Gov. Bob McDonnell visited individual lawmakers on their own turf today to lobby for his education legislation, which is slated to come up this morning in the Senate Education and Health Committee.
But even with personal appeals from the governor, his secretary of education and his senior policy adviser, the future of measures on charter schools, expanded virtual classrooms and college partnership lab schools is uncertain.
The previously critical Virginia Education Association, the Virginia School Boards Association and the Virginia Association of School Superintendents are now behind new language hammered out with the administration meant, in part, to avoid a court battle.
However, some Virginia Legislative Black Caucus members haven't budged from their opposition and carry deep concerns about shifting money to charter schools in a time of steep cuts to public education funding. And then there's the issue of control.
The introduced legislation would give gubernatorially appointed Board of Education members the power to overrule elected local school boards on granting charters. Concerns about the constitutionality of the proposed change were raised because the Virginia Constitution states, "The supervision of schools in each school division shall be vested in a school board."
The compromise language leaves final approval with the local school boards but has the state Board of Education review applications and make a recommendation to the local board. The state Education Department also would help denied charter applicants improve their offer before appealing to the local board.
Civil-rights lion Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, said today that resources would be funneled into the charter schools, which would draw a small fraction of students out of the local public schools. Even with the changes that keep the final charter decision with a local school board, Marsh said it would add pressure to the local board members.
"It's like Massive Resistance again. We're just celebrating the 50th year of the end of Massive Resistance and they are trying to do the same thing," he said.
The caucus sent a statement today expressing its opposition to all three of McDonnell's legislative education initiatives.
McDonnell today called the caucus statement "disappointing and perplexing."
He said his legislation would help the state in its attempt to get $350 million of the Obama administration's "Race to the Top" grant program.
"The position taken by the caucus would keep vital dollars away from Virginia's students and teachers, at time when they can least afford for that to happen," added McDonnell, who proposed cutting $731 million over two years from public education.
But the caucus is not unanimous in its opposition, as two members are carrying pieces of the legislation in the House. Del. Rosalyn R. Dance, D-Petersburg, is among the charter school bill patrons in the House, and Del. Jennifer L. McClellan, D-Richmond, is among the lab school bill patrons in the House.
Both hope caucus members will change their minds after carefully reviewing the compromise language.
"If it makes it out of the Senate, it's going to court," Marsh said. "If they try to interfere with the right of the local board to make assignments and decisions about local public schools, it's going to court because it's illegal."
Contact Olympia Meola at (804) 649-6812 or omeola@timesdispatch.com.
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