I believe a free and quality education to all children is the foundation of a true democracy. With that said, public dollars will be used to widen the achievement gap with the emphasis on the creation of charters, especially with federal programs like Race to the Top.

Unfair to single moms

Charters have a lottery system of enrollment. Only parents who are well informed and are available to show up to the lottery are accepted. This means a single mom who works two jobs to make ends meet would be left out of the process. An uneducated parent or one who does not understand the public educational system would be omitted. This doesn't help our neediest students in the least bit. It only cushions the padding between the haves and have-nots.

Once students are chosen from the privileged group of parents who are able to attend the lottery, any student can be dismissed and sent back to their home school at any time. This is a problem with public vs. private as well. A public school must open its doors to all who live in the community and provide a quality education to every child.

Handpicking students

When you can handpick students, you would expect it to be much easier for them to do a better job and score higher on the tests, yet it doesn't always happen. According to the National Education Association, for-profit charter schools rarely outperform traditional public schools, even when the charter receives higher funding.

Many charters deny transportation to their sites as well. Parents are responsible for drop-off and pick-up. This leaves out all families who have no car, have jobs that conflict with the drop-off and pick- up schedule, or that are simply not within reasonable driving distance from their home. Not exactly the answer to driving up test scores (forgive the pun).

And let's talk about funding, since the economy is on everyone's minds. Charters are run by privately hired people or are appointed managers. Where public schools have locally elected boards and School Site Councils to allocate money for specific purposes, charters are given a lump sum of money and are not given restrictions on the spending. These private individuals are allowed to spend the money how they choose. A big reason why charters close their doors: misappropriation of funds. Imagine that!

Low teacher quality

And finally, let's visit the issue of teacher quality. When a non-unionized charter opens up in a district, the teacher salary schedule doesn't apply. Typically these charters will offer less compensation (salary and benefits) for more work. Experienced teachers who have worked years in this noble profession are not necessarily the ones champing at the bit to be over-worked and under-compensated. No, it's the teachers who are new to this profession or those who can't find a job elsewhere that are typically hired. Not exactly what our struggling students need.The answer to closing the achievement gap isn't necessarily charter schools. The answer is adequate funding to our already existing public schools. The answer is relevant curriculum and training that will help our students become productive adults in the 21st century. The answer is making decisions locally that will best meet the needs of all our students and taking the politics out of education. The answer is in shifting our mentality from equality to equity.

Alexis Willisis president of the Coachella Valley Educators Association. E-mail her at cvtawillis@gmail.com