By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – In the St. Johns County School District, all the teachers are effective, all the administrators are wise, and all the students are above average.

That was essentially the message St. Johns County school board members delivered on Tuesday morning to three charter school officials who are seeking permission to open new schools within the district.

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School officials and audience members questioned out why more charter schools might be needed in one of Florida’s top-performing districts, and were unmoved by the charter representatives’ answers.

One charter official explained that the new schools would give options to parents who want “private schools but can’t afford them,” reports the St. Augustine Record. Another explained that one of the proposed schools would offer the academically vigorous International Baccalaureate program at the elementary level.

Board members were unimpressed, and responded that the district already offered that program – but only at the middle and high school levels, reports the Record.

One parent addressed the situation directly.

“You are not welcome here,” Ellen Whitmer told the charter school officials, according to the Record.

Whitmer added that the county doesn’t need charter school companies “just grabbing money and grabbing control of St. Johns County schools.”

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The local teachers union president even got in on the act.

“I understand choice,” St. Johns Education Association President Dawn Chapman said. “I think everybody does. But where is the need for choice in a district that is meeting the needs of our students?”

St. Johns County probably has a fine school district, but it’s clear that teaching students to think logically isn’t its strong suit. If the district is doing such a superior job of educating students – as everyone claims – then St. Johns officials have no reason to fear a little competition from the three potential charter schools.

Do Walmart officials get the shakes when a new mom-and-pop store opens down the street? Of course not.  Walmart leaders know that if they keep their customers satisfied, they have nothing to worry about.

But given that St. Johns officials are reluctant to allow new charter schools into the community suggests that not all parents and students are satisfied with their educational experience.   (That’s almost certainly the case, as there are already six charters within the district, according to the Record.)

St. Johns board members need to understand that not all children learn in the same way, nor do they all thrive in the same environment. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all education, and no such thing as a perfect school district.

Let’s hope St. Johns officials realize this, and agree to give all families a choice about which school option best meets their child’s needs.