Could Charter Schools help with enrollment growth?

I started reading a story in this morning's Washington Post about the growth of charter schools in DC with the usual thoughts: while charter schools aren't a panacea to problems, it is important to have a diversity of educational options open to everyone. This is definitely a value held within LCPS as there are a striking number of paths available to high school students in particular, and quite a number of options for adults as well. That support for educational diversity doesn't generally extend to elementary school, the concept of home schooling (LCPS philosophy: you're either in public school or you're not) and especially not to charter schools (which use public funds).

It is a long-held dogma of my fellow Democrats that the use of public education funds for schools that aren't run by the public school system simply drains resources desperately needed by the public school system. That dogma is falling away, as President Obama and Secretary of Education Duncan both advocate a role for charter schools in our educational infrastructure.

There are two reasons that charter schools could work very well here in Loudoun, and even to the benefit of the public school system. The first is that Loudoun's combination of wealth and education demands the best options for its children and I am confident we would attract exceptionally innovative programs and educational talent. The second reason is that we have simply run out of space for our kids. Any charter school that could build its own facilities, or convert existing non-school facilities into school use, would be doing all of us an enormous favor.

Loudoun's enrollment growth over the last decade has outpaced the willingness of the Board of Supervisors to fund new schools, and objections to specific school sites will impact the availability of new schools for years into the future. Charter schools could quickly bring online more desperately needed seats, relieving crowding in key areas of the county and putting Loudoun where it belongs... on the leading edge of educational innovation that best prepares our kids for the next phase of their lives.

Md., Va. dip toes in charter school waters