Commentary: Legislators should not join education reform opponents

During my time in the military, I had the privilege of serving under several different commanders all over the world.  One always stood out to me, mainly because of a remarkable leadership philosophy he instilled in his subordinates.  This was best incapsulated by an iron rule—the phrase “that’s how we’ve always done it” was strictly off limits.

This was a leader who understood that resistance to change and innovation, while endemic to any longstanding system, will ultimately lead to its stagnation and decay.  Instead, any healthy organization should welcome and reward functional improvements.

Such a phenomenon is not unique to the military, or even government for that matter.  Anything that challenges a status quo, suggesting there may be a more effective manner of operating, is often met with deep skepticism or outright hostility.

There is perhaps no better example of this than the public charter school.  While schools such as Detroit Prep and South Bronx KIPP Academy were initially met with enthusiasm from lawmakers and administrators, once they began to outperform their local counterparts in student achievement and growth, they were almost instantly seen as a threat to the system, finding themselves under attack from teachers’ unions, school boards, and city officials.

Though Tennessee lawmakers have made great strides in recent years to level the playing field for public charter schools, opposition has remained aggressive and often uncompromising.

In last week’s House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee, legislators deliberated over a bill that would help public charter schools gain access to vacant and underutilized school buildings at fair market value.

The legislation should appeal to most people’s common sense.  If a public school building is vacant or underused, it makes sense that we should allow another public school to use it for its intended purpose of educating students.

Yet opponents, ever resistant to change and innovation, insist that this bill is driven by profit motives of public charter organizations, who seek to purchase real-estate so they can resell it to the highest bidder.  This assertion is underwritten by a fundamental misunderstanding of public charter school networks, which are nonprofit organizations.

Unlike a commercial entity, a charter school board has a fiduciary responsibility to the interests of its schools and students—not to generate profit.  Securing adequate facilities in which students can receive a high-quality public education falls squarely within this sphere of interest.

Another common misconception is that the bill interferes with school districts’ ability to manage its own assets.  Public charter school opponents argue that school facilities are owned by the district, and they should be able to use them as they see fit.

Once again, we arrive at a critical falsehood.  Public school facilities belong to the taxpayer—not the district.  Taxpayers fund the construction and maintenance of schoolhouses so they can house and educate students, not so districts can profit from their sale.

Critics frequently attempt to parallel a school district’s operations with a business.  While both may share some commonalities in financial, personnel, and operational management, a key distinction is that public schools are not meant to generate profit.  Instead, they are expected to serve a public good and adhere to a balanced budget.

To assert otherwise would lead to dubious consequences.  If a local government sold a public park or greenway to a big box store most residents would be understandably upset, yet this could be a common reality if these arguments are taken to their logical conclusions.

Opponents of this legislation should view public charter schools not as a threat, but as an opportunity for innovation in public education that can coexist in a complimentary fashion to traditional public schools.

Every Tennessee student deserves access to a high-quality public education in a suitable facility, regardless of what type of school they attend.  While this bill may not entirely solve our public charter school facilities crisis, it is a move towards real progress.

Tennessee lawmakers have a choice.  Embrace innovation to move forward or keep doing things the way we have always done them and expect the same results.

The Tennessee Firefly is a project of and supported by Tennesseans for Student Success.