By John Mayo

I have gotten a number of e-mails asking why I would prohibit private school board members and administrators from serving on any governing authority of a charter school.

We have a history that I do not believe private school leaders yet understand and that has to be recognized.

There is opposition to charter schools throughout the state, and in particular in the Delta, where private school supporters are pushing them.  For any bill having a chance to pass, there must be no or limited participation by private school persons in organizing the charter school.

In the House, not only are the overwhelming majority of minorities opposing charter schools, but so are the reps from school districts that are doing well.  In other words, the senate bill as it now stands will have a tough time in committee and certainly on the floor of the House.

I have put in my bill measures to gain support in the House for charter schools---address the failing or at risk of failing school conversion, having students who are in those schools be the first students in the charter school, letting the Mississippi Department of Education be the initiating charter authority, contracting with a recognized entity in the charter school field to manage the school, and implementing a performance contract with the Department. 

I understand that Department of Education prefers a bill similar to mine where a charter would address low performing schools.

I will be hard put to support a bill that allows any local community group thinking they can do better to organize a charter school.  There is ample evidence that these locally organized charter schools have no more or less an improved track record than the local public schools and end up financially failing as well.

John

P.S.  The furlough I mentioned would be three days a year and be three of the seven professional improvement days schools have.  Look, it's better than being terminated which can be done now, is it not?

P.S.  While I was writing this we were calling back up a bill that would require county medical examiners to be certified in forensic pathology and be on a Department of Public Safety approved list. 

I offered an amendment requiring the Attorney General to review all capital case convictions since 1980 to be reviewed where the conviction was based on forensic evidence.  Recently, two men who had been on death row nearly 15 years were released due to faulty forensic evidence (DNA).

They were in fact innocent and it took years of work by the Innocence Project to bring that out.  The state is putting out more than $2,000,000 for that mistake, not to count that they lost 15 years of their lives, and the real murderer remaining free for that time.