Document text
Hannon says bill risks schools' health By PETER WONG SALEM -- Sen. Lenn Hannon of Ashland, one of three Republicans who opposed charter-schools legislation that the Senate passed Wednesday, said it's no cure for what ails Oregon's public schools. "We're putting a bandage on a bleeding artery," said Hannon, one of 17 senators who spoke during a two-hour debate. "We're at risk of losing the patient -- and the patient is education." Hannon said if the Legislature is serious about problems of public schools, it should take another look at the 1991 legislation that requires students to achieve performance standards and replaces the high school diploma with certificates of initial and advanced mastery. "We haven't even allowed it to go to work yet and we're talking about changing it," he said. "You can't change it before you taste it, and you haven't even tasted it yet. It's like being in the kitchen and you want to change the recipe before you get the end product. You know what it looks like but you are not certain how you get there." Despite Hannon's impassioned speech, Republicans picked up votes from Democrats Thomas Wilde of Portland and Mae Yih of Albany to pass Senate Bill 100, 16-14, and move it to the House. The other Republicans who voted no were Verne Duncan of Milwaukie and David Nelson of Pendleton. Among those voting for it were Senate President Brady Adams, R-Grants Pass, and Sen. Bill Fisher, R-Roseburg, who said it deserved support because the schools would be freed from control of school boards, state-certified teachers and their unions. Charter schools are tax-supported but would be free from most state requirements, although students in them still would have to show they can achieve the state performance standards. Hannon restated arguments that charter schools would lead to segregation and open the way for public support of private schools, though the bill bars private schools from applying for charter-school status. "It's like the brush man who sticks his foot in the door," he said. "This bill gets his foot in the door. Next session or in subsequent sessions, it's going to be a hand and an arm, and pretty soon, they'll knock down the door." Hannon said he rejected arguments that the bill is necessary for the state to qualify for federal grants. He said it sends the wrong message to teachers and others working to upgrade public schools and student performance. "They do not need legislation like this that demeans and demoralizes the public education system by telling public employees not to be licensed, regulated or come under scrutiny, and yet be accountable," he said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA