Patrick Henry Mentioned in Inauguration Speech
It is a brief mention from our new Governor McDonnell but a mention all the same. From RTD:
Right now Virginia has one of the weakest charter school laws in the country, and with the opening of the Patrick Henry Charter School in Richmond this spring, we will have only four of the estimated 4,600 charter schools operating nationwide. That is unacceptable. When I leave office I want Virginia to be in the vanguard of the national charter-school movement. And I want Virginia’s excellent teachers to be rewarded for their service by instituting real performance pay in our schools.
The problem, I fear, is that the RPS administration and Mayor Jones are working as hard as they can to make sure that PHCS never gets off the ground.
The question, I fear, is whether the believers in the PHSSA, have the strength to continue to fight RPS and Mayor Jones, to make the school a reality?
I think RPS had a really good chance here to mold the charter school process in a way that retained control but was positive in tone. Instead, by being obstructionist, they have opened the door for the McDonnell Administration, which will, this year, pass a charter school bill that will significantly weaken local School Board control. It just may come too late to save PH.