We’re very happy with our traditional OUSD elementary school, and the teachers there. We hope that students, parents, teachers, & admin can all keep it progressing. That said, we realize that some parents will have the same feelings for their charter school.

When the teachers at the charter tried to get retirement benefits, they were told “no”. I heard they were trying to organize, but am not sure what happened, but there are no charters here with union affiliation.

Back to the topic: I would rather be facing having a “last, worst, we won’t negotiate” contract shoved in my face than no chance of a contract ever like charter school teachers face. I am proud to be an OEA member and will be there tonight to bear witness to what the district has to say.

I know this kind of middle of the road position will make me no friends on here. I think charters provide a bit of “creative destruction” and a challenge to the status quo, which is good, but they also should be understood as inherently risky institutions easily manipulated by particular interest groups — whether for profit, ideology or religion.

And like private/parochial schools, and even “magnet” schools like Lowell, they are inherently somewhat elitist. But then, so is Cal Berkeley.

Charter schools want to take public money, and pretend they are private. That’s never going to fly – especially in Oakland!

If the unions and administration don’t do something to make the people/taxpayers of Oakland identify with the schools completely the people will stand by and watch OUSD die. Same goes for Los Angeles Unified.

I don’t think there is enough time to change what is going to occur. We would need to get rid of the rad-lib policies, return hard-core centralist politics to the school operations and manage the students better with programs suitable to the child rather than what the educrats think “all” persons should be doing. If the schools were a better fit to the needs of the students the drop and truancy rates would abate. All this is likely going to translate into segregated schools – by choice. Embrace it. Give people their choices.

If the behavior rules were serious the comfort factor (for staff and students) would climb and those not suitable for normal school would be removed, transfer out or just go. And I do think the public school needs a social work component for placing and referring kids early and often so that their needs are met. Maybe this is asking too much…

When this process ends the Public Teacher Unions will be completely busted. And tenure will be gone also. All that will be left is your Contract with a Charter for this year.

Brave New World.

I think you are missing the point. The money is there to support students, not systems, not adults. It should ultimately support the systems that best meet the needs of students. If the Board sees their role as elected officials as serving students and not systems, I would see that as a positive. If charter schools are serving Oakland kids, I don’t see why they wouldn’t get some of the money designated to serve Oakland kids. Maybe charter schools should do their own separate parcel tax, but that seems idiotic to me.

I do agree that if OEA is about the system and their membership, then it may make sense to cut off their nose to spite their face. Seems a bit nuts to me, but this whole thing seems a bit nuts to me.

Frankly, if it’s about systems, then it’s more about adults than children and that’s when I don’t want any part of it.