> I don't understand the logic around the left's hatred of charters
Charter schools are a threat to the public school system, so the public school system will naturally oppose charter schools.
If you are a public school without charter schools, a parent only has two choices: (1) public school, or (2) pay $20k+/yr/child to do private school. For the vast, vast majority of parents, public school is the only option.
Once you add charter schools to the mix, there is a new option that is viable for a much larger population. When parents choose charter schools, they lose public funding. Hence, this is a threat to public schools, and public school systems will strongly oppose it.
I think the reason you're having trouble understanding this is that you assume the public school union has the interests of children as it's top priority. With that assumption, opposition to charter schools doesn't make sense. But if you assume rational self interest, then you can easily explain the opposition.
Charter schools are a threat to the public school system, so the public school system will naturally oppose charter schools.
If you are a public school without charter schools, a parent only has two choices: (1) public school, or (2) pay $20k+/yr/child to do private school. For the vast, vast majority of parents, public school is the only option.
Once you add charter schools to the mix, there is a new option that is viable for a much larger population. When parents choose charter schools, they lose public funding. Hence, this is a threat to public schools, and public school systems will strongly oppose it.
I think the reason you're having trouble understanding this is that you assume the public school union has the interests of children as it's top priority. With that assumption, opposition to charter schools doesn't make sense. But if you assume rational self interest, then you can easily explain the opposition.