March 5, 2019
Good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee. I am Robbyn Wahby, executive director of the Missouri Charter Public School Commission. We are Missouri’s only statewide and sole purpose sponsor of charter public schools. I am here today in support of SCR271.
The ideas in SCR271 came from a working group put together by Governor Parsons to tighten and improve state statues that govern charter schools.
Here is how it happened, starting with a little history.
In 1998, lawmakers worked with the Governor, Attorney General, US Justice Department, NAACP, representatives from the local school districts, and teachers unions in St. Louis and Kansas City to settle the desegregation case. This body passed SB781 to put the settlement agreement into state law. It included the authority for charter public schools to open and operate in these two districts.
Today, over 20 years later, over 22,000 children attend charter schools in Missouri. That is a tremendous success. But, over those two decades, we have learned a great deal. While the law has changed, educators rightly believe that parts of it can be confusing and open to different interpretations. That includes the Missouri Board of Education and the Missouri Charter Public School Commission.
Last summer, State Board President Charlie Shields called Delbert Scott, one of the members of the charter school commission. They know each other well from their time in the senate. They discussed the need to clarify a number of matters – “clean up” the law, if you will. Mr. Shields felt this was necessary before more charters opened. Mr. Scott thought it would help the Commission and the charter schools we serve.
Together, they went to the governor to ask him to form a working group made up of knowledgeable stakeholders. The Governor agreed, but made two things clear: the working group needed to work fast and stick to the task at hand.
With input from Mr. Shields and Mr. Scott, the governor formed a work group. He made his staff available. The Governor’s aides did not advocate for one position or another. They kept the group on task, made sure difficult issues were resolved, and helped the members hash out their differences.
The governor’s workgroup included the top two DESE officials at the time: Interim Commissioner Roger Dorson and Deputy Commissioner Stacey Pries. It included the executive directors of the two statewide charter organizations, Doug Thaman from the Association and me from the Commission. It included representatives from educational philanthropy, Awais Sufi from Kansas City and Marcus Robinson from St. Louis. Because our state’s universities sponsor charter schools, the group included an education professor with extensive experience in quality charter school sponsorship, Dr. Amanda Aldridge from Lindenwood University.
Between September and December, my colleagues and I read and discussed every word written in state statute about charter schools. We argued. We pushed each other. We sought to understand each other’s points of views. Because everyone worked with Missouri’s students in mind, we found common ground. In the end, everyone in the group voted to approve the report.
The exceptional staff in the Governor’s Office helped to review the proposed language one last time, to make sure it was clear and within the scope of our assignment. The final work product was delivered to you by Mr. Shields and Mr. Scott.
Those of us in the workgroup do not agree on everything. We sometimes disagree strongly with each other. But, on behalf of the kids of our state, we took our task seriously and did our job well.
It was an honor to participate. I am grateful to Senator Emory for supporting the ideas developed by the working group and put forward by Mr. Shields and Mr. Scott.
Twenty years ago, people of good will in this body compromised to create the framework for a new way of educating our kids. We tried to replicate that in our working group. People who support traditional school districts, people who support charter schools, and people who like both came together to modernize and improve the law governing charters. It is with that in mind that I ask you to support SCR271.