On Wednesday afternoon last week, I drove from our main office in Seattle to Olympia through the driving rain to attend a public hearing testimony on a bill of key importance to charter school families.

HB 2788 would reduce funding discrimination against families by providing state aid to partially make up for the ban on charter schools receiving a share of local education funding.  Currently these public school students are denied access to local levy revenue.

At the hearing members of the House Appropriations Committee heard testimony from the prime sponsor of the bill, Rep. Eric Pettigrew, a Democrat who represents south Seattle.  He has been joined by a group of Democrat and Republican lawmakers who want to see fairness for charter school families.

There was a palpable electricity in the air as Hearing Room A in the John L. O’Brien building filled with polite but determined students, parents and teachers.  Under the bill, public charter schools would receive up to $1,550 per student in additional funding, for a yearly cost to the state of about $3 million.  (For reference, the education budget is $13 billion.)

Next, Baionne Coleman, principal of Rainier Valley Leadership Academy, a charter school in south Seattle, described the urgent need for more education resources in her largely low-income community.  At Rainier Valley 76 percent of students are African-American and 11 percent are Hispanic.

Then a charter school mom, Eva de Jesus, speaking through an interpreter, told the Committee that she felt placing her son Juan at Rainier Prep Charter School was the best decision she ever made.  Some 40 percent of students at the school are African-American, while 43 percent are Hispanic.

Another mom, Lindsay Russell, joined her.  She said her first-grade son Bentley, has benefitted from the caring learning environment at Impact Public School, a charter where 50 percent of students are African-American and 17 percent Hispanic. She said:

“…Public charter schools and traditional district schools have so much to offer each other, but it’s not just a one-size fits all. It’s about choice. It’s about providing a different option. In terms of equitable funding, this is not equity. Please support this bill because our kids are depending on you, and they deserve it.” 

Those were supporters.  The next witness panel included the president of the state’s strongest opponents of charter public school, Washington’s powerful WEA union.  The union is angry that charter school teachers are not forced to join his union and pay monthly dues.  In a formal statement he complained:

“…WEA members believe it would be unacceptable for the legislature to divert additional public funding to privately run charter schools when the needs of all Washington students remain unmet…

Rep. Stokesbary (R-Auburn) challenged him:

“We have a room full of charter school children who feel like their needs are being met in charter schools.  Why do you feel that this state should not be meeting their needs?  Why should we be meeting the needs of some students, not all students in Washington state?”

The union president was clearly unmoved by these questions.

Soon after, the hearing came to a close. Next the House Appropriations Committee will decide whether HB 2788 will progress. This bill is popular with lawmakers, has strong bipartisan support, and would reduce Washington’s discriminatory funding policy against charter school families.