I support more charter schools...why doesn't Jeffus?

Rep. Maggie Jeffus (D-Guilford) does not support additional charter schools.

This from today's News & Record, where she's on the record in opposing lifting the cap on the numbers of charters operating in the state.

News & Record:

State law limits to 100 the number of charter schools, which are funded by tax dollars but are run by private boards. That reflects a certain legislative ambivalence toward the schools, which were created under a 1996 law but never fully embraced by the General Assembly's top voices on education.

Despite Obama's call to increase funding and "help create new, high-quality charter schools," N.C. lawmakers remain cautious.

"I don't, at this point in time, support raising the cap on the number of charter schools," said Rep. Maggie Jeffus , a Guilford County Democrat and former teacher who is involved in education policy in the General Assembly. She said some charters she had visited had excellent programs, but others struggled to keep pace with expectations in academics and management.

Maybe it's me, but I support more charters. There's a market for charters. There's a market for private education. There's a market for home school education. A little competition will only make our public schools better in the long run. And our children will be winners in the long run.

N&R:

Leanne Winner, a lobbyist for the N.C. School Boards Association, says charter schools sap resources from the state that could be used to help public school systems.

How about Raleigh sapping resources from its schools back to its wallet? The money school districts across the state had to send back to cover its "shortfall" recently? This argument holds no water.

E.C. :)