Air Date:02/24/2010
A bill that allows for the establishment of a pilot charter school if the Department of Education receives a federal grant passed the House Education committee today. If the money is granted, the department receives $73 million over a four year period which helps launch the charter school. Opponents of the charter school are concerned where the funding will come from after the grant money runs out. Supporters say they foresee a few different opportunities to receive additional funding. Tom Oster is the Secretary for the Department of Education. He says a charter school may help more students succeed. "We are failing students at a rate that's unbelievable," Oster says. "And if we don't try something that's outside of the box, a little bit different, we are going to be in the same place ten years from now that we are today and we're going to be asking the question why." The Senate Bill 63 passed eleven to two and now moves to the State House for further debate. The Senate State Affairs Committee passed a bill that aims to strengthen the state franchise law. House Bill 1088 was created in response to the Chrysler and GM restructuring last year that closed several dealerships in South Dakota. Proponents say the bill won't help those who were affected by the restructuring, but it will help dealers in the future. Senator Gene Abdallah is a sponsor of the bill. He says what happened to the franchisees was unfair. "There was no recourse for these dealers to go after GM because they filed bankruptcy," Abdallah says. "And now they started up again, and they're a new company. They've done everything to dodge the responsibility of these franchisees."Opponents agree it was devastating for dealerships to close, but say these things need to happen in order to move forward. The bill passed the committee eight to zero, and moves to the Senate floor for further debate.Member stations can download the audio file here.
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