Charter Bill Signed Into Law, Lawmakers Get Ready For Break
Republican lawmakers have been focused on pushing through their agenda before next week’s break.
That includes the charter school bill that passed both houses on Wednesday and signed by the governor Thursday.
But not everyone has high expectations, like Representative John Knight.Â
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“There’s no question that we need to improve education but I don’t think charter schools are necessarily the answer to it. The answer to education is making certain that we have quality teachers, leadership on our boards, in our classrooms,” said Rep. Knight.
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Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard was happy to see charter schools get one step closer to reality.Â
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He says even though efforts failed in the past, it’s the highlight of this past week.Â
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“I really think it’s the best the way it worked out because we were able to look at other states and how it was done and it’s been successful, done some more research. I think we have a great bill and we know for sure it’s the most accountable charter school bill in the country,” said Speaker Hubbard.
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Some democrats and protesters have been upset that the budgets haven’t come up for discussion yet.Â
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The state’s general fund could be as short as 700 million dollars, but Speaker Hubbard says the problem hasn’t been ignored.Â
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“This is not just something you can throw out and debate it all in committee and in public. We have to get our act together. There’s a lot of research that’s been done, even before we went into session. And since we went into session I assure you that work’s been taking place every day,” said Hubbard.
