Late last night, the Kentucky General Assembly made legitimate the state's illegal charter school. Now we must force them to allow this fine example of what school choice can be to be duplicated so we better serve the educational needs of our children.
The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at Western Kentucky University was created in the 2006 budget with a $3.3 million appropriation, but no enabling legislation was passed to get around education laws prohibiting the kind of advanced training currently enjoyed by 120 high schoolers at WKU. Another $10 million in state money spruced up an old building on campus to house the new program.
Our current laws are set up to protect the status quo in the public schools. The Gatton Academy is an important leak in the dam. The tremendous opportunity presented to these few students involves spending tremendous resources. Now that we have agreed that the effort makes sense for some, we should do more to help those students who don't fit the public school mold bust out. With a little creativity, we could do so for much, much less money.
Ending Kentucky's old-fashioned prohibition of charter schools is the way to start this process.
