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.

Critics, led by the Alabama Education Association, say the bill takes money from public schools.

“Charter schools take taxpayers dollars,” Lance Hyche tells FOX6 News.

Hyche is with the Birmingham office of AEA.

He says, “they (charter schools) don’t play by the same regulations, the same rules. We know it only weakens the public school system in Alabama.”

Charter schools are public schools, French insists. Republican strategy centers around promoting charter schools as a way to create new revenue in a budget-lean year.

That doesn’t fly with many of French’s fellow lawmakers in Jefferson county.

Rep. Oliver Robinson (D-Birmingham) says for starters, the federal dollars ($200 million, the governor estimates) are competitive, not a guarantee.

Rep. Robinson asks, “in two years, when the federal money is gone, do you take more money from public schools to fund charter schools?”

This morning on FOX6 News Good Day Alabama, Rep. John Rogers (D-Birmingham) bought time with his answer.

“I haven’t read the bill yet,” Rep. Rogers said.

Despite that fence-sitting, Rogers went to the point. He likes the potential for more federal dollars, but insists there is no chance such a bill will pass in this election year.

Watch the French/Rogers interview here.

Rick Journey