school, only a portion of that student's funding goes to the new school.
 
So, in fact, charters are at a disadvantage when they receive an unequal portion of funds for educating the same child. Charter schools don't affect districts financially any more than district student transfers do. There's no question that resources are strained in American public schools. Bottom line is that charter schools allow public resources to stay in the public school system and help ensure that taxpayer dollars are well spent by requiring schools to perform well or close.
0 Comments

John Kasich; Founder of the Independent Weasel Party

7/29/2018

0 Comments

 
​On May 15, 2018, shortly after ending a rare statehouse news conference, Governor John Kasich stormed back in having one of his trademark tizzies to label GOP state legislators as weasels for refusing to rubber-stamp his latest gun control legislation. But per usual, the increasingly out of touch two-time presidential loser, is simply projecting his own façade onto his opponents.
 
Most GOP state legislators are strong supporters of the second amendment and ran on platforms diametrically opposed to the Kasich gun control measures.  They aren’t being sneaky or conniving, they are merely keeping their campaign promises; a concept that is now utterly foreign to Kasich.
 
On most days it is rather difficult to determine whether lame duck Ohio Governor John Kasich is running for President again or auditioning for a cushy analyst gig on CNN or MSNBC.  He recently ranted that most of the Republican Party is “in a stupor” and that the party left him, not that he left the party. But to most political observers his statements have a ring of absurdity to them.
 
Back in February 3rd Rail Politics illustrated the lackluster nature of the fundraising for the Kasich political machine.  Not surprisingly, nothing significant has occurred since then to interrupt that decline.  

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.
0 Comments

Big Story & Announcement Sunday on 3rd Rail Politics!

7/27/2018

0 Comments

 
Over at 3rd Rail Politics on Sunday, we have a yuuuge story coming and an even bigger announcement.  You absolutely do not want to miss it.  ​
0 Comments

Join us on our first Super Saturday as we secure Knox County for  Mike DeWine and Jon Husted!

7/27/2018

0 Comments

 
​This coming Saturday, July 28th, marks 100 days out from Election Day 2018! That means 100 days to work to ensure that Ohio stays red this fall!

Join the Knox County DeWine-Husted Team on July 28th as we join with teams all across the Buckey State and help us knock 100 voter doors in Mount Vernon! 

Date: Saturday, July 28th
Time: 10:00 AM
Where: 100 S. Main St. (GOP HQ, former Merle Norman Salon)

Please RSVP with Brittany Whitney at brittanywhitney@gmail.com or
(740) 398-7966
0 Comments

One Down, More to Go, the ECOT Slippery Slope

7/12/2018

0 Comments

 
State’s Actions and Decisions Should Frighten Every Ohioan
By Scott Pullins

“that way madness lies…”
King Lear – By William Shakespeare

On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a document with the Franklin County Common Pleas Court that alleges that his office will attempt to recover nearly $200 million personally from ECOT Founder William L. Lager.  Somehow, mysteriously, this filing quickly made itself to the front page of the Columbus Dispatch, although it didn’t reach the court’s docket until days later.  

This filing is also very irregular because the Ohio Attorney General is not a party to this action.  In fact, the Ohio Attorney General has not even requested court permission to intervene in this case.  An earlier request from Ohio’s Auditor of State to intervene was denied.

The Attorney General argues that Bill Lager should be held personally responsible for money that was paid to companies that he either owned or allegedly controlled. 

Their argument for piercing the corporate veil of these limited liability companies is rather ridiculous and should send chills down the spine of any federal, state, or local government contractor, along with the entirety of Ohio’s school choice movement. 

The school was granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service and filed its first annual tax return for the tax year 2000 in December of 2002.  It has filed its annual tax returns without challenge by the IRS every year since then. Likewise, as a charitable organization the school was required to file certain information with the Ohio Attorney General on an annual basis.  From what I can determine, the school has done so without question or issue.

The school was audited by the Ohio Auditor of State on an annual basis starting with a special audit in 2001.  During the first few years there were recommendations by the State Auditor that Altair provide more detailed monthly invoices to better document their services.  That issue was remedied starting in July 2007. However, a review of each of these annual audits does not show that William Lager was ever considered as an agent or a public official for the school.  

​Instead, the Ohio Attorney General’s office now argues that it has authority to assert these claims against Lager because of a recently completed trial court case in Cincinnati.  The case can be found here.  DeWine’s office argues that he could not intervene earlier because charter schools are governed by the Ohio Department of Education and this recent case gives him additional authority.

Read the Rest of the Article Here

​
0 Comments

Conservative SuperPAC Hiring in Ohio CD 12

7/2/2018

0 Comments

 
​Posted: June 18, 2018
Organization: Wright, Williams & Associates
Job Title: Paid Campaign Canvassers (Part-time & Full-time)
Job Summary: Wright Williams and Associates (www.wwa.gop) is seeking political field canvassers for the OH-12 Congressional special election campaign starting immediately through August 7th. Paying $15/hour plus performance & referral bonuses.
Additional Details: Download Here
To Apply: Send resume, availability, and preferred start date via email to win@wwa.gop
0 Comments

The Politician v. the Prosecutor

6/26/2018

0 Comments

 
​We should have had a clue that Dave Yost was trouble shortly after he was first appointed Delaware County Prosecutor in 2003.  But somehow most missed it.

Susan Hollenbach is a Delaware County Republican and from 1996 until 2003 she ran the very successful child support enforcement agency that was then under the Delaware County Prosecutor.  But that quickly changed after Dave Yost was appointed to the job.

According to the civil rights and wrongful termination complaint filed against Yost in federal court, shortly after taking office he stopped assigning child support work to most of the members of his legal staff and instead employed a novice attorney for all child support enforcement work.  As a result, child support collections plummeted during this time period at a whopping 70% rate.

At the same time, Yost continued to use federal and state funds to pay portions of the salaries of prosecutors who were no longer doing child support work in violation of state and federal law.  When Ms. Hollenbach confronted Dave Yost about these issues he went ballistic. He demanded that she not speak with the county commissioners about restructuring the office.

On November 10, 2003 Dave Yost caused Hollenbach to be suspended and at 4:40 pm he arranged for the issuance of a grand jury subpoena requiring her to turn over records in her possession by 10:00 pm the same day.  Two days later a special prosecutor was appointed and there was news coverage indicating that she was being investigated for theft in office. Later, a special audit was demanded of the state auditor of the child support enforcement agency.  Hollenbach was then terminated because she could not do her job because of these numerous investigations.

Susan Hollenbach filed suit in federal court.  The criminal investigation found no wrongdoing and the state audit, issued by Republican Betty Montgomery, cleared her in full.  

Delaware County Commissioners were forced to settle the federal lawsuit for $335,000 plus her attorney fees.  Additionally, they stated in writing that Ms. Hollenbach “did not engage in criminal conduct or wrongdoing.”

Read the rest of the story here.
0 Comments

Early Voting Has Started - Vote No on Never Trumpers!

4/11/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
0 Comments

Order Your Knox County Lincoln Day Dinner Tickets Online

3/23/2018

0 Comments

 
​Recently, I wrote to invite you to the 2018 Knox County Republican Lincoln Reagan Day Dinner.  Now I'm pleased to inform you that you may order your dinner tickets online via the Facebook Page for the Knox County Republican Party.

Our annual Lincoln Reagan Day Dinner is the primary fundraising event for our local party.  I hope that you will be able to attend.

Scott Pullins

P.S. To order your dinner tickets online, please click here.
0 Comments

I'm running for the Knox County Republican Central Committee

2/26/2018

1 Comment

 
​Dear Fellow Republican:


My name is Scott Pullins and I am running to represent you as a member of the Knox County Republican Central Committee.  I am an attorney, a charter school board member, a public affairs consultant, and a political writer for www.3rdrailpolitics.com.   
 
I previously served on the Knox County Republican Central Committee from approximately 1994 to 2008. In fact, I have been a very active, conservative Republican activist for the past 32 years in Ohio.
 
Soon after I moved into this precinct, I requested that the party appoint me to a vacancy.  Unfortunately, the party bosses chose someone else.  That person, sadly, does not represent our shared Republican views. 
 
For example, he and his wife refused to put any Republican signs in their yard during the 2016 election, including any Trump Pence signs.  Meanwhile, I still have my Trump sign up in my window today!
 
You and the Knox County Republican Party deserve much better.  And that is just one of the many reasons that I am running in this May’s primary for this seat. 
 
I know that you are busy and I don’t want to take up any more of your time.  So, if you have questions or want to know more about me, then please visit my website at www.scottpullins.org.  Thank you.
 
Sincerely,
 
Scott
 
Scott Allan Pullins
1 Comment
Forward>>

    Archives

    October 2020
    February 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.