Posted by Libertarian, a member of the Woodside High School community, on May 20, 2009 at 11:21 am

I find the district's arguments disingenuous. The motivations are quite simple and obvious: power, control of money, and avoiding competition. There is a reason involved families might selectively choose charter schools. In a large school (Woodside, Sequoia, etc.) the ability to make a difference is quite limited. The systems there do not allow for student individuality and based on personal experience, students fall through the cracks. The answer to concerns about parental involvement is not to take away choice. In an ideal world, the district might be supportive and learn why it is that nearly 25% percent of possible district freshman participated in charter school lotteries. Personally, the district's priorities do coincide with what I believe is best for my child and discussions with the Superintendent did not give me any confidence this will change. The district's non-so-subtle attempt to quash competition will not do anything to improve schools and is certainly not about putting students first. As seen with failure of various propositions, teacher's unions have lost credibility when they claim to have children's interest first.