Charter schools have nothing to showcase

As a retired public school teacher, I commend the school officials for banning charter schools from the “Showcase of Schools.”

For six years I visited public, private and charter schools, teaching conservation using live butterflies, and what I found in many charter schools proves that charters have nothing to showcase that is unique or innovative. In fact, some were housed in storefronts in strip malls or rented buildings. They had no cafeterias, playgrounds or libraries.

They lacked many of the basic educational tools found in traditional public schools such as computers for students, televisions and attractively decorated classrooms. Since then, I have done some research that shows that students in charter schools do not perform as well as those in traditional schools.

Perhaps parents are getting the message that charter schools are avenues for money-hungry investors to line their pockets by receiving tax credits and interest on loans they provide.

The sad thing is a big chunk of taxpayers’ money goes to help this. Traditional public schools are under the magnifying glass all the time. Charter schools should be watched more closely since they are rapidly growing in numbers.

We must be watchdogs and participate in stopping this misuse of tax dollars.

COLLEEN WIGGINS, WEST PALM BEACH