The politics of charter schools start to look a bit different when public schools are struggling to absorb an influx of new students. The latest sign comes from Osceola County, a fast-growing and heavily Hispanic Orlando suburb. A TV news story on student population growth ends with this footnote:
The county hopes new charter schools will enroll some of the students and ease the strain on traditional schools.
There was similar logic at work 20 years ago, when Gov. Lawton Chiles signed the law allowing Florida's first charter schools. Students (including the author of this post) were flocking to the state faster than new schools could be built, and overwhelmed districts had no choice but to shunt them into portable classrooms — just as Osceola County is forced to do now, according to WFTV. Charters helped lighten the load, pumping private investment into new school facilities.
Right now, public schools are only growing by about 1 percent a year statewide, but Osceola is one of a few pockets where the population is surging more quickly. It's no coincidence that the lawmaker who proposed giving districts an incentive to embrace school choice as a way to absorb growth represents the area, though his proposal didn't pass this year.
It's the slower-growth districts where charters face stronger pushback.
This is the conundrum in places like Massachusetts, where charters are incredibly high-scoring, parent demand is off the charts, and opponents are still fighting charters tooth and nail. The main objection to charter growth? Money is scarce and districts' costs are fixed.
Charter school proponents argue fiscal concerns are no reason to deny students access to better schools, and in the Bay State, where researchers have found Boston charters are among the best in the nation at raising student achievement, they have an especially strong case. But as fiscal realities that helped make choice more politically viable in the Sun Belt, they create political headwinds up north.
