Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Michael Paul Williams column [Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.]

Aug. 31--Richmond-based politicians are engaged in a tug of war over the direction of Petersburg's public schools.

On one end of the rope, Gov. Bob McDonnell is attempting to use his pull to plant a charter school in Petersburg, with some added muscle from reform-minded Education Secretary Gerard Robinson.

Resisting this tow is state Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, standard-bearer for the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus' opposition to charter schools. That Marsh and McDonnell are at opposite ends of an issue is no surprise. What's noteworthy is the person who has pulled strings for the governor but now finds herself somewhat removed from the debate in her hometown.

Del. Rosalyn R. Dance -- like Marsh a Democrat and a member of the black caucus -- was a chief co-patron of the governor's legislation designed to make it easier to open a public charter school in Virginia.

Dance is clearly loath to enter a war of words with Marsh, a former Richmond mayor and elder statesman whose Senate district includes Petersburg. But the former Petersburg mayor seems nonplussed at Marsh's actions on her home turf.

Dance, shortly before last night's forum on the issue, said no charter school application is before the Petersburg School Board.

"They're not saying they're opposing charter schools for charter schools' sake. . . . They have not said, 'We're at war with charter schools.'"

And the caucus, she suggested, is not at war with itself.

"The senator is speaking for the senator," she said. "He is not speaking for the black caucus at this time."

Marsh has expressed legitimate concerns about charter schools' mixed results, their at-times suspect oversight, and their siphoning off of resources from traditional schools during lean budgetary times.

In Petersburg, as in Richmond, this is much ado about relatively little.

Even when charter schools succeed, they leave other children behind. Whether a child gets into a charter school is the luck of the draw. In public education, shouldn't every child have an equal opportunity to succeed? Education's failures tend to be systemic; its reform must be holistic. Then again, it's hard to see how a charter school could make matters worse in Petersburg.

On Marsh's side of the rope are the residents, civic leaders and clergy who make up the Committee to Save Public Education. Some would argue it's too late -- public education in Petersburg is already flat-lining. The school district's chronic poor performance already has been a source of unprecedented state intervention.

Of course, jurisdictions with large concentrations of poverty face enormous challenges in educating children. Of Petersburg's enrollment of 4,200 students, 80 percent get free or reduced lunches. To put matters in perspective, that's 10 percentage points higher than in Richmond.

Petersburg's schools needed saving long before the perceived threat of a charter school roused folks to action. Unfortunately, its School Board and superintendent have remained mum as others debate the fate of the district. What Petersburg's schools need is vocal leadership that inspires confidence.

Instead, the school district appears dangerously close to ceding its authority to outside forces. If students aren't winners in this tug of war, what's the point?

Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or mwilliams@timesdispatch.com.

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