AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Charter School Commission will begin hearings Friday on the state’s first three applications for charter schools and respond to a terse request from Gov. Paul LePage to speed up its process regarding two other applications that the commission previously decided to delay.
To date, nine organizations have indicated that they seek to form charter schools, five already having submitted full applications, which in some cases number in the hundreds of pages. The commission voted earlier this year to consider three of the applications immediately and postpone consideration of two, which are applying to be “virtual” charter schools.
Charter schools are alternative education organizations that receive a portion of funding that previously flowed to public schools. Charter schools typically focus in a certain area and have greater latitude than public schools do in terms of staffing and curriculum.
In a letter sent to the commission on June 11, LePage said in no uncertain terms that he expects the commission to act on all five applications — and any more that come in before a June 29 deadline — as quickly as possible.
“If any members of the commission are not up to meeting the state’s expectations, I urge their resignation,” said LePage in a press release issued Monday. “Charter schools are not a new concept. Nor is approval of charter schools a novel process. Maine is the 41st state in the nation to allow charter schools. The fact is, the commission has had nearly a year to implement a review plan. There is no excuse to cause delay on this important work.”
But members of the commission said that although the Legislature and LePage enacted legislation allowing charter schools last year, they have had nowhere near a year to develop its own rules and pore through applications. Commission Vice President William Shuttleworth, who is also superintendent of Camden-area schools, said the commission’s membership was approved by the Legislature in late December and had its first meeting in January. The process of developing rules and issuing a request for proposals took until May 1. Applications began arriving May 25.
“We’ve been busting our tails since that date,” said Shuttleworth. “I, for one, am not going to be compelled to rush the process by forfeiting the quality of the work that we do. I think that we have a compelling obligation to the state of Maine to do this right.”
Commission Chairman James A. Banks Sr. of Portland said Thursday that for the charter schools to open on the same schedule as traditional schools in September, they would need approval from the commission by early July in order to meet a statutory requirement that they have their licenses in place for 60 days before opening. Because of the length and complexity of the applications and the tight timeline the commission has been working under, Banks said he is unsure the commission will be able to rule on the applications by then.
“We’ve worked as expeditiously as possible to try to respond to these people who have worked so hard to put in these applications,” said Banks. “We’re trying to get responses to them so they can plan for opening in the fall.”
Asked whether the commission can finish its work on the three applications by early July, Banks said, “I don’t know. Absolutely that’s our goal.”
The Maine School Management Association, which testified in opposition to the charter school legislation last year, entered the debate recently with bulletins, the most recent of which was dated June 6 carrying the headline, “Commission feeling rushed to approve charters.” The bulletin summarized recent commission meetings and quoted members, including Banks and Shuttleworth, saying they felt the process is rushed. That drew criticism from LePage.
“It is appalling to know that those who are supposed to be known as ‘education leaders’ are trying to undermine the charter approval process,” said LePage in a press release. “These are so-called leaders that are satisfied with the status quo, are not interested in giving students more choices, and their recent action is simply irresponsible and unacceptable.”
Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen also urged the commission to move quickly.
“The commission understood from Day One that making it possible for charter schools to open this fall was a high priority and that has been the plan all along,” said Bowen in a press release. “Commission members have been putting in long hours on this, but has remained focused despite the hard work, and my department will stand behind them and continue to assist in any way we can to move along the process.”
The commission has a public hearing on the first application, from the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences in Fairfield, which sits on the site of the former Goodwill-Hinckley School, beginning at 9 a.m. Friday. Banks said the commission also has scheduled a special meeting at 1 p.m. Friday to respond to LePage’s letter and decide whether it can act on the two virtual charter school applications in time for them to open this fall. The commission’s public hearings are scheduled to resume Monday with a focus on applications from the Cornville Regional Charter School and the Baxter Academy of Technology and Science.
Banks said final decisions on those three applications won’t happen before June 25, when the commission’s members are scheduled to take part in an all-day training hosted by an education consultant group called SchoolWorks.
“We’re just kind of taking a deep breath and making sure that we review these applications again once we’ve concluded the training,” he said. “That may allow us to reach a conclusion and to make some decisions by early July.”
Banks and Shuttleworth said there are a wide range of criteria being considered by the commission, chief of which are a viable and sustainable financial plan and a curriculum that meets the requirements of Maine’s Learning Results and Common Core standards.
Aside from the three applications being reviewed in the next few days, the commission has received full applications for virtual charter schools from the Maine Connections Academy and the Maine Virtual Academy. Letters of intent to file applications also have been received from the Fiddlehead-Art and Science School, the John Jenkins Leadership Academy, Monson Academy and the Rural Aspirations Project.
So, this commission has to use precious time to respond to LePage’s disrespectful letter. Good job Governor.
It would appear that the real educator’s of this State, not the MHPC or ALEC- sponsored politician’s, have finally had ‘enough’ of Bowen and LePage’s bullying and political intimidation tactic’s and said ‘NO, enough of you and the horse you rode in on’. The fact that Paulie is so pressuring these educator’s to politically segregate the educational system in Maine is nothing less than Maine’s Governor trying to reverse tha 1954 Brown vs Board of Education decision regarding seperate but equal. This not only stink’s but is, at the rate this is being pushed, almost bound to wind up in Federal Court on a educational segregation complaint. Boston had that years ago and it cost the Boston School Board almost $ 5 MILLION in penalty’s and forced Boston School’s into FORCED BUSSING. What is Lepage trying to do, bankrupt the State just to prove a point that’s already been made ? Where is the AG in all of this ? Oh, that’s right, HE’S OUT CAMPAIGNING, not paying attention to the job he was elected to !
Maine is, at the rate this nonsense is going on and growing, going to have a call for a State Constitutional Convention and get these constant problems solved in the VERY near future. First of these is gonna be the establishment of the Impeachment Article’s and the clearly needed, and legislated outright, election of a State Lt.Governor, State Treasurer and a clearly needed elected Attorney General. Were both Party Steering Committee’s smart they would start now to get their duck’s in a row and start coming up with draft language for the Convention and get it circulated for comment. And with November coming, well, the need for this call for a Convention is going to grow. And everytime that LePage and Bowen go and start their crying and threatening they just make the case for these reform’s all the more clear and needed. The same can be said of both MHPC and ALEC. Everytime they open their mouth, or let their need for a press release get ahead of their common sense, They just make the arguement all that much more clear.
A recall amendment for the governorship is truly needed, Lepage has proven that point.
But who in the legislature is willing to stand up for Maine people, instead of cowering to bully tactics by Mr. Lepage?
who is standing up for the children? Certainly NOT the Charter Commission!
Would love to see our Republicans do that little job! They are getting hammered by the governor.
The Charter commission has heard from plenty of people who BEGGED for a virtual choice this year during their hearings. The Maine Virtual School was one of the very first applications to get into the commission. It was MSMA that has lobbied against charter schools especially wide ranging ones like a virtual school. They are limiting public school choice to those that live in a small area around a brick and mortar building. Rural Maine needs choices too….
K-12 (Maine Virtual School) is ALREADY approved by the state to provide virtual education and is used in some schools in the state. What is the problem other then MSMA?
Thank you Governor Lepage for putting students first and not folding to Maine School Management Association….they have their own motives for not wanting Charter Schools and it isn’t because they want what’s best for the children of Maine!
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Thank you Governor Lepage for putting students first and not folding to Maine School Management Association….”
Surely you jest. Have you noticed that there is a lot of cheating by administrations in charter schools to keep the money rolling in? Have you noticed that Maine schools are very high up on the list for quality in the US? We are something like #10 out of the entire country.
Don’t need the tea party agenda to ruin Maine schools.
Mike What a brilliant synopsis!
“Where is the AG in all of this ? Oh, that’s right, HE’S OUT CAMPAIGNING, not paying attention to the job he was elected to ! “So glad you included our AG office. Noticed during Baldaci’s terms that the AG office just rubber stamped the governor’s agenda. I found the staff very dismissive and supercilious toward my complaints…unlike most state gov. employees. Clean the AG office up!
Let’s not be too harsh on LePage – he’s still trying to learn how heading the executive branch differs from running the entire company…er, state.
It doesn’t seem to matter what the issue might be it is never done fast enough for Paul Richard LePage. He expects every committee to take one look at something and then rubber stamp it. People just can’t seem to get anything done fast enough to please LePage. If he were only as fast in delivering all of those JOBS, JOBS, JOBS he promised he would create.
He is a little slow with the checkbook!
No bonds till 2014!
An extremely valid point since no where in any of this does LePage make any reference to the funding issue. And since the Education Budget for the next 2 years is already locked in, where is LePage gonna get the money from, especially since he’s already made it VERY CLEAR that Bond money isin’t going to be available, much less possible, for the next 2 years.
Charter schools = high cost + poor quality education.
you are so wrong
When LePage wants something from us, he wants it yesterday.
When we want something from LePage, he’ll move when he’s good and ready.
I’d call him two faced but that can’t be–if he was, he sure wouldn’t be wearing that one.
“Acting” would imply the power to reject an application as well as require changes to it. LePage does not want the Commission to *act* on the applications, he wants them to *approve* those applications. I hope they take their time to do the job properly.
Just like the Charter Commission is acting on the pressure that MSMA is putting on them to deny any and all charter school applications….so who’s right and who’s wrong in this picture. The people of Maine have spoken and want Charter Schools….all the meetings I’ve been to indicate that they also want a virtual charter school so that rural Maine can enjoy a ‘choice’ as well.
The “choice” LePage and his cronies are offering is the death of public education in America. Turning it over to private money-making corporations.
41 other states offer Charter schools and public schools have managed just fine. Scare tactics are the norm usually coming from teachers and administration of public schools. Nice try but no dice.
God forbid teachers or administrators should advocate for public schools. FYI, I am not in any way connected to public education, except that 1) I attended public schools, 2) my kids attended public schools, and 3) when my kids were in school I worked to improve our local schools and my husband was on the school board for years.
Huge corporations are working hand-in-glove with Republican lawmakers to take over the US. They hope to “privatize” Social Security, so elderly people will be at the mercy of the stock market–if it crashes again, they will suffer severely. And in the meantime, they will have to pay fees to stockbrokers managing their money. The privatization of our prison system is in full swing, with dire results, including children being railroaded into correctional institutions to provide extra profits to the corporate owners. They’ve engineered a phony fiscal crisis to support privatizing the postal system. Their ONLY interest is in turning a profit.
Killing public education and turning over the education of our kids to corporations is another corporate objective. Once America’s education system has been Wal-Mart-ized, and the option of public education no longer exists, quality will plummet. One “benefit” of corporations educating our kids will be drastic lowering of salaries for teachers–which will continue the dismantling of the middle class that Republican politicians are so fond of. Test scores will rise, of course, because the corporations will 1) write the tests and 2) order teachers to teach to the test. Good luck to individual parents trying to have any effect on that, when corporations are national and parents are local.
Especially when “education” is delivered over the Internet, parents who are already working full-time will be the actual teachers.
Right back at ya….God forbid PARENTS advocate for their children’s education. I have tried working with the local school board for 2 years. They have blinders on and are not willing to admit what they are doing isn’t working!
My daughters teachers this year, through the internet, were her teachers. I helped with homework, as I would when she was in public school.
Colleges have been doing online courses for years, should they not be doing that?
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Especially when “education” is delivered over the Internet, parents who are already working full-time will be the actual teachers.”
Newt Gengrich stated years ago that books would be replaced by the internet. Did he know something that we didn’t when he made that outlandish statement?
It is harder to control people who have a good education, and are taught to think for themselves.
Not true. After Katrina, New Orleans went totally charter. No public schools. They also tore down public housing. I think they were trying to get rid of a certain class of people there. Do you think that is a cool thing to do?
Selling off America…it is the “in” thing for the nation’s conservatives. They use the PR(read propaganda) that your taxes age going to go lower. Only prob. ….after they are in office a while there is nothing left of the country.
The people of Maine have not spoken on this matter. The Legislature Remember has. What the people have said at referendum was requiring the State to fund 55% of local school budgets. Remember that? Think that’s happening? This has nothing to do with the will of the people and everything to do with thinly disguised out of state ideological entities drafting legislation that does not represent the will of the people of Maine or their students.
The question is not if they approve or disapprove the applications, but whether or not they take sufficient time to make good decisions.
Baldacci’s school consolidation project (euphamism: reorganization) was hurried through the Legislature, too. Many of us predicted failure because it was not well-thought-out and was rushed. Now 5 years later, it’s clear that school reorganization did not work. It would be better not to have charter schools follow the same course.
There should be no public funds disbursed to schools that are not public schools. Our taxes are for public education, not private schools. Education is a state responsibility and should not be delegated.
They are not private schools they are Public Charter Schools. Read up on the law Maine passed, read the applications that were submitted to the Charter Commission. Attend a Charter Commission hearing or 2….then maybe you would know what you are talking about.
I know a few public schools that are not getting the job of educating students done…what about those wasted taxpayer funds?
Watering down the public schools’ support by sending public funds to these “charter” schools is wrong in my opinion. So which locally-elected school committee will set policy for these schools? And whose children will be left behind to languish? Just a couple of questions from someone who values a quality education for all Maine people.
These Charter schools have a local boards that set the policy and that they have to answer to. The board members for the Maine Virtual School are listed in their application that is online. The Charter schools also have to answer to the state for their test scores more so then regular public schools do.
The no child held back language is something that was said to me at a Virtual School conference in Portland earlier this year. It is something that a lot of virtual schools are going towards. They place children in classes based on ability not age. So if a child excells at math and is a year behind in reading they will be placed accordingly, which makes so much more sense then placing them in classrooms based on age alone.
Special ed students attending the Maine Virtual Academy have a much better chance at receiving one on one services like speech, PT and OT along with personal tutoring time with teachers.
I would not be on this band wagon pushing for a Virtual Charter School if my children were receiving a good education at their local schools. They are not, it is clear in the test results that they aren’t and the local board won’t work with parents on some very big issues. Special ed students with IEPs are not getting the services that they are supposed to, general ed students are not getting what they need and the board won’t admit there is a thing wrong with their school. I have fought all year on a teacher bullying issue going to the state level many times only to hear it is a local problem.
Elected board? Does the public elect this board? Please be very careful with children’s education handed over to anyone other than an elected local school board. You will have no say at all if the board is not elected by you.
The elected board that we have locally just voted to get rid of the only reading recovery teacher we have! The board for the Maine Virtual Academy can’t be any worse!
You’re talking to someone who has never agreed with elevating superintendents into gods. I have had many many experiences that cause me to understand completely that the system is flawed. The public and the teachers feel powerless against the very powerful good ole boys in the education system. But, at this point, the people still elect who actually runs the schools and when that is gone, you will have no say in what happens with your children at school. None. Get in there and raise hell! Our Maine children CAN’T READ. Hello superintendents, are you out of your minds? It’s time to cut SPORTS, your favorite thing, instead of READING TEACHERS!
Jenn, you know that’s a lie. They didn’t vote to get rid of the reading recovery teacher. They tabled the idea to the next meeting. They wanted to see about the money between ed tech 1’s and ed tech 3’s. At least the current board has two people willing to speak up for the kids and not let things go by the way side.
One of those 2 you speak of was on the budget committee for the school board budget and was a part of cutting that position. They did vote to table it and not save her job, just means they didn’t dare do it in front of the large crowd that was there, mostly teachers, in hopes that it will slide by next meeting unnoticed.
They had every opportunity to find out about that with Judy sitting right there. What are they going to wait until Judy is gone and someone else comes along that has no idea about the ‘money’ issues?
How does “one-on-one time” with physical therapy, OT, and speech work through a computer? Poorly, I suspect. Until the charter school movement succeeds in killing public education, kids will remain able to get special ed services such as PT, OT, and speech through their local public school. Then it’s–Oops, disabled? Sorry, chump!
Those programs are not provided ‘virtually’ they are contracted out to Speech therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Physical therapists that will come to the childs home OR the parent will take the child to them. All these questions and more are answered in their applications. Instead of assuming take a few minutes to scan through and read the applications.
They intend on providing computers and help pay for internet for those students that qualify for free or reduced lunch too.
The main reason test scores are not what they should be begins at home. Too much texting, video games, and no home based education outside of schools. Education is also more than just academics, it is about the education of a student socially and teaching responsibility to lead a meaningful adult life. Unfortunately many parents think that a teacher trying to discipline a child is wrong and will always side with their young.
So true. Nationally , as a culture, we are dumbing down rapidly. Reading books is getting to be a thing of the past. Quietly exchanging ideas …same thing.Don’t think it is an accident either. Just look at the quality of books and movies ..No Pulitzer prize this year because there was no one worthy of the honor?
Public charter schools is nothing more than a private school in a public school wrapper. What will happen to education if the best students are sucked in to the “public charter schools”? If you think your child is not getting a proper education, then by all means send them to a private school. Just not on public school money. This is just another attempt to divide the classes through education in its most basic setting. Young minds can be easily molded into what you want them to believe.
Charter schools only want the smartest students to make themselves look good and make more money. Private prisons only want the best prisoners, like those who owe back child support or pot smokers. That way they can employ fewer guards/ poorer quality of teachers and still make money. The US is no longer capitalistic in government. WE privatize gain and socialize loss. The worst possible scenario for average people.
Occupy Wall Street
Also look at the national problem with charter schools …high cost going to the private sector from US taxpayers. Widespread cheating by administrations to keep the money flowing in. Maine does not need this added burden …LePage is talking out of both sides of his mouth. No money for those in need, the elderly, children (head start) the poor…But it is a good thing to spend more money for education . Is he only interested in lining the pockets of his friends and sponsors from the Heritage Foundation and ALEC?
Recall LePage before he does any more damage.
The Tea Party has to get as much of their agenda to weaken public education through as quickly as possible before they become impotent in November. When LePage tries throwing his weight around like this, you know he’s seeing the writing on the wall.
So true. Can’t win a fair election either. There are always massive problems when one of them is reelected. Like suddenly finding 5000 votes in the middle of the night to put the tea partier over the top. Can’t trust exit polls in those particular elections. i.e. Wisconsin.
I don’t think the people of Maine would be too keen to pay tax dollars to a virtual school. If it turns out that they are, then I think I’ll open the San Fernando Red School for the Indolent. There will be no tests, no attendance requirement, and no homework. In fact there will be no work of any kind.
There are a few public schools that are using virutal ciriculum and virtual academies. There are 3 state approved online learning providers (approved in June of 09) of which 2 applied for virtual charter schools. These are programs some students are already lucky enough to participate in and the people of Maine already pay for in some places.Get your San Fernando Red School approved and keep your test scores up and you’ve got it made. There are more checks and balances regarding educating a child for Charter schools then there is for a public school.
Sorry. I guess my comment about the San Fernando Red School was a little closed-minded. I am mistrustful of “virtual” schools.
I looked at the applications from the Connections Academy and the Virtual Academy. They are pretty impressive (and long, nearly 130 pages). I did notice that Charlie Summers wife Ruth was listed as head of the Connections Academy though. Very entrepreneurial.
Are you a resident of Maine? It sounds like you are a lobbyist for the profit driven out of state charter schools. As far as checks and balances goes you are correct. With private schools if a child becomes a behaviour problem they can be expelled more easily than in public schools.
Funny thing I grew up in Millinocket Maine and currently reside in East Millinocket Maine. I have lived in other states over the years (PA, KS, and FL) but always considered Maine my home. I have 3 children (one just graduated) and one of those was bullied horribly by a teacher this year. I pulled her out of school and started homeschooling. I have found my daughter has flourished in her online program. Our local education at the middle school level sucks.
I am not a lobbyist, don’t even pretend to be one. I attended the charter commission meeting with my 13 year old as part of her English, she wrote a speech for the Dept of Ed hearings on ‘school choice’, the Charter Commission meeting was the same day and we went in and listened to them. I was not aware of the virtual academies being considered. I also attended a conference earlier in the year on virtual education in Portland to learn more about my options for my children.
People that are against ‘virtual’ schools seem to have no problem with colleges offering classes online.
I am a concerned parent nothing more nothing less.
Republicans cannot wait to get Science out of education and replace it with Biblical brainwashing.
This is great the gov.says if the commission members are not up to the challange they should resign.I wonder what is taking him so long to follow his own advice.I wonder why he is pushing to get this done so fast.
Tea Party people like for taxes to go for charter schools and private prisons , contractors instead of regular troops. Cost much higher to tax payers, no one is accountable, quality of service is horrible, but the tea partiers don’t care. Do they want what is best for our country?
Or do they want their friends to make money off of US?
The problem is not with the idea of charter schools but the distortion of what they are fore. They are meant to be smaller, more nimble, less regulated, institution that test new hypothesis about the best way to educate.
Parents can choose to send their children into this environment or not.
When something works we should use that new model to reform the existing schools.
They are not meant to be “an alternative” to our existing school system they are meant to be an experimental support.