School Choice

Page history last edited by mike 1 yr ago

"Thanks to the support of the Bush Administration, we will ensure that charter schools can continue to educate and nurture the children of the Commonwealth in safe and stimulating environments. Since 1995, charter schools have provided nimble and innovative methods of teaching our kids and pushed all of our public schools to perform at a higher level.”
- Governor Mitt Romney, 09-18-2003 Press Release

2004

“Let there be no doubt, I will veto any charter school moratorium that reaches my desk... Charter schools provide more alternatives in public education and encourage innovation and excellence. hold teachers and administration accountable for the educational success of their students and give parents the chance to make choices regarding their children’s education.”
- Governor Mitt Romney, 05-05-2004 Press Release

“Charter schools are public schools. All of our public schools deserve our support and encouragement... Charter schools make other public schools stronger because they have to respond to competition. Charter schools provide meaningful educational choices and are held strictly accountable for their successes and failures... My Administration is working to address concerns over the funding formula for charter schools and the charter school approval process,” said Romney. “But, we can work out those issues without prohibiting already approved schools from opening their doors to new students.”
- Governor Mitt Romney, 06-23-2004 Press Release

2006

“Charter schools are important centers for innovation, achievement and accountability in education. It is especially important for parents with children in low-performing districts to have an alternative, and I will continue to fight any measure that would restrict this choice or the addition of new charters.”
- Governor Mitt Romney, 05-03-2006 Press Release

School Choice and Charter Schools

School Choice and Charter Schools Press Releases

2006

05-03-2006; Governor Mitt Romney grants charters to three new public schools

Mitt Romney believes in school choice.

Reasons to agree:

“That is why Governor Romney and I support the choice that parents have made to give their children a charter school education. Charter schools are an excellent alternative for parents who are seeking more options for their child’s education.”

Books to Read

De-Schooling Society by Ivan Illitch

Websites

http://fornits.com/gatto/

The legislature passed a one-year moratorium on charter school approval as part of its Fiscal Year 2005 budget. In June 2004, Governor Mitt Romney vetoed the legislation.27 In his veto message, Governor Romney wrote, “I am vetoing this section because charter schools provide meaningful educational choices and should not be limited…. It is fundamentally unfair to penalize hundreds of students already enrolled in the schools named in this section while these issues are being resolved.”28 The House of Representatives failed to override the veto on a 77-78 vote.29

On April 1, 2004, the Federal District Court in Boston ruled for the defendants in Boyette v. Galvin challenging the state’s Blaine and Religious Exclusion amendments. The Becket Fund appealed.30 Because of a change in plaintiffs, the case has a new name. Michael Wirzburger, et al., vs. William F. Galvin, Secretary of State, et al. is now in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.31

27 Massachusetts Office of the Governor, “Romney Signs $22.402B Fiscal Year 2005 ‘No New Tax’ Budget,” Press Release, June 25, 2004, at www.mass.gov/portal/govPR.jsp?gov_pr=gov_pr_040625_signing_05_budget.xml.

28 Massachusetts General Court Website, “Veto Items: Fiscal Year 2005 General Appropriations Act: Attachment B,” at www.mass.gov/legis/05budget/govvetoesoutside.htm#312.

29 Kevin Rothstein, “Charter School Moratorium Fails to Survive Gov’s Veto,” Boston Herald, July 21, 2004, at http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=36496.

30 George Clowes, “Challenge Continues to Mass. Blaine Amendment,” School Reform News, November 2004.

31 Phone conversation with Megan Anderson, The Beckett Fund, September 2, 2004.

School Choice

The Club for Growth supports broad school choice, including charter schools, voucher programs, and tax credits that create a competitive education market including public, private, religious, and non-religious schools. More competition in education can only lead to higher quality and lower costs.

Mitt Romney is on record supporting charter schools, school vouchers, and home schooling. As governor, Romney focused on charter school expansion rather than implementing a voucher program. He pushed to eliminate the state-mandated cap on the number of charter schools59 and successfully vetoed a moratorium on the opening of new charter schools, passed by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2004.60 Although comprehensive school choice clearly is the solution to much of what plagues primary and secondary education, it is understandable that Governor Romney chose to spend his political capital on more attainable charter school expansion given the political opposition to empowering poor children in Massachusetts.

During his 1994 Senate race, he advocated abolishing the Department of Education61, but has since moved away from that admirable position, saying in the FOX News Republican presidential debate that he supports No Child Left Behind and has seen as a governor that "the Department of Education can actually make a difference."62