Education leaders explored the complicated topic of charter schools, at WCHL’s Community Forum on Thursday.

Darrell Allison, president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, argued for parent choice.

“If there was a public charter school down the street and . . . if that school is going to work for my child, I’m going to use by any means necessary . . . to make sure my child gets the education that they are entitled to,” said Allison. “So, for that parent, they’re not against the public school system. They don’t hate the public school system. They just want a school that’s going to work for their child.”

NC House Rep. Graig Meyer agreed that the conversation should be more nuanced than loving or hating public schools. But he posed a question about how funding for charters impacts public schools.

“Does the choice movement create a situation where it’s difficult to sustain strong public schooling? That’s the rub,” said Meyer.

Charter schools are exempt from regulations traditional public schools must follow; charters don’t have to provide transportation or meals for students. Critics say charter schools, which receive public funds, draw resources away from traditional public schools. Meyer is concerned that as more families put their kids into charters, there may be a “tipping point” at which parents decide to pull their financial support from public schools.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board Member James Barrett pointed to another criticism of charter schools.

“They’re being used to do things like re-segregate our schools in the state overall,” said Barrett. “And that to me is not the right solution and it’s not really benefiting every student, and it’s not benefiting our society.”

A Washington Post article reports that NC charters tend to be “overwhelmingly black or overwhelmingly white-in contrast to traditional public schools, which are more evenly mixed.” The article draws on a recent report from professors at Duke which suggests NC charters are “increasingly serving the interests of relatively able white students in racially imbalanced schools.”

But Barrett acknowledged that charter schools are not going away any time soon, and he said public schools should learn from charters that are experimenting with new ways of teaching.

“To Darrell’s point: Why not see what works? To James’ point: We’re trying things. The (public) school system can also try new things. Good lord I don’t know what they would be,” said East Chapel Hill High School Counselor Kristin Hiemstra. “We’ve tried so many things. I don’t know what the answer is.”

The group touched on many other K-12 education topics, including state funding for schools and discipline disproportionately affecting minority students.

You can find the full audio recording from this discussion and other panel discussions on topics including affordable housing, development, sports and “UNC under fire” at https://chapelboro.com/community-forum-2015/

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