Montgomery County is going to have to approve a charter one of these days. The whole point of charters is to give groups a chance to do something different, and if they are not successful, then you revoke their charter. But it is a bit absurd to not even give them a chance.

This is the under belly of the charter school movement. The intent is to provide new options for education. But what if the current system is working say in Montgomery or Howard, then what is the purpose? The movement is being hijacked by profit seeking entities which seek the use of tax dollars with very little oversight.

@OTT -
Are you sure all the parents in Montgomery County are happy with their school system. I've heard more than a few say that if you aren't in one of the "really good schools" your pretty well doomed. I've also heard lots of complaints about special ed services in Montgomery County. Why are you so quick to question the charter proposals' authors' motives. Personally, Montgomery County might be in the same state, but it seems like another world to me. I really don't feel qualified to guess what sort of political wrangling is going on there.

@ over the top

"Very little oversight"? You just described Montgomery County Public Schools.

Just last week MCPS cut teachers while adding a dozen administrators. Who has oversight over the public school system? Not the County, not the State. No Inspector General to review MCPS spending.

Sorry if this is a repeat - my response from a few days ago seems to have gotten lost.

@OTT -
Why are you so sure that no one in Montgomery or Howard County could be dissatisfied with the public school offerings and, with honest intentions, want to start a charter school? I don't know a lot about either school system, but in Special Ed circles I've heard more than a few complaints about Montgomery county - I know they've been sued quite a bit. I also know that there are some schools that rank very highly and others that do not. If one were to see this as a problem they might be motivated to start a charter school. I will admit no real knowledge of any of the charter applications that were denied, so I won't defend them. The fact that you have no problem assuming the worst and jumping to the attack seems a little, how should I say it...over the top.

@ AP - welcome back

I was using these districts as examples in that on average they are considered some of the best systems this state has to offer. I know little about their "problems" but do know they dominate every "best list" for this state. Someone will always be dissatisfied in even the best of situations but is that reason enough to start a new school. There would be schools on every corner (or strip mall and business park) if that was the case.
I would suspect that the "problem" schools in affluent districts are the ones that experienced an explosive growth in low income and ELL students. These districts seemingly have the capacity to attack these issues but that ability would be diminished if others are allowed to flee the schools on unfounded concerns. This is the backside of charters as it was after the passing of Brown vs The Board.
This brings up the question of just are there limits on what the STATE can force a COUNTY to do? In counties that can afford to provide the majority of the funding for their school system, I would think there would be some push back. Remember the states that would not accept NCLB funding because of the burden it imposed? It would be interesting to see a county or two use this tactic against the overreaching edits of Annapolis.
But I stick to my guns, the charter school movement in Maryland has not naturally evolved to address critical needs. It has been unleashed on unsuspecting parents by income (if not profit) producing private industries expand their fiefdoms. I would expect small government advocates to support the expansion with the support of business leaders BUT who really benefits.