Dems unite against charter school expansion; Harwell vows to get it done

[Old Coot]

Dems unite against charter school expansion; Harwell vows to get it done
Published
by
Colby Sledge
on May 20, 2009
in Politics and State
. Tags: charter schools, education.

Democrats banded together — against the wishes of at least one party member — in an effort to slam the foot of an effort to expand charter school eligibility in the door of party politics.

The House Education Committee, which has debated further opening charter schools to urban poor students ad nauseum, moved to close the committee today without voting on the bill. Typically that would delay the bill until the next session, but bill sponsor Rep. Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) says she’ll fight to get the committee reopened.

“It would be my goal to have it come back this year because it’s such a critical issue, especially here in Davidson County,” Harwell said. “(Nashville mayor) Karl Dean needs this tool to help improve our school system here. In my mind, it should not wait one more year. There are too many children who can benefit.”

Democrats decided to unite behind the Memphis delegation and Rep. Tommie Brown of Chattanooga, who in a previous discussion accused one charter school of “pimping little babies” by sending letters to her office telling her how much they liked their school.

http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2009/dems-unite-against-charter-school-expansion-harwell-vows-to-get-it-done/