The report authors argue charters have come to represent a force that «preempts
traditional local control of public schools» and spends «hundreds of millions of dollars to promote itself... finance electoral campaigns up and down the political ladder and hire publicists who spread misinformation, aggressively lobby, and paint charter opponents as part of the problem they are solving.»
Writing for the Washington Post, Lindsay Layton reported the NOLA district closed the remaining neighborhood schools as part of a «grand experiment in urban education for the nation,»
shifting local control of public schools by voters and their elected representatives to privately operated charter schools.
«The issue today,» she wrote, «is between those who want to federalize education policy and those who want to maintain state and
local control of the public schools,» in keeping with their belief that, «the federal government is the enemy of public schools.»
While most legislators would agree that
local control of public schools is important, this bill would take all control over the creation of charter schools out of the hands of local officials and give it to an unelected state commission — while simultaneously undermining the financial structure of traditional schools which are under local control.
-- tradition of independent,
local control of public schools will respond to this recommendation.
Mr. Duncan has extended federal sway even beyond the controversial provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, further defying the national pledge of allegiance to
local control of public schools.
RESOLVED, the 2012 Republican Party Platform specifically states the need to repeal the numerous federal regulations which interfere with State and
local control of public schools, (p36)(3.)