Riley’s Charter Schools Push Surprises Some Fellow Republicans

Posted on January 12th, 2010 by Jonathan Hardison

Governor Bob Riley’s renewed push for charter schools in Alabama is taking some of his fellow Republicans by surprise.

More than one state rep said (on the condition of anonymity) they believe Riley’s political capital in his lame duck session might be better spent on guiding how the legislature will solve the general fund’s 30% deficit.

In an election year with Republicans mounting a concerted effort to take control of both chambers, these lawmakers said they had hoped Riley might give some political cover by suggesting a politically unpalatable, but pragmatically necessary move to fill the budget hole (i.e. raise revenue without taxing/expanding gaming, etc.)

Gov. Riley has said he might support furloughs of state workers, but that hasn’t been his main focus of multiple press conferences, unlike his charter schools and ethics reform pushes.

One GOP lawmaker said “I don’t know why he wants us to take $200 million in stimulus funds for charter schools when the problem with that is the same problem he had with the unemployment money last year. It’ll run out in a couple of years and we’ll be stuck with the bill.”

Riley will also be staring down the powerful AEA lobby on the charter schools issue, a measure Paul Hubbert has promised to kill.

For his part, Gov. Riley says charter schools would open new avenues for educational progress in the state and could help keep more teachers employed using federal dollars even in these lean budget years.

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One Response to “Riley’s Charter Schools Push Surprises Some Fellow Republicans”

  1. John O. Alizor, MA, EdS, on January 13th, 2010 at 10:36 am Said:

    The governor is correct when he asserted that, Charter schools would open new avenues for educational progress.” Charters will create more jobs and operate more efficiently to reduce the Alabama’s defict because of the infusion of the $200 million in stimulus funds. Charter schools tend to avoid wasteful spending which has not been the case with the traditional schools. It is time for special interest groups, specifically the teacher’s union bosses, to start supporting charter schools as equal partners in education because charter schools are public schools.
    John O. Alizor, MA, EdS.