House Democrats attack public charter schools despite academic success in their own counties

Last year public charter schools in Nashville celebrated the announcement that they now make up nearly 30% of Nashville’s Reward schools. These are schools the state has recognized as demonstrating high levels of performance and/or improvement.The percentage was notable as public charter schools made up less than 20% of the district’s schools overall, but that news of charter success doesn’t appear to be boosting support for school choice with a number of Democrats serving in the State House.Thursday morning two House Democrats used what would otherwise be a routine vote to reauthorize the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission to take swipes at public charter schools and their performance.“With charter schools there are about 114, 115 in the state of Tennessee, over 77 percent of them perform in the bottom 10 percent,” said Knoxville Representative Gloria Johnson.Johnson’s comparison does not account for higher percentage of at-risk and historically underserved students public charter schools serve compared to traditional public schools overall or the fact the lone public charter school in her own county is performing better than its nearest elementary school.Knoxville’s only public charter school is the K-8 Emerald Academy that sits less than half a mile from Maynard Elementary School. According to state data, twice as many students at Emerald met expectations in English Language Arts compared to Maynard and more than four times as many met expectations in math and science.Nashville Representative John Ray Clemmons also ignored the charter academic success in his county to criticize public dollars supporting public charter schools and to attack the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission itself.The commission was established to hear appeals from proposed public charter schools along with those challenging revocations and renewal denials from their local school boards.“This Commission, the Public Charter School Commission, is the epitome of state overreach and big government.  If your local LEA, your county, or your school boards within your district are concerned about their budget line items just know that this is the commission that makes the decision to override your locally elected officials’ decisions,” said Clemmons.Last year the commission overturned four public charter school denials by the school board in Clemmons’s district.  That included a decision to overturn a renewal denial by the school board involving Knowledge Academies that came after the public charter school presented data showing it outperformed traditional public schools in its section of Davidson County.Representatives Clemmons, Johnson, and all other House Democrats also voted against the reappointment of Tennessee Public Charter School Commissioners Alan Levine and Chris Tutor and only two Democratic Representatives voted in favor of the reappointment of a third commissioner, Michael Carter.Despite the opposition from House Democrats, all three commissioners had enough votes to earn reappointment Thursday and legislation to reauthorize the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission itself passed on a 61 to 21 vote.“I have had experience with the Charter School Commission, both in our county and in others but it has been my experience at least that they have done a phenomenal job of vetting charter schools and handling the work that we as a body voted to allow this entity to do,” said Portland Representative William Lamberth.