Supporter wavers on Virginia charter schools bill

RICHMOND

Amid mounting pressure from the Legislative Black Caucus, a member who signed onto a key piece of Gov. Bob McDonnell's education reform package is considering withdrawing her name from the bill.

Del. Rosalyn Dance, D-Petersburg, is the chief co-patron of the House version of McDonnell's charter school bill, which would amend state law to make it easier to get approval of the alternative public schools.

In an interview Tuesday evening, Dance said she would weigh pulling her name from the legislation if the black caucus formally asks her to do so.

But Wednesday she said she also wanted to see how senior caucus members react to last minute amendments to the bill that make it more palatable to educators.

Under that compromise charter school proposal, local school boards keep their authority to approve the schools.

McDonnell had initially proposed giving that power to the state Board of Education.

The charter bill, along with McDonnell's proposals to expand lab and virtual schools, will face their first test Thursday. The Senate Education Committee will hear the bills at about 10 a.m.

Earlier this week, the black caucus issued a strongly-worded rebuke of the initially proposed charter school legislation, comparing it to the state's segregation policies. On Wednesday, the group also issued a press release opposing the lab and virtual schools.

Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and vice-chair of the black caucus, said she would strongly encourage Dance to reconsider her sponsorship of the bill.

Caucus chairman Kenny Alexander, a Democratic Delegate from Norfolk, said he won't push Dance either way, but noted the caucus has strong reservations about the charter school bill's potential to harm public schools.

Opposition from the caucus is weighing heavily on other legislators.

"I think it's uncertain whether these bills are ready," said Sen. Edward Houck, D-Spotsylvania, who chairs the Education Committee. "When you have the caucus itself sounding off, I think that's a critical part of the puzzle."

Houck said members of the committee, which features 10 Democrats and 5 Republicans, haven't seen the revised proposal yet.

Robley Jones, with the Virginia Education Association, said he is uncertain whether the legislation will pass the Senate.

But the changes make it more acceptable to the VEA, because it maintains local control. The state board of education would help vet charter school applications and offer technical support in how to make the application stronger, Jones said.

"If I was a local school board I would be happy, that I wasn't getting trash applications," Jones said.

But the concerns about expanding charter schools - the state has three and a fourth one is about to open - when education funding is being slashed will be difficult to overcome, Jones said.

Wednesday's Finance Committee meeting offered some indication of the volatile atmosphere that could await the Governor's bills on Thursday.

During a discussion about tax credits for people who donate to private school scholarships, Sen. Yvonne Miller, D-Norfolk, blasted the proposal and recalled Virginia's history with slavery.

Miller said the proposal, which was billed as a way to help low-and-moderate income students go to private schools, was a way to "sell our children."

It says, "we will skim off a few poor children. They will go to a classy private school and we don't care about the rest," Miller said, bringing a near full-meeting room to complete silence.

Deirdre Fernandes, 757-222-5121 deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com

Julian Walker, 804-697-1564 julian.walker@pilotonline.com